# Intermittent Fasting



## Phantastic79 (Apr 5, 2017)

So me and the wifey have been intermittent fasting(OMAD) during the weekday. It's fantastic we both lost a decent amount of weight and we both feel great. But more importantly you get more time out of your day and you feel awesome. I just wake up and go and I work through lunch without having to stop. Anyways I can go on and on about intermittent fasting but I discovered something recently that I thought was really cool. I had heard that fasting can increase your testosterone levels. I went to my doctor recently and I was at almost 700. I got this tested back in 2012 and 2015 and I was in the 500 range. Now I'm not a doctor and I'm sure diet exercise age and all of that affects your testosterone levels but to my knowledge testosterone usually decreases as you get older. I'm almost 40 now and I feel fantastic. I don't know if the diet has affected my testosterone levels or the fact that I ride 1000% more today than I did 10 years ago but I just wanted to share that. 

I've also been going on rides while fasting on the weekends. I'll wake up Saturday morning put some ice in my CamelBak and fill it with water and just go. I usually bring a power bar or a bag of peanuts just in case. But I've never needed to use them. And I can go on a 20-mile ride without having eaten anything and I'll feel just fine. But I did have to work my way up to getting used to fasting. 

Again I'm not a doctor and everyone's body is different I'm not suggesting you should go and start fasting and ride your bike or that you'll get higher testosterone levels.

Has anyone else tried this?


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## rwitte (Apr 6, 2004)

Big fan here...got serious about it early in the year. Along with other diet changes (not quite keto probably, but definitely much lower carbs, breads/pastas especially) weight is down with LESS exercise over most of the spring/early summer. Also was experiencing a lot of unexplained pain, in my hands especially, and some other issues that have been alleviated. I suspect that part is mostly the other diet changes though. I do 3-4 days a week, average probably 18 hours, but once a week try to go closer to 24. It's actually easy if I'm up and busy, harder sitting at a desk all day. I up my hydration with a salt/No Salt (potassium) solution. Now that I'm finally back to riding more, regularly doing so during the fast. Haven't tested/compared testosterone levels specifically, but longer fasts are known to boost production of growth hormone for sure. I don't want to make it a new religion, but I'm a believer in it and don't see it ever not being part of my life.


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## Phantastic79 (Apr 5, 2017)

rwitte said:


> Big fan here...got serious about it early in the year. Along with other diet changes (not quite keto probably, but definitely much lower carbs, breads/pastas especially) weight is down with LESS exercise over most of the spring/early summer. Also was experiencing a lot of unexplained pain, in my hands especially, and some other issues that have been alleviated. I suspect that part is mostly the other diet changes though. I do 3-4 days a week, average probably 18 hours, but once a week try to go closer to 24. It's actually easy if I'm up and busy, harder sitting at a desk all day. I up my hydration with a salt/No Salt (potassium) solution. Now that I'm finally back to riding more, regularly doing so during the fast. Haven't tested/compared testosterone levels specifically, but longer fasts are known to boost production of growth hormone for sure. I don't want to make it a new religion, but I'm a believer in it and don't see it ever not being part of my life.


I don't think I'm going back. It's so much more productive for me. And when I do eat I can sorta eat whatever. Seared wagyu and lobster? Sure I have seconds and a side of burnt pork belly ends. Mmmmm...

Another obvious but unexpected benefit is the daily $$$ savings from not having to eat lunch.

It's awesome!


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## Jake January (Sep 12, 2014)

Phantastic79 said:


> So me and the wifey have been intermittent fasting(OMAD) during the weekday. It's fantastic we both lost a decent amount of weight and we both feel great. But more importantly you get more time out of your day and you feel awesome. I just wake up and go and I work through lunch without having to stop. Anyways I can go on and on about intermittent fasting but I discovered something recently that I thought was really cool. I had heard that fasting can increase your testosterone levels. I went to my doctor recently and I was at almost 700. I got this tested back in 2012 and 2015 and I was in the 500 range. Now I'm not a doctor and I'm sure diet exercise age and all of that affects your testosterone levels but to my knowledge testosterone usually decreases as you get older. I'm almost 40 now and I feel fantastic. I don't know if the diet has affected my testosterone levels or the fact that I ride 1000% more today than I did 10 years ago but I just wanted to share that.
> 
> I've also been going on rides while fasting on the weekends. I'll wake up Saturday morning put some ice in my CamelBak and fill it with water and just go. I usually bring a power bar or a bag of peanuts just in case. But I've never needed to use them. And I can go on a 20-mile ride without having eaten anything and I'll feel just fine. But I did have to work my way up to getting used to fasting.
> 
> ...


