Reader Question - Can You Bulk With intermittent Fasting?

I feel that a lot of people think Intermittent Fasting is a "magic" method to remain lean and build muscle or a "magic" method to loose body fat.... I'm sorry to burst your bubble but IF IS NOT MAGIC. Ok now since we got that out of the way lets continue ;)

Dear John, Thanks for reading my blogs and i'm happy to hear your enjoying them!

So when it comes to Intermittent Fasting or IF for short. I still think it can be extremely useful for a lot of people. I myself don''t really do it on purpose anymore, so for example for me somedays i may fast till 2pm or somedays i might eat at 10am. I use it occasionally because i like it, and some studies have show quite a bit of overall health benefits [1] but I'm not set in stone in it either anymore. The thing about IF is that it is a tool and its not magic like some think.

Basically it is is a style of eating that allows you to eat fewer calories overall because of the eating window you are given, so if you're in a calorie deficit it works really well just for the fact that since your not eating throughout the day you can eat bigger meals and feel satisfied and still be in a calorie deficit. But with that said If you are in a calorie deficit then it does not matter if you eat 5 times a day or two times a day. The end results would be the same as long as the calories were equal.

just so you understand here is an example;

- Guy eating 2,000 calories (deficit) (eating in an 16/8 IF model)

- Guy eating 2,000 calories (deficit) (eating throughout the day)

Summary = Same results and loss of weight

SO NO I.F. IS NOT MAGIC IT IS JUST A TOOL TO ALLOW YOU TO FEEL MORE SATISFIED ON LOWER CALORIES.

Of course you can but is it going to yield any difference in results than eating throughout the day? Probably not. I say probably because the science really is not clear on this, Brad Schoenfeld showed in one study [2] that you can't make up for loss of protein feedings in the day by eating all of it at night so the one meal a day thing really might not be a good idea if your trying to build muscle. In my opinion and from what i have read though i think personally if you are in a gaining phase you are better off eating throughout the day just for the sake that a lot of people would not be able to eat the amount of calories needed to gain being in an 8 hour window, for some people to gain mass it takes well over 3,000 calories or more, thats a lot of food for only 8 hours to get it in. For me its not a problem because for me to gain mass i require about 2600-2700 calories a day and i can easily get that in two meals and a shake. I don't enjoy eating frequent meals so for me i just choose to fast the majority of the day and eat bigger meals. I will say that i am in a gaining phase right now and have been in one for over 7 months now and i started at 140lbs and now I'm up to around 155lbs and i still feel pretty lean (maybe 15-17% body fat) and yes i still do fast quite a lot just for the sake i like fasting and like the way i feel while fasting. So can you bulk with IF? Yea i think you can. But is it the best option for everyone? Probably not. I say do what you can stick too. If you don't want to eat frequent meals then use IF if you want to eat frequently then just eat. In the end its not going to make much a difference if at all. Just do what you enjoy and what works best for you and your life. One more thing i want to add is that it also depends on what you do for a living. If you live a real active lifestyle then i would really not recommend fasting however if your at a computer most of the day tho then maybe i would say to give it a try.

So while i do think the normal IF approach can be beneficial for overall health I think over the 7 years i have been doing it i have found a better way to use it for muscle growth while still achieving a lot of the health benefits Associated with it.

Instead of thinking as IF as a time to eat and not eat why not try just eating purely around your training sessions for performance and then the rest of the day just take some BCAA's or a protein shake. For example this is pretty much my normal routine during the week. Notice how there is no set times for meals. I train at 5:30pm during the week, and on Saturdays i train at 12:30pm

For the work week

wake up - take 6 grams of BCAAs

2 hours before heading to the gym - Meal 1

get to gym take 7 grams of BCAAs

After gym take 7 grams of BCAAs drink while driving home

About an hour after gym - Meal 2

and then i also have a shake with meal 2 consisting of the rest of my calories

For Saturdays

wake up - take 6 grams of BCAAs

45 min before heading to gym - Meal consisting of moderate protein (30-40 grams) Moderate Carbs (50-80 grams) and Low fat (10-15 grams)

get to gym take 7 grams of BCAAs

After gym take 7 grams of BCAAs drink while driving home

Eat meal usually around 50 protein, 100-120 carbs, 20-25 fat

Eat meal (usually dinner with the family) Here is where i eat the rest of my calories and i usually throw a shake in with this meal.

As you can see for Saturdays its a little more complicated and honestly i just eat and not worry much about calories on Saturdays, i just eat sensible.

So yea I keep this extremely simple and instead of fasting i just focus on eating 2 meals for the most part only for the day to help control calories because i'm not a fan of small portions throughout the day. A trend tho i always follow is to always eat pre and post training. Other than those times i just go about life in a normal fashion.

Remember tho i just gave you this as an example. This is not the best nor the only way to do things. DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. Don't be afraid to experiment. For example i used to train fasted a lot, Over the years i found that was only hurting me and not helping me gain muscle. Try different things until you feel you have the right approach.

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