Intermittent Fasting Part 2 38/84

Here you guys go with Part 2. Like I said in Part 1, Intermittent Fasting is something that I'm pretty passionate about because it has been working so well for me for years. To be honest, this is  going to end up being a 3 part post because I have so much I want to say. So with that, today's post is going to be about the potential benefits and side effects of IF while part 3 is going to be about who should try it and who should stay away from it based on these potentials.

We've already looked at the different types of IF and as far as we can tell, the benefits are pretty similar between the different types. Of course there are some changes, but the big ones are pretty universal. I also want to say this at the beginning as well, there is not really that much scientific research that has been done on humans to prove or disprove the benefits that IF can provide. There are a lot of studies done on mice which show some pretty promising things, but apparently it's hard to find college kids who you can convince not to eat. I'm sure, eventually, we'll have the research to back up what we've seen, but until then we basically have the anecdotal evidence of personal and client experience to look at. Some people may not think much of that but I think that if it works it works, sometimes regardless of if the research has caught up yet.

So let's get into it, there are a ton of potential benefits that IF can provide which include decreasing some things and increasing others. One of the biggest benefits, and the reason that most people get into it, are the fat loss benefits. It has been pretty widely shown that participating in IF can help you burn more fat. NOW, it has yet be proven whether or not that fat loss is a result of the fast or just a result of the fact that you're probably eating less total calories. Personally, when I'm on a cutting phase I increase the time of my fast, and while I'm bulking I reduce it. It's super hard for me to get the 4-5,000 calories I need for a Bulk in just a few hours. What has been shown, though, is an increase in metabolism towards the end of the fast. This may be the exact opposite of what some people think and may be the opposite of what the bros might tell you. So many people think that if you don't eat for a couple of hours that your metabolism slows down to a crawl and sends you into starvation mode. This could not be less true and there is absolutely no backing that not eating for a couple hours slow metabolism at all.

On that note, by no means is it necessary to eat 6 meals a day ever couple hours to get lean. I'm not exactly sure when this myth came around but for some reason everyone believes it now. You'll probably hear me saw this a lot but meal frequency (how often you eat) has absolutely no effect on body composition (how lean you are).

So back on track, here more benefits that we believe you can get from adding a fast to your life; decreased blood pressure, decrease blood lipids, decreased inflammation, decreased risk of cancer, increased cellular repair, increase growth hormone levels, increased apatite control, and increased blood sugar control.

That seems like a pretty great list right? I think so too. There are some potential drawback too, though, and although the list is smaller, they can be some pretty important ones. Here are some potential side effects; increased stress response, increased strength of male sex hormones (bad for ladies), decreased strength of female sex hormones (also bad for ladies), amenorrhea, and symptoms of premenopause. Like I said, smaller list but there are some pretty big players involved. As a little spoiler for Part 3, IF and ladies do not really get along and you need to pay close attention to how you feel if you try it. Stay tuned tomorrow for the details.

So like I said, in Part 3 I will get into who should try it, who should avoid it, and what groups of people or character traits would and would not bode well with IF. Hopefully you guys are getting some good information from these posts and we're getting close to the halfway point on my daily posts! If you want to stay up to date on everything, get some free stuff including my Top Fat Loss and Top Muscle Building Tips,  nutrition plan, and access to my private Facebook group, fill out the pop up window on here to become a subscriber. Subscribers will also be the first people I go to for workout testing and free programs so don't wait! As always, if you have any questions at all, or feel like you need some help with this whole fitness thing, reach out to me and I'll do whatever I can to help!

See you tomorrow!

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