Yes the intermittent fasting is a super health tool.
It is ancient wisdom and truth which goes back thousands of years..
Buddhist monks generally follow a 18-20 hour a day fasting routine...

In fact your body is your own doctor and produces it's own medicine.
For profit western medicine would rather you don't know or practice the ancient health techniques. They rely on your dependence and slavery to the butchery and deadly poisonous medicines.

If you wanna go into the subject further and consider what only advanced Yoga and Omad practitioners discuss; read John W. Armstrong 'Water of Life', for starters. (there are other good books too.)
Also bear in mind these practices go completely against most of our deep seated social and cultural conditioning. (ie. we've been lied to about our bodies nearly our entire lives)
There are a number of private groups, should you wanna do more research..
Cheers!


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## Bills (Jun 13, 2009)

I have been doing the fasting (16/8) for about a month now. Have found that my early morning fasted gym workouts are really not affected, actually surprised me that I felt just as strong as before.

Fasted MTB rides have not gone quite as well, but I’m working up on them. I seem to get weak if I am pushing myself after 4-5 miles with any elevation. The local trails where I am currently are roughly 6 miles and I have not tried a second lap while fasted yet. This weekend I am hoping to get a couple days with multiple laps. I seem to be tired after the one lap, then 10 minutes later when I’m driving away, I feel like I could go around again. May just have to take a short break between laps, but it will get figured out


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## drwx (Jun 4, 2011)

I've also been doing IF since around christmas. I dropped a lot of weight the first couple of months (20 ish pounds) and then dropped another 15 slowly and have been plateaued at 35-40 pounds of weight lost for 2-3 months. I have another 30 or so to lose to hit my goal. i'd be ecstatic to drop another 15. I'm riding 100-200 miles of trail every month as well. I've tried riding while fasting, but that turns out awful on trails. It's fine for road rides to an extent.


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## Phantastic79 (Apr 5, 2017)

Jake January said:


> Yes the intermittent fasting is a super health tool.
> It is ancient wisdom and truth which goes back thousands of years..
> Buddhist monks generally follow a 18-20 hour a day fasting routine...
> 
> ...


Thanks. I totally agree this goes against everything I have ever learned about health and nutrition. Where did we get the idea that if you dont eat your body will start consuming it's own muscles. I'm sure this will happen but it will take far longer than most people think.


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## Phantastic79 (Apr 5, 2017)

drwx said:


> I've also been doing IF since around christmas. I dropped a lot of weight the first couple of months (20 ish pounds) and then dropped another 15 slowly and have been plateaued at 35-40 pounds of weight lost for 2-3 months. I have another 30 or so to lose to hit my goal. i'd be ecstatic to drop another 15. I'm riding 100-200 miles of trail every month as well. I've tried riding while fasting, but that turns out awful on trails. It's fine for road rides to an extent.


What happens to you when you ride fasted? Do you get cramps, get dizzy, feel weak? It does not seem to affect me at all. But then again maybe I have not gone far enough. Max for me was about 17 miles fasted at Demo and I felt great.


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## drwx (Jun 4, 2011)

Phantastic79 said:


> What happens to you when you ride fasted? Do you get cramps, get dizzy, feel weak? It does not seem to affect me at all. But then again maybe I have not gone far enough. Max for me was about 17 miles fasted at Demo and I felt great.


I get weak and dizzy. It might not be an issue if it were cooler outside. I feel like I lack energy about 5 miles in, especially on really technical trails.


