Fasting has been hailed as the all diet Messiah, for some time now. Since this dietary method became a trend there have been numerous people that have gone to great lengths to test it, and even take it to the extreme. One thing is certain, this form of diet which sprung right out of religious history is here to stay.
Like any popular trend, fasting for weight loss has its fair share of detractors. Many admit that fasting over long periods can have a visible effect when it comes to losing weight. But that the method itself may be very detrimental to your health.
As fasting begins to gather more and more followers the methods it uses begins to diversify as well. The most common method remains the 16/8 fasting method. Anything beyond that can be considered long fasting, with periods extending from a couple of extra hours to 30 day fasting programs that use supplements to keep you alive. But what does this mean for you if you are among the men who have a regular gym attendance, or you are just planning your steps to a daily workout routine?
Well, workouts and fasting can go hand in hand. But they will not be the happiest duo out there.This change in your eating habits is bound to affect your blood pressure, energy levels and the way your metabolism works.
But how does long fasting affect you when it comes to your muscle mass? Is there really such a thing as mass gains while fasting? And what are the dangers and benefits of long fasting?
Well, you are going to read all bout that right away but first, lets take a look back and see where fasting began and how it has suddenly been reinvented into what appears to be the easiest and most effective diet plan in the world.
It varied in length and restrictions, from one religion to another and was considered a pivotal and sacred experience. In other words, its nothing new. Over time religions traditions changed and fasting periods changed with them. Yet somehow, unlike religion, fasting is now more talked about than ever.
For that, we have the United Kingdom to thank. Because it was here in 2012 that the modern type of fasting began. The intermittent fasting. And thus began the journey of fasting as a caloric restriction diet.
And because miracles are rarely interpreted in the same way, there are three types of fasting readily available: Alternate-day fasting, Periodic fasting and Time-restricted feeding. They are all based on the idea that restricting your food intake for a day or for a specific part of the day, will help you reduce the number of calories you consume, speed up your metabolism and ultimately lead to weight loss.
Hence the reasons why people started experimenting with the idea of fasting and going all out in search of the ultimate weight loss fasting diet. And the idea behind it is pretty simple. If intermittent fasting seems to work, a longer fast may actually be even better. It sounds like the ultimate battle against all cravings. But is it too good to be true? And will winning the battle over your cravings mean killing your muscle growth?
Even more so for people who take up weight lifting routines, or that already use body mass supplements in their training. Although the science behind it is only in the making, we can safely say that fasting will help you detox, lose weight and get rid of the excess water in your body. And that you can safely train while fasting. But how will it impact your muscles?
1. Protein loss
Long fasting makes your body gradually lose the very substance you need the most when trying to gain mass. You will lose protein gradually starting with the second day of fasting. And the explanation is simple. Your body needs to run on what it has stored. And that is either fat or protein. In the first couple of days, it will run on fat and then slowly supplement that with protein. The longer the fast the bigger the protein loses.
2. Muscle breakdown
Losing protein comes with an added bonus. Not only that your body will be depleted of its protein reserves, but it will soon cannibalize your muscles to get it. Your muscles are the biggest deposit of protein you carry around daily. So. like a scrapyard boss, it will start chipping away at those last formed, prime, muscle fibers you have been working so hard for.
3. Metabolism craze
Your metabolic rate will skyrocket in your first few days of long fasting. Over time the body will adjust to the frequency and length of your fasting sessions. But in the beginning, your higher metabolic rate will not only speed up the weight loss process but also the speed with which your body loses that all-important protein.
4. Your heart is also a muscle
Your body will have a tendency to burn fat to get energy and then add on some protein just for good measure. Well, your heart is one of those muscles that will be required to give up some of that protein. In the long run, your heart will weaken and your body will be forced to slow down your metabolism thus acting as a kill switch on weight loss.
5. Loss of minerals
Muscle doesnt just use protein to maintain or grow. If you really are trying to grow muscle you know how important magnesium, potassium and other minerals are to the entire muscle forming process. Long fasting periods mean that you will have lots of hours with no food intake, so water consumption will be bigger than your body is used too. That means that you will eliminate many more minerals than usual. Which is the opposite of good when it comes to muscle growth.
6. Low energy
Although your metabolic rate and your heart rate may go up at first, in time, you will experience a decrease in your energy levels. That is basically because long fasting brings about low blood pressure. And the decrease in blood pressure will deprive you of the energy you need to build muscles.
7. Vitamin deficiency
Long fasting is not only responsible for causing your body to lose minerals, you will lose plenty of vitamins as well. If you think you already saw this coming think again. Because among the vitamins that you are going to lose, none are more important than B12, D and C. The levels of these vitamins are among those that will be the most affected by your sudden change in lifestyle.
8. It will lower your morale
Training at the gym can be quite draining over long periods of time. Even more so, if you do not get adequate amounts of sleep and food when you are allowed to eat. Long fasting will upset your workout schedule and with it your mood. Gone will be the days when you had all that energy to go on and on. It is very difficult to balance out your training routine and your mood when you feel too hungry. And that will eat away at your morale.
9. It will give you a negative nitrogen balance
When fasting, the body will find it almost impossible to keep a positive nitrogen balance. Therefore even if you were to gain muscle mass, by upgrading your workout or using more protein shakes, you will not be able to hold on to your muscle gains. Nitrogen balance is the difference between nitrogen excreted from the body and nitrogen ingested in the diet. And your loss in natural protein intake will affect that balance.
10. It can substitute your muscles for fat
No, that doesnt happen literally, or overnight. But the longer the fasting diet is, the more likely you are to burn through your muscle tissue. Once you have decided that fasting does not go hand in hand with your goals of building your muscle mass, you will more than likely gain all your weight back. It's just that it is much easier for the body to store fat than to store muscle. So much of the weight you gain back will be made out of fat. It will be like chasing after two rabbits and catching none.
Fasting will bring some benefits to your workout regime. It will help you eliminate toxins and allow your body to slow down and rest for a while. But it is not the best when it comes to gaining muscle. To supplement the things on our list you must find a way to add more protein to your diet in the periods before and after your long fast, as well as supplement with personalized quantities of vitamins and minerals.
In the end, the investment may not be worth the effort and this diet may not be the one to support you on your way to your goals. And as any iconic man should know, staying focused on your goals is more important than temporary weight loss.
