Intermittent Fasting for Bodybuilders - A Must Read Guide

Welcome to Fitness Deciphers…!!!

This is the most comprehensive guide on intermittent fasting for bodybuilders.

Here I will tell you how intermittent fasting can help you in bodybuilding.

Intermittent fasting can help you lose fat and build muscles at the same time.

You might have heard that fasting can help you lose weight but can it help you build muscles?

The simple answer is YES.

If done in a proper way it can help in both losing fat as well as building muscle at the same time.

Here in the article on “Intermittent fasting for bodybuilders”, I will discuss how and why intermittent fasting can help you in bodybuilding. And what factors make intermittent fasting for bodybuilders good.

Trust me you won’t find such fantastic information in any other article.

Let’s start.

Table of Contents

1. Intermittent Fasting for Bodybuilders

Whenever you think about fasting, you remember the sentences from the so-called nutrition authorities that “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” and

” Don’t skip the meal as it lowers your metabolism”

“If you won’t eat every few hours, the sugar levels in the blood will drop”

But the real fact is that intermittent fasting doesn’t make you weak and tired. It won’t even slow down your metabolism.

In this article, I will explain how intermittent fasting is the most effective and safe way to lose fat as well as increase muscle mass.

I will also tell you how can intermittent fasting help in bodybuilding.

Before I start let me ask you one question.

If you are a bodybuilder or want to do bodybuilding then what should be your priorities?

If I am not wrong, your answer will be ” to lose fat, build muscle and muscle mass and increase metabolism”

Just wait…losing fat and building muscle can be understood but why do we need to increase our metabolism for bodybuilding?

If you have a good metabolism then you can easily digest the micronutrients present in the food.

In bodybuilding, you need more protein and carbs and if you have a high metabolism, you can easily digest more protein from any food.

Check it out:

How to grow killer biceps at home

Now, the good news for bodybuilders is that intermittent fasting can increase all three of these. So here I will tell you how intermittent fasting can improve fat loss, muscle building, and metabolism.

Let’s understand how intermittent fasting can help us in bodybuilding and what makes intermittent fasting for bodybuilders.

1) Intermittent fasting helps us in fat loss

Losing fat is one of the most crucial steps toward bodybuilding. If you just develop the muscles and don’t reduce fat then you don’t seem to be a bodybuilder.

Intermittent fasting can help immensely in fat loss.

When you are in a fasted state, many things are happening inside the body. Fasting makes you burn the stored body fat. Intermittent fasting is also known to reduce belly fat very quickly.

Actually, fat burning is not any unique state of the body. Our body burns fat all the time.

But the problem is most of the time when our body burns the fat, there is also new fat being produced as we eat too much and too often.

Our body has generally two sources of energy. The first is glucose and the second one is stored fat. When we eat something, it gets converted into glucose.

Our body converts this glucose into energy. And as long as cells are getting energy from the glucose, they won’t take care to use energy from the stored fat.

It is because too much glucose in the bloodstream is toxic.

So burning glucose will be the first priority of cells and the stored fat will remain untouched.

That is why intermittent fasting is important. Because it makes your body use energy directly from the fat. Most of the cells of our body can directly use fat for energy.

But if you spend most of the days eating 6-7 times a day without exercising then you will be out of shape.

Intermittent fasting will improve the ability of the body to use both glucose and fat efficiently.

This ability to switch between two main energy sources i.e, glucose and fat is called metabolic flexing.

If your cells are accustomed to burning fat when needed then intermittent fasting will increase your fat burning by forcing your body to rely on fat as its sole energy source.

So intermittent fasting if done in a proper way can turn your body into a fat-burning machine.

Research also shows that if you combine exercise and intermittent fasting, you will be better at burning fat anytime.

GO DEEPER – 11 super amazing benefits of dry fasting

How does intermittent fasting cause fat loss?

Intermittent fasting causes fat loss by lowering the insulin levels of your body.

When you wake up in the morning, your insulin levels are very low due to a long night of fasting. This makes the body use fat as its energy source. When you have your breakfast, your insulin levels increases.

If your breakfast consists of fats then fats will find their way to fat cells. They will stay there for many hours until insulin levels drop again.

If your breakfast consists of protein then your body will use that protein to build new muscles, skin or other organ tissues, etc.

If you eat carbs then glucose will be the main energy source of your body for the next one to four hours. It is the insulin that makes all this happen.

Insulin is the main hormone for energy use and storage. It clears the way of glucose to cells.

Insulin grabs the nutrients from the blood and stores them in fat cells. As you eat something your insulin level increases and after 6 hours it returns back to normal.

After the 6 hours, you go to the fasted state and your body starts using fat as its energy source. Then you can experience fat loss in the body.

But what we do is we just keep on eating all day in small amounts.

And that is wrong.

This is how intermittent fasting is useful for fat loss which is one of the main steps toward bodybuilding. Intermittent fasting of 24 hours is very praised.

That is what makes intermittent fasting for bodybuilders.

But if find it to be tough then you can also practice intermittent fasting of 12-16 hours.

So the fat loss is one of the benefits which makes intermittent fasting for bodybuilders.