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## Phantastic79 (Apr 5, 2017)

drwx said:


> I get weak and dizzy. It might not be an issue if it were cooler outside. I feel like I lack energy about 5 miles in, especially on really technical trails.


I was afraid this would happen to me as well. So I would bring some power bars and some peanuts or beef jerky with me but I've never had to use them.


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## plummet (Jul 8, 2005)

I'm not sold on intermittent fasting. Particularly if you don't improve your diet. Basically you are over eating then starving yourself to compensate for the over eating. Don't overeat to begin with!


What i do is a small daily fast. I simply hold out on breakfast till mid-morning, eat lunch and late as practical, that means by the time you get to dinner your not too hungry you eat less for dinner. Then its about 14 hours till you next eat. 


You need to back it up with a healthy diet that not put weight on without the fasting.


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## drwx (Jun 4, 2011)

I skip breakfast, eat lunch at noon, and try to eat dinner between 5 and 7pm. I usually do 2 morning cups of coffee with minimal cream and sugar. I tried doing black coffee but I just can't do it. Everyone that drinks black coffee likes to brag that they do, but whatever..I like a little cream and sugar.


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## rwitte (Apr 6, 2004)

plummet said:


> I'm not sold on intermittent fasting. Particularly if you don't improve your diet. Basically you are over eating then starving yourself to compensate for the over eating. Don't overeat to begin with!


This is an assumption that doesn't necessarily hold true. I have actually found the opposite. Not only do I not over eat to compensate for a fast, but I find I eat less than I would have without the fasting. Improving one's diet is probably never a bad thing, of course.

I love riding fasted. Still sorting things out there, but I almost feel worse if I ride having had calories. In my head? Wouldn't rule it out certainly. Did 3 hour, 30+ miles on my Stache SS Saturday in the heat. I don't feel extra fast, but I'm not sure I've ever been fast. I do feel very "in the zone," incredibly steady, very sharp on the bike in the tech stuff. This was my longest fasted ride, and the legs were finally starting to hurt pretty good the last few miles. Happening into a few friends who then picked up the pace from where I had been riding had a lot to do with that. I also mix a salt-potassium water solution instead of plain water to help keep salts and electrolytes up. Maybe that helps.


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## Phantastic79 (Apr 5, 2017)

plummet said:


> I'm not sold on intermittent fasting. Particularly if you don't improve your diet. Basically you are over eating then starving yourself to compensate for the over eating. Don't overeat to begin with!
> 
> What i do is a small daily fast. I simply hold out on breakfast till mid-morning, eat lunch and late as practical, that means by the time you get to dinner your not too hungry you eat less for dinner. Then its about 14 hours till you next eat.
> 
> You need to back it up with a healthy diet that not put weight on without the fasting.


Yes I totally Agree. If you are fasting and break your fast with a Plate full of bacon, 7 big macs, and a milkshake this is probably not good for you.

Eating in a healthy smart way is the best choice whether you are fasting or not.


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## tim208 (Apr 23, 2010)

how many hours are you fasting or is it days?

thanks


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## Bills (Jun 13, 2009)

rwitte said:


> This is an assumption that doesn't necessarily hold true. I have actually found the opposite. Not only do I not over eat to compensate for a fast, but I find I eat less than I would have without the fasting. Improving one's diet is probably never a bad thing, of course.


I have found the same thing holds true, when fasting I am not as hungry in general and have not felt any desire to binge in my eating window.


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## Phantastic79 (Apr 5, 2017)

tim208 said:


> how many hours are you fasting or is it days?
> 
> thanks


Nowadays we just intermittent fast during the weekday. So we skip breakfast and lunch and only have dinner. Weekends are mostly a free for all and we eat whatever. This is actually mainly because of social pressure not because we are starving. There are endless birthday parties, graduations and various celebrations as wells as sunday Brunches and Dim sum with the homies.

I'll do a 24/48 hour fast every month or two as an exercise in discipline, not for weight loss purposes and the most i've gone so far was 96 hours. But I only broke it because of social pressures. I could only say no so many times.

Went to lunch with coworker who I hadn't seen for a long time and almost broke fast, but it turned out he was OK with just a coffee lunch.

