Benefits of Training in a Fasted State

This has to be the most important thing you must remember in the goal to shed that unwanted body-fat, or at least give yourself the best chance to use fat from your adipose tissue (fat cells) as fuel. There have been several times in my life when i have been extremely lean and on all of those occasions i would be training in a near fasted state, and when i say “near-fasted” I mean a protein shake and 5 grams of glutamine would have been all that i consumed because i believed this was necessary to prevent muscle loss. I now know differently and understand that it takes your body to be in a state of fasting for longer that 48 hours for the muscle to be used for energy.  I guess the sports nutrition companies don’t want us to know this, otherwise we would not dish out our hard-earned cash so readily.

As you no i have been following intermittent fasting for fat loss for the past 8 weeks now and the only thing that i consume during the fasts is water, tea, coffee and BCAAs (Branched Chained Amino Acids) before and after i train, and honestly i have noticed fat loss, yes, but NO muscle loss.  As i mentioned before, i will train in a fasted state having sometimes extended the fast to 18 – 20 hours and then train before i am even thinking about food, and yet this goes against everything we our taught in terms of muscle building, preserving muscle tissue.  Brad pilon made a very interesting point, take a guy with a with a cast on his broken leg, who is still consuming 200 + grams of protein a day, yet through all his efforts his leg muscles in the cast still waste away.  Why is this, surely he is getting sufficient amounts of protein (and total calories)? Well, through non-activity the muscles in question are simply not being used so the body has no need to preserve this muscle tissue.  Remember the body is more intelligent than we take it for, so if your body “feels” there is a reason to hold onto that hard earned muscle i.e. if you are challenging yourself in the gym and actually lifting some weights, then under no circumstances will it let go of the muscle mass as it needs it for the challenges and stresses of training.

We know why your body won’t burn off muscle but why is training in a fasted so good at burning fat?  Well simple really, remembering that you need that hard earned muscle mass for the activity at hand and your glycogen stores are depleted from fasting, the next form of energy is fatty acids released from your fat cells for fuel.  The key point in intermittent fasting is low insulin levels, and other optimal hormonal conditions, allows your body to utilise fat for fuel.  Some may say “but i need my breakfast before i train”, but this is only a state of mind because if you do have breakfast before you train and spike your insulin levels then you have lost the ability to utilise fat for fuel and your efforts have gone to waste, you would have been better to spend the extra time in bed.

I have found no difference in training in a fasted state with regards to energy, actually i have made several personal bests after 18 – 20 hour fasts, and shed more body fat without having to perform  the extra cardio which is not a favourite activity of mine.  I now keep my cardio to short bursts of High Intensity Interval Training which can accelerate fat loss even further.

I think it’s about time we started to think outside the box and try a different approach, don’t be afraid to break from the norm especially when society dictates that “this is what you should do”. The most influential people are those who stray from the normal path and make their own way.

Benefits of Short Term Fasting

1. Rests and reduces the workload on your digestive system
2. Allows the body time to cleanse and detox from harmful chemicals
3. Reduces the amount of free radicals, by reducing the number of meals consumed
4. Promotes mental clarity and focus
5. Fasting allow your body to soley rely on fats and sugars for fuel
6. Maximises the body’s ability to partition macro nutrients more effectively
7. Fasting has been shown to help your body heal.
8. Suppresses insulin levels allowing fat mobilisation to occur.
9. Fasting increases human growth hormone levels.

I intend to continue my experiment with intermittent fasting to see where it leads, but to date i have very much enjoyed the experience and would highly recommend trying it for yourself. I can even go so far to say that i have had more personal bests in the last 8 weeks since i can remember and, all my training is done completely fasted.

If you do decide to give intermittent fasting a go or to at least train in a completely fasted state, let me know how you get on.  You may need to tweak certain elements to fit in with your daily routine.  Also, feel free to send in pictures of your progress for the blog and i will post them.

I hope you find this article helpful in your long-term approach to fat loss.

Andrew