this is a brief intro to intermittent fasting and the various types of fasts. visit my site http://ifstacking.com for more articles around this topic

1. INTRODUCTION TO INTERMITTENT FASTING

2.  According to Dr Amber Simmons
 Intermittent fasting is not a diet, but a diet schedule
that is purported to accelerate fat loss and muscle
growth compared to traditional eating schedules. It
is promoted primarily in the scientific community,
however, there are currently zero scientific studies
(as of February 2014) that have supported
intermittent fasting for gaining muscle while losing
fat

3.  Her statement can help newbies who squirm at the
thought of the word fasting, since the word itself
has some religious connotations to it. In simple
terms fasting is just consuming normally just at a
specific period of the day.

4.  Most people agree that eating at night just before
bed is not a good idea, so they have embraced the
idea of putting time constraints on their eating
window. We try to encourage them to decrease this
eating window and only consume at certain periods
of the day.That is intermittent fasting

5. TYPES OF INTERMITTENT FASTING

6. THE PERIODIC FAST
 The Periodic Fast is a fast for 24 h and is described
in an article by Dr. John Berardi. The fast can be
starting at any time of the day and can be done at
various frequencies, though usually not more than
1-2 times per week. This diet is also advocated by
Brad Pilon (“Eat Stop Eat”), where he recommends
a 24-h fast every 3-5 days for weight loss.

7. LEANGAINS
 The LeanGains method is a daily fast promoted by
Martin Berkhan, a Swedish personal trainer and
nutrition writer. In his method, fasting occurs for 16
h (ex. 10pm- 2pm), then food consumption occurs
in about 3 meals in an 8-h window every day.

8.  If a workout is performed that day, it is performed
immediately before the first meal to ensure a large,
high-protein post-workout meal. About 5-15 min
before the workout, Berkhan recommends taking
about 10 g branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) to
halt muscle protein breakdown during your workout
(those this practice is not scientifically supported).
This program also recommends eating
carbohydrates or fat as components of your
evening meals.

9.  On exercise days, meals should include protein,
vegetables, and carbohydrates; on non-exercise
days, meals should include protein, vegetables, and
fat.

10.  Anecdotally, males and females may respond
differently to the LeanGains diet; females may
respond better to a larger eating window, for
example 14 h of fasting rather than 16 h.

11.  Theoretically, an advantage to the LeanGains
approach could be that because the schedule is
followed daily, the body may more accurately learn
when to expect food. For example, if you always
eat at 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm, and 9:00 pm, appetite
hormones and metabolism may acclimate
accordingly. However, this has not yet been
scientifically evaluated.

12. THE WARRIOR DIET
 This diet schedule is another variation of the daily
fast and is one step more extreme than the
LeanGains diet. The Warrior Diet promotes a
single, healthy meal per day (typically dinner). It
claims that this pattern of eating is in sync with
humans’ circadian rhythm and will promote general
health while “removing harmful toxins from the
body”. To our knowledge, there is no scientific
evidence supporting these claims.

13.  In a study by Stote et al., participants of normal
weight consumed adequate energy to maintain
body weight in one meal per day or 3 meals per day
for 8 wks (Stote et al., 2007). Despite consumption
of the same number of calories, participants lost
weight during the 1 meal per day period vs. the 3
meal per day period. In fact, fat mass was
significantly reduced (p < 0.001) and lean body
mass tended to be greater (p = 0.06) after 8 wks of
1 meal per day.

14.  However, hunger steadily increased during the 8-
week study period with only 1 meal per day,
suggesting that appetite hormones did not
acclimate. Further research is needed to both
confirm these findings as well as assess changes in
body composition in athletes.

15. ALTERNATE DAY FASTING
 Alternate day fasting is when food is consumed for
24 h, then restricted for 24 h (water is available at
all times) for every 2-day cycle. This is the most
frequently used protocol for intermittent fasting
studies with mice and rats, though few studies of
this nature have been done in humans.

16.  Many animal studies looked primarily at the effects
of intermittent fasting on lifespan, with varying
results depending on the breed, the age of the
animal when fasting was initiated, if the animals
were exercised, and other factors (Longo &
Mattson, 2014).

17. OTHER VARIATIONS
 There are many variations of intermittent fasting
regimens since it is not yet known which (if any)
fasting protocols are best for the desired outcome.

18.  The eat stop eat diet is a poplar alternate day
fasting regimen

19.  Intermiitent fasting is a practice from thousands of
years ago and can be beneficial to the body. If you
are have a problem starting then I recommend that
you include bulletproof coffee as a meal
replacement for when you feel hungry.

20.  Visit my blog to read more articles on intermittent
fasting and the lchf diet