Intermittent Fasting: Leangains

Leangains is a method of Intermittent Fasting pioneered by Swedish nutritionist Martin Berkhan. It was put together based on his scientific research on fat-loss, muscle building, his own experimentation and the actual experience of working with hundreds of clients over many years

The diet recommends that you  forget about your usual breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacking routine. You are now going to change your lifestyle to reflect two phases of your day. The first is the fasting phase. For men its is recommended to fast for 16 hours and women, 14 hours each day. the remaining hours are your feeding window. While you are fasting, you will not be consuming any calories at all. Black coffee is permitted with calorie free sweeteners. (I take full advantage of this!) So too are diet drinks and sugar free gum. Some persons have said that chewing gum helps with curbing hunger and cravings however I've found that chewing gum makes me hungry so I don't do it anymore.

Determining your fasting and feeding times will be based mostly on your lifestyle, for me it is easiest to fast through the night and the work day. I eat my first meal around 2-4pm. he schedule is of course adaptable to your lifestyle but the important thing is to maintain a consistent feeding window time. If you don't hormones in the body can get thrown off and make it more difficult to stick to the program. I have first-hand observed that eating early one day messed me up for subsequent days until I got used to the timing again. It felt like I was starting the process all over and my body had to go through the periods of feeling hungry and the cravings all over again.

What you chose to eat and when you eat it during your feeding window are somewhat dependent on when you workout. if your workout is at the beginning of your feed you might want to try exercising fasted. If you feel like you cant get through the workout without food then you should eat something light, a fruit or fruit juice just so you have some active sugars to get your workout started. I've found that I don't need a lot of carbs pre-workout. The average person does not consume sufficient protein everyday. Your protein needs will differ based on your fitness goals, gender, and age. A person interested in bodybuilding will require larger quantities of protein than someone who is just trying to get toned. You should always eat whole and unprocessed foods. If you find you don't have the time or the stomach for large quantities of meat, protein bars and shakes are acceptable. For me carbs are evil. My body is perfectly happy to live off fats and proteins. Thus far on workout days I’m able to get going with minimal carb consumption. Perhaps this will change later on as the weights get heavier.

Benefits: On most days meal frequency is irrelevant. You can basically eat whenever you want within your feeding window. Most people find that breaking up feeding into their breakfast/lunch/dinner 3 meal split works well and fashioning what they eat to match the typical breakfast, lunch or dinner meal. Personally I prefer two big meals and maybe one smaller one.

Here are a few guidelines taken from the Leangains website.

• On workout days, break the fast with meat, veggies and a fruit. If you’re planning to train shortly after this meal, add a few carbs in the form of a starch source – potatoes or whole grain bread, for example. Make it a medium sized meal and don’t stuff yourself. Train within 3 hrs of having eaten this meal and have a much larger meal after your workout; in this meal, add more complex carbs – and you may even have one of your favourite treats as dessert, if it’s not too high in fat and if eaten in moderation. Good examples of what I refer to as ‘treats’: low fat ice cream, sorbet or JC’s cheesecake. Bad example: Chinese buffet or your son’s birthday cake. You get the point, keep it within moderation and don’t pig out.

• On rest days, eat less calories than on workout days - do this by cutting down on carb intake, and make meat, fibrous veggies and fruit the foundation of your diet for this day. The first meal of the day should be the largest, in contrast to workout days where the post-workout meal is the largest. Largest doesn’t necessarily mean largest in terms of volume; I suggest getting at least 40% of your calorie intake in this meal, and the dominant macronutrient should be protein. I’ll have some clients eating upwards to 100 g protein in this meal, so don’t be afraid to pile on the meat (or whichever protein source you prefer). Fattier meat and fish like ground beef and salmon are examples of some excellent protein sources that may be consumed on rest days.

• In the last meal of the day, include a slow digesting protein source; preferably egg protein, cottage cheese (or any other source of casein based protein). Meat or fish is also ok if you add veggies or supplement with fiber. This meal will keep you full during the fast and exert an anti-catabolic effect on muscle protein stores by ensuring that your body has an ample supply of amino acids until the next meal.

• Whole and unprocessed foods should always take priority over processed or liquid foods, unless circumstance demands a compromise. For example, you might find yourself in situations when there is little time to eat or prepare foods – in such a situation, having a protein shake or meal replacement bar is ok, where as solid, more satiating foods should be consumed whenever there is ample time to cook.