2) Intermittent fasting increases the lean muscle mass

This is the second reason why intermittent fasting is good for bodybuilding.

Intermittent fasting can increase lean muscle mass by increasing the production of growth hormones.

What is Growth Hormone?

Growth hormone is a hormone that is responsible for the growth of muscles, bones, and the body’s overall growth.

It is very important for children for their normal growth. As age increases, the production of growth hormone decreases.

It is the growth hormone that breaks down the glycogen to release glucose into the bloodstream when energy is needed. Our muscle mass, bone density, and growth all are due to growth hormones.

Intermittent fasting increases the production of this growth hormone. Thus we can get leaner and stronger.

Many bodybuilders use artificial growth hormones to get leaner and more muscular. But artificial growth hormones can cause many health-related problems.

Intermittent fasting can do this naturally and also for free.

This is the benefit of intermittent fasting over the low-calorie weight loss diet.

You can notice that when you fast and skip a meal, your appetite is increased.

Why does this happen?

It happens because when you don’t eat for more time your body produces a hormone called ghrelin. It is also known as the hunger hormone to feel hungry.

The production of ghrelin also stimulates the production of growth hormones.

If your body has a sufficient amount of growth hormone, you can build your body easily.

This is what makes intermittent fasting for bodybuilders.

Read Our Gem: How to Get Iron Solid Stronger Bones

3) Intermittent fasting can increase the metabolism

It is the third reason why intermittent fasting should be practiced by bodybuilders.

An increment in the metabolism of your body is one of the best benefits of intermittent fasting over low-calorie weight-loss diets.

Here is the reason.

When you eat less or eat a low-calorie diet, you prevent your body from getting the energy it used to get from the food.

In reaction to this, your body uses less energy to perform the basic functions of the body such as absorbing micronutrients, maintaining body temperature, etc.

This happens until the body matches the energy coming and energy going.

Then if you decide to stop dieting and increase the amount of food, your body will consider it extra energy and don’t care to absorb it by lowering the metabolic rate.

And you start to gain your lost weight back.

Because your body takes time to understand that extra energy is available, it can speed up all the functions. By this time, you would have gained all the lost weight.

Well, this doesn’t happen in the case of intermittent fasting.

In intermittent fasting, you don’t send the message of low energy to the body. Instead, you send the message of no energy. It lets the body produce the energy from the stored fat and not by slowing down the other basic functions.

And before your body lowers the energy output and slows down its metabolism, you intake your regular food and satisfy your hunger. It puts the fear of energy shortage of the body to rest.

And there is no need to lower the metabolism.

So simple…!!!

During fasting, one hormone called adrenaline is produced which increases the metabolic rate.

Adrenaline is usually produced when you are under stress. It sends the glucose and fat from the storage into the bloodstream to provide you with more energy.

Well, fasting is also a type of mild stress to your body. So adrenaline is produced.

Depending upon the person and duration of the fast, adrenaline increases your energy levels.

That is what makes intermittent fasting for bodybuilders. Because many bodybuilders start to eat low-calorie foods to look leaner. And they end up lowering their metabolism.

This approach of fasting and eating normally has a very good impact on our bodies.

One of the best benefits of intermittent fasting is that it is free too. You don’t need to purchase costly supplements.

2. How to practice intermittent fasting for bodybuilders?

There are generally three patterns of practicing intermittent fasting for bodybuilders.

1) 16:8 pattern

In this pattern, you can eat for the 8 hours duration and can’t eat for the next 16 hours. Try to practice it even on weekends. You can consume water and black coffee during the 16 hours gap.

Don’t consume calories during this time period. Stick with this pattern for 6 weeks.

2) 5:2 pattern

In this pattern, pick two days on which you will only eat 25% of the calorie that you daily intake. Suppose you take 1000 calories on daily basis and then only consume 250 calories on these two days.

You can eat normally on the other 5 days. Then again consume 25% of calories.

3) Fast for 24 hours

In this pattern, take your normal dinner before a day of fasting. Then don’t eat anything for the next 24 hours. It is also called the one meal fast.

Check it out:

FAQs

1) Can bodybuilders practice intermittent fasting?

Of course, it also helps you grow the muscles faster.

2) How should I start intermittent fasting?

If you are a beginner then don’t go for prolonged fasts. Start with 12 hours then increase the duration up to 24 hours.

3) Does intermittent fasting help in bodybuilding?

As mentioned above, the answer is YES.

4) Can I drink water during intermittent fasting?

Yes.

5) Can I eat any low-calorie food during intermittent fasting?

No. You can consume water, black coffee, and green tea. Don’t eat any food.

Conclusion

Here we have discussed what makes intermittent fasting for bodybuilders.

In short, as a bodybuilder, you are supposed to increase muscle mass, lower fat, and increase metabolism.

We saw that intermittent fasting can help us with all these three. That’s why it is safe and one of the most effective ways of bodybuilding.

It is completely a myth that bodybuilders can’t fast. Intermittent fasting is the best fasting that any bodybuilder can do.

I hope you will get your answer in this article.

If you like this article, share it within your BODYBUILDING GROUP.

Thanks for reading…!!!

Intermittent Fasting for Bodybuilders – A Must Read Guide