Allen's IF experiment and observations

[Robb Wolf]

Not a bad way to go out...boots on, pizza in hand...God that is beautiful!

[Allen Yeh]

Originally Posted by Robb Wolf

Allen-
Any further updates?

Sheesh I didn't even realize I hadn't updated this in a while, I'll post an update for up until the end of March. This past weekend I was up in NY for my wife's appointments so my eating schedule was all over the place on top of eating whatever my parents made.

[Allen Yeh]

Update as of 3/28/07

Body composition: BW staying at 189 but I'd say from playing the "looking in the mirror bodyfat game" that I'm around 10%.

Performance - No huge impact thus far that I can detect.

Energy - This one this past month has been fluctuating more than previously but this is due to a lot of things other than IF like my sleep schedule has been very erractic as well as my workout schedule.

Fast duration: I can now hold out for longer stretches so that 18 hours isn't terrible but I prefer 15 because trying to squeeze all those calories in a smaller window is a much more concerted effort.

Calories: I've been staying around ~2800 and trying to keep my carbs down a little more, >150g/day on workout days, >100g/day on non workout days.

[Dave Van Skike]

So that's and apparent BF loss of 5% in a 3 months? With limited fuss and muss? Hmmmm. This sounds goodish.

[Allen Yeh]

Originally Posted by Dave Van Skike

So that's and apparent BF loss of 5% in a 3 months? With limited fuss and muss? Hmmmm. This sounds goodish.

My total bodyweight since I started has dropped 6#'s and my approximate bodyfat is down about 5% and since my performance hasn't suffered if anything it's gone up I'd make it a safe bet that my real bodyfat loss was closer to 3-4% as I don't think I have lost much lean body mass.

The limited eating window now that I think about it is easier than the whole stuff yourself with 6 meals at 3 hour intervals during the day.

[Robb Wolf]

Originally Posted by Allen Yeh

My total bodyweight since I started has dropped 6#'s and my approximate bodyfat is down about 5% and since my performance hasn't suffered if anything it's gone up I'd make it a safe bet that my real bodyfat loss was closer to 3-4% as I don't think I have lost much lean body mass.

The limited eating window now that I think about it is easier than the whole stuff yourself with 6 meals at 3 hour intervals during the day.

I've not advocated intermittent fasting per-se with our clients but many were used to other trainers trying to get them to eat 5-6x/day. Kids, job, and other obligations makes this a daunting task...and perhaps not THAT healthy when looking at caloric restriction and the benefits of fasting.

You will not get someone REALLY big doing IF but you can get to a damn good level of performance an some good health beneis to boot.

[Troy Archie]

I assume that starting a fast post w/o with no meal would be a major no no?

[Robb Wolf]

Originally Posted by Troy Archie

I assume that starting a fast post w/o with no meal would be a major no no?

I think Devany advocates this from time to time. I think if fat loss is a primary goal it might be a great way to go occasionally.

[Allen Yeh]

Update as of 5/16/07

Note: I hadn't realized it has been over a month and a half since I updated this thing!

Body composition: BW is down to 181 and my bodyfat is hovering around 8%?

Performance - No huge impact thus far that I can detect, but once again it's hard to quantify since I'm not doing performance testing.

Energy - This is a bit odd still, my sleep pattern has been weird because when I do try to get to bed early I'm unable to fall asleep (still trying to iron that out). This past week I've been getting hat afternoon slump but I am running more now than I have been since I started IF so possibly my body needs more recovery time?

Fast duration: I've been holding strong to 15 hour fasts most days.

Calories: I've been staying around ~2600 recently using fitday to track, I've strayed from the coconut milk shakes daily and now it's once every other day opr every 3 days.

From January I've gone from 196 to 181 without actually trying to lose weight. Meaning no crazy fat loss workouts, more performance oriented workouts. i.e. get my running times up and get in a lifting session a few times a week. BF has gone from 15% to ~8% while not impacting my performance in a negative way (that I have thus far detected).

[Allen Yeh]

Observation on the effect of drinking on my body and on IF:

5/18 - BW 182
5/20 - Anniversary had "some" wine
5/21 - BW - 189
5/22 - BW - 184

Note: I hardly ever drink anymore due to my wife not being able to with all the different medications the Dr.'s have her on. My alcohol tolerance has dropped considerably, after 3 glasses I was feeling it!