Went from 185 -> 175 -> 162ish today. Its just my normal routine now. Just get up and go, don't worry about food or getting hungry, feeling hangry, lightheaded or generally weak. None of that BS affects me anymore and is awesome! I still drink coffee, probably because I'm addicted to caffeine but whatever. Amazingly even when I smoke weed it doesn't make me hungry either.


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## tim208 (Apr 23, 2010)

thanks


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## drwx (Jun 4, 2011)

i'm usually doing 16/8, 18/6 or 20/4. that's fasting hours/eating hours. it's really simple to get into 16/8. skip breakfast, eat lunch at noon, eat dinner before 8PM. it's slightly harder but still manageable to get 18/6... skip breakfast, eat lunch at 1, eat dinner before 7. the only days that i really do 20/4 is when i've had an issue at work and my lunch is delayed. i do this 7 days a week with the exception being weekend ride days. i always eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before rides and take snacks with me.


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## Bills (Jun 13, 2009)

Question for those of you who have been doing this for a long while. What do you drink prior to your eating window? Is it all water, or are you drinking other zero calorie drinks, such as vitamin waters, or similar?

Had another newb ask me (still a newb)about it and I really thought it was a calorie thing...


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## Mark K (Jul 4, 2018)

Bills said:


> Question for those of you who have been doing this for a long while. What do you drink prior to your eating window? Is it all water, or are you drinking other zero calorie drinks, such as vitamin waters, or similar?
> 
> Had another newb ask me (still a newb)about it and I really thought it was a calorie thing...


Black coffee, green tea, and plenty of water. The general idea is you don't want your drinks to contain any calories. Also, when eating around the clock we get a fair amount of water in the food that we eat. So, when fasting you should consume more water than you normally would to make up for the deficit.

On weeks that I'm at work I usually do two 24 hr fasts per week, separated by at least 2 days. On non-work weeks I use 16/8.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## OzarkFathom (Jul 2, 2019)

Non-work day, modified Keto coffee ( 16 OZ aero pressed strong black w/ two heaping tablespoons of stick whipped cream with a bit of vanilla added, no sugar, no sweetener) 
for breakfast. Meat and veg stir fry around 4 pm. Water all day.
Works for me, YMMV......


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## Phantastic79 (Apr 5, 2017)

Bills said:


> Question for those of you who have been doing this for a long while. What do you drink prior to your eating window? Is it all water, or are you drinking other zero calorie drinks, such as vitamin waters, or similar?
> 
> Had another newb ask me (still a newb)about it and I really thought it was a calorie thing...


I just drink water and Coffee. Occasionally I cheat and have some cream and Splenda. But mostly water and black hole coffee.


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

Bills said:


> Fasted MTB rides have not gone quite as well, but I'm working up on them. I seem to get weak if I am pushing myself after 4-5 miles with any elevation. The local trails where I am currently are roughly 6 miles and I have not tried a second lap while fasted yet. This weekend I am hoping to get a couple days with multiple laps. I seem to be tired after the one lap, then 10 minutes later when I'm driving away, I feel like I could go around again. May just have to take a short break between laps, but it will get figured out





drwx said:


> I've tried riding while fasting, but that turns out awful on trails. It's fine for road rides to an extent.


Below a certain intensity level, about 70-75% of max HR, your body can fuel itself entirely on your stored bodyfat. As intensity ramps up more and more of your energy needs to come from carbs. If you've been IF-ing on a low-carb diet your glycogen stores are probably depleted and you're not going to feel great at higher intensities. High(er)-carb IF you can be OK, but everyone is different.

70-75% of max HR is pretty easy. On a MTB it can be difficult to maintain if the trail is steep and/or technical; at a certain point it simply becomes impossible to go slow enough to keep your HR below that threshold. Much easier to do on a road bike or on foot.



plummet said:


> I'm not sold on intermittent fasting. Particularly if you don't improve your diet. Basically you are over eating then starving yourself to compensate for the over eating. Don't overeat to begin with!


Studies don't really back this up. People who skip breakfast don't typically eat back all those calories later in the day. Some of them, but not all. In alternate-day fasting studies (no food every other day, ad libitum eating the other days) people typically eat only about 10-20% more on the eat days.

