I try to go 3 - 4 'fasting' days in a row, then take a day off. So, ideally 4 on, 1 off, then start over. I don't always make it the 4 days though. If I have a chance to go to lunch with the wife and kids, I don't pass it up, or sometimes, I just get HUNGRY, like truly, mouth watering hungry. I've only been doing this for a few months, so still working out the kinks. I believe in fasting for it's health benefits as well, but I don't think I could ever do the multi day water fasts, so this works as an alternative. I find when working out on fasting days, I have more energy and have better work outs. BTW, I don't recommend this routine to anyone, and there are many medical people who would say this is not good, but it works for me.
I am tall and lanky (long legs), and nothing fills one out better than muscle. And one does not need fat burners or any other short-term crutches to get ultra lean, so one can see not just rectus, but also external obliques. Getting lean permanently requires making it a key part of one's lifestyle, all year round. If one wants to burn MONEY, then, yes, the fat burners one can find today on the shelves of GNC and Vitamin Shoppe are definitely effective.
Intermittent fasting is a credible way to lose weight without losing muscle, DESPITE the fact that Herschel Walker endorses/endorsed it. Walker had talent, but was a flake extraordinaire (at least when he was with Minnesota). Research indicates that Muslim athletes do quite OK during Ramadan. Bottom line is that when IF helps cut down cravings so one does not overeat and yet has enough for the body to rebuild after a workout, then, yes, it works. If IF ends up only making one ravenously hungry so one ends up eating way too many calories, then, no, it does not work. If one eats the same number of calories over 1-2 meals or over 6-8 it really does not matter (like splitting a stock). In the end, if energy consumed is greater than energy expended, then the body's stores of energy will increase.
Don't let that fool you. I worked in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for 3 years in the '90s, and I can tell you some of the folks there even gained weight during Ramadan. They'd gorge themselves between sundown and sunrise, and be sleepy at their desks during the abbreviated business hours. It was not a great time to get things done. Not everyone was like this, of course, but enough people for it to be noticeable. Just saying.
This was one of things I was curious about when starting this. I did a lot of reading and I read in a few places that natural HGH levels increase beginning at 12 hours of fasting, and even more so at 20, so that's where the benefit is. In my personal experience, I'm sure I regularly consume at least 3000 calories within my four hour feeding window (but I don't count) and lose weight. Before, I would shoot for 1500 calories per day eating throughout the day, and had hit a weight loss plateau. I've heard from other people eating this way on various internet forums who had the same story. This is all I want to say on this, because I don't want to sound like I am endorsing this lifestyle. I am not a doctor and have not talked to a doctor about this (I try to stay away from ol' sawbones), so this could be killing me for all I know, but I feel better, and I like it.
IF will only work if you are fat-adapted, which by consuming 3k cal and losing weight you were. Also its not about energy expenditures over the course of a day, its about what is your body using for fuel at the moment. IF is good because you are more then likely to have at some point depleted your glucose stores and are now tapping into your body fat. So if at the moment you are in a deficit and you are fat-adapted then you will burn body fat rather then burn muscle, lower body temp, decreasing overall energy, brain fog, etc...
Creatine monohydrate. Little mention or discussion of it. It enhances muscle growth, aids fat loss, side effects include increased self-confidence, focus, memory, and intelligence. Almost impossible to get from a normal diet unless you eat half a cow per day. I'll let others ellaborate.
Nah, I'm not a fan. I had tried it a number of years ago for a few months. I recall gaining some weight, and I thought I was on to something. If I understand correctly, the muscles retain more water, so it's not like regular water retention, and this is supposed to help make you a bit stronger. Being a bit stronger, you're supposed to be able to train harder, which should translate to incremental muscle growth. (Correct me if I'm wrong here, I don't pretend to know much of the science behind these things.) Aside from gaining some weight, I don't recall any significant strength gains. Perhaps there were some, but since it was a number of years ago, I don't recall it very well, so I surmise it wasn't all that significant. (Otherwise it would have been memorable, eh?) When I decided to stop taking it, I eventually lost all the additional weight I initially gained from it. So I was essentially where I started before I began supplementing with it. Pfft. Here's my concern. People who are already on fairly high protein diets are stressing their kidneys (and liver) more so than those who consume a more moderate amount of protein. The creatine dosages are something like almost 100 times the normal levels you would otherwise have in your body, adding that much more stress to the kidneys. And some of you guys take all kinds of other supplements as well, as identified in this thread, adding to the cumulative strain on the body. I suppose a healthy body can take it, but that's not where I want to go. I'm doing this for health and longevity and have no interest in playing chicken with my innards. In an environment of uncertainty, I prefer to leave a large margin for error. Evidently, some of you guys are much more familiar with, and knowledgeable about, all this stuff, so you can play it closer to the line. Again, that's not why I'm here.
these gents know what they're talking about. plus its a good entertainment <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wmYz1tBFmHU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>