I did a side by side comparison of these back pictures with the ones from my guest post on the Suppversity Student Spotlight and the results are amazing!
Even though people had said I looked like gained muscle during my transformation, I wasn't fully convinced whether I did or not as I know it is nearly impossible to do so while on a caloric deficit.
However, after comparing these two pictures, it definitely looks like I have gained muscle and lost fat at the same time!
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| Increased muscle and fat loss with intermittent fasting!...with of course heavy weight training! |
Even though I weigh less, my back looks wider, thicker, and has more cuts and detail in it. My biceps and shoulders look bigger as well!
Being that I weighed less yet am bigger and more "ripped", this is evidence that simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss occurred!
After seeing these pictures, I am now convinced that there's something amazing going on with the intermittent fasting combined with my training routine and nutrition protocol!
14 comments:
Duong,
I am doing something very similar to you on your cut cycle Leangains and Anabolic Diet. My questions is did you count calories or your macros during your 12 week transformation? Second what was your starting BF% if you don't mind me asking. Also did you find that cheating once every two weeks more beneficial than once a week like the Anabolic Diet recommends since you were training less (meaning does volume of exercise matter when a level of glycogen depletion is needed for effectiveness) I ask that question because I am training 2x per week using a combination of Wendler 5/3/1 and High Intensity Training so overall volume per week is very low but high intensity.
Thanks for your help
Hey Daron, I didn't necessarily count calories or macros during my transformation period as I had cut before and I had a pretty good idea already what my calorie and macros already were...I typically eat the same things everyday.
I would probably say the calories ranged anywhere from 1200-1700 calories per day. As far macros, I stayed from direct carbs aside from a little bit of fruit.
The cheats every 2 weeks worked well for me because I would stay very strict and then literally pig out on anything I wanted. This interval of cheat days seemed to work well for me while I was higher in fat.
Now though, since my body fat is lower I have increased the cheat days to every week (I've read that the lower body fat you get, the more carbs your body can intake without negative effects)...although the cheats won't be nearly as big as they were when they were every 2 weeks.
Good luck with your IF'ing :)
This is the "feed the muscle, starve the fat protocol"; the protein-feeding I called "half-fasted" on SHR guarantees that you keep your muscles and even have some additional fuel to kickstart your workouts; in that case BCAAs and leucine in particular are particularly valuable, because they feed your muscles while the rest of your body is supported with fat-derived energy from your liver (the liver just metabolizes the fat from the stores, of course)... now after your workouts you have achieved what no fucked up nutrition partitioner (do never buy those products) can achieve - you have SELECTiVELY increased insulin and nutrient sensitivity in your muscles so that all your food intake in the refeeding window will go to where you want it - the result can be observed in the photo Duong posted, I think it is clearly discernable that he gained some muscle at the insertion of the lat to the thorax - it also looks like the whole upper back was more muscular, but that is pretty difficult to tell, because each gram of fat you lose will create that illusion... a pros pos. Stirations on the lower back tell me that you are approaching the magic <7% body fat region. Congrats!
btw. I answered your question on the Ab-roll-out by updating the post > http://suppversity.blogspot.com/2011/07/suppversity-emg-series-rectus-abdominis.html
Hey Duong,
Great blog and a great story. I just have a question around the protein shakes. I'm around 15% body fat now with the goal to cut that in half. So far I've leaned out some eating mostly veggies, meat, fermented dairy and fat (paleo I guess). I train 2-3 days a week primarily in gymnastics and bodyweight movements. When I have whey shakes, I tend to get very tired afterwards from what may be a large insulin spike. Did you ever have this feeling? Do you think it would make sense to only have the shakes on the days that I work out? I have followed Martin for a long time but I've never been able to commit to and follow his outline long enough. It's good to see yet another person have such great results on his basic template. Thanks -Mark
Just subscribing, thanks.
Hey Mark!
I know Martin doesn't recommend protein shakes and suggest people to just eat real food.
I personally like the tastes of protein shakes (especially Myofusion Banana, its my favorite!) and its also just a more convenient way of reaching my protein goals.
I've never experienced what you are experiencing with whey shakes. I don't believe that a protein shake would cause such a large insulin spike but if you feel that way then it may be possible.
Perhaps as an alternative, maybe you can just use the BCAA's pre and intra workout?
Hey Duong
Thanks for your response. I like shakes too because most of time it is just so much more convenient. Starting today I'm going to add IF'ing in a similar way that you did. I already eat low carb (but I do allow some higher carb meals once or twice a week) so it will just be a slight adjustment. Right now I'm around 15% body fat. If I can get results anywhere close to what you saw I'd be thrilled. Unfortunately I can only train 2-3 times a week, but I don't think that should make a huge difference. Thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated to get perspective from a person that has actually gone through it. I'll keep you updated on my progress. -Mark
No problem Mark. I'm excited to hear about your progress!
I also wanted to say thanks to Dr. Andro for explaining how this losing fat/gaining muscle thing could be possible on a caloric deficit :)
That's for sure. For example his explanation that cortisol is needed and good for fat loss during the fast was very helpful. As I'm looking to make some good progress in the next two months, his reassurance is great.
Off-topic, I know you're weighing in around 165 lb now, but how tall are you? Just curious for reference. I'm 6'0" and about 194 currently at ~15% body fat, so I may be looking at about 17 lbs to lose to get to 7%.
I have no idea on my bodyfat percentages but I should be receiving some calipers soon. I am only 5'6"
Duong,
Are you still doing the bi-weekly refeed days, or is it more of a weekly thing now? Also, do you count your calories on those days and do you eat during the 4-6 hour window or all day?
I've been doing the bi-weekly refeed days and consuming about 200-300g of carbs during my 4-6 hour window, but I think I still keep it right within 1200-1700 calories. It's been working, but I feel like I need to eat more on these days...any thoughts??
Thanks!
Hi Charles,
I am currently doing the weekly cheat/refeeds since I am leaner now and my body is able to handle and utilize the carbs better.
I still keep the short feeding window but do not count calories on these days.
On my cheats I did not track and calories or macros although I would estimate I was intaking around 5 -6,000 calories on those days.
For the refeeds though, I did try to keep fats very low and probably ate around 800-1000 grams of carbs.
Were your cheat/refeed days on workout days? And also, I read that you fasted the whole day after cheat days and I was wondering if you were talking about these controlled weekly/bi-weekly cheat/refeed days. So if you have weekly refeed days, do you fast for the whole day the next day? Thanks and I love all the great info on your site.
Thanks for the compliments!
Most of the time, yes, I would try to schedule my cheat days to be on a lifting day.
If I felt my cheat was really bad, then I would fast the entire day the next day.
For my cleaner "refeeds" though, I would not fast the entire day and just go back to intermittent fasting the next day.
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