Obviously, there's no downside to a healthy whole-food based diet and healthy diet+IF is probably the best. One thing IF does fantastically well is drop your insulin way down. Google up on the relationship between insulin and something call hormone-sensitive lipase, or HSL.



plummet said:


> What i do is a small daily fast. I simply hold out on breakfast till mid-morning, eat lunch and late as practical, that means by the time you get to dinner your not too hungry you eat less for dinner. Then its about 14 hours till you next eat.


That is IF, man!


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

Mobyke said:


> Non-work day, modified Keto coffee ( 16 OZ aero pressed strong black w/ two heaping tablespoons of stick whipped cream with a bit of vanilla added, no sugar, no sweetener)
> for breakfast. Meat and veg stir fry around 4 pm. Water all day.
> Works for me, YMMV......


I assume you're making two separate 8oz cups of Aeropress? I wish there was an XL version of the Aeropress.


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## OzarkFathom (Jul 2, 2019)

I use 2 scoops fine grind, stir, press slowly, then add the rest of the water. “Americano” I believe it is called. I do it in a large glass root beer style mug....


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## tubbnation (Jul 6, 2015)

Phantastic79 said:


> Amazingly even when I smoke weed it doesn't make me hungry either.


Fasting can decrease appetite, but, damn, I wouldn't want my hunger hormone cranked down so much that I don't get the munchies after smoking some ganja!


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## Shredmonkey (Jan 24, 2013)

Been doing IF going on about three years now. Wrote a post here on it a little while back. Basically I have a cup or two of black coffee in the morning and after that pretty much stick to water until chow time. Last I checked it was still unclear wether certain zero calorie drinks with artificial sweeteners or even too much caffeine can possibly trigger glycolysis, so it would probably be best to just play it safe if you want the full benefits of IF. 
As far as riding fasted goes it has had no noticeable effect on my energy levels. My cardio has always been my weak link on my rides which normally consist of 2-3+ hours and 2k-3k feet of vertical. I’ve done a couple 4-5 hour epics fasted, again with no noticeable energy deficit but obviously end up accordingly tired. I will say my battle has always been with cramping (even before IF) which I’ve finally seem to have under control with hourly pinches of deep sea salt and I’ve adapted to drinking a lot less water so as not to further dilute the salt in my system.


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## Oleg (Jun 20, 2017)

Hi,

dos anybody IF and Keto diet?


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## GlazedHam (Jan 14, 2004)

Oleg said:


> Hi,
> 
> dos anybody IF and Keto diet?


I'm mostly doing "Keto Fast" with the goal of riding fast and living long ...good looking corpse is probably off the table. KF is habituallized for me, so obviously employ other tactics as well. Although --at 170lbs--I'm heavier by 5 lbs, I'm leaner than I was in my teens. Some people say, "It's less about what you eat and more about when you eat."


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## BlackCanoeDog (Jul 26, 2003)

*Eat, Stop, Eat*

I have been doing the intermittent fasting for some time. I find it's a good way to gradually loose a bit of weight in a relatively painless way. I follow the method in the e-book "Eat, Stop Eat" which is available free I believe, I got it from my son who introduced me to intermittent fasting. The idea is to fast 20-22 hrs, longer is not beneficial.
Essentially 2 days/week I only eat dinner, skipping breakfast and lunch. Rest of the week I eat a normal diet, not restricted for anything. Benefit of this is you do not feel deprived. I wasn't heavy to begin with, I am 5' 9" and my weight was beginning to creep up north of 165 lb, which starts to not look great on my frame. Age is a factor as I'm 67, and as you get older metabolism slows and you gain weight easily if not careful. So for me it's a method to control weight rather than loose a ton! I can maintain 160 - 162 lb easily this way without a struggle, and have been down to between 155- 160 lb on this plan if I'm rigorously following it.
As someone posted previously, it's easier on days that you know you will be rather busy as it keeps the mind off food. Also better if you will be out and have no access to the fridge LOL!!! It's Mondays and Thursdays for me.


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