I’m just getting back from a fun-filled Memorial Day weekend in San Diego with a bunch of my fitness buddies like Braig Callantynez, Vinny D, The Truth, and Dr. K.
We had a blast exploring the famous San Diego Zoo, catching some rays on Mission Beach, and of course eating our share of delicious holiday weekend food.
And today I’m fasting.
No, not to “make up” for my weekend indulgence, but rather because I know that strategically placed fasting can lead to faster fat loss when done correctly.
Here are my two favorite strategic methods:
1. The Post-cheat Fast: This is my favorite version of strategic fasting and the version I’m currently employing today. Why? Because when you use it you can lose up 2 lbs of pure fat in ONE day.
Tony-the-Tiger awesome (I know he says GRRRRREAT, but awesome is better).
You see, after a Cheat Day your body is in an optimal fat burning state with important body fat regulating hormones like leptin and T3/T4 at their peak. In other words, there is no other day in which your body is primed to burn MORE fat than on this day.
And that’s why the Post-cheat Fast works so well – it creates a massive calorie deficit on a day in which your body WANTS to release fat.
To perform it, consume only non-calorie liquids from when you wake up until you wake up the next morning. Essentially, it’s 36 hour fast. For example, if fasting on Monday you only consume non-calorie liquids until breakfast on Tuesday.
Want to lose even more fat on a Post-cheat Fast Day? Throw in lots of activity and strategically timed exercise.
This is exactly what we do in my Xtreme Fat Loss Diet program and one of the reasons the program yields such rapid results.
2. The 24-hour fast: The 24-hour fast, as it’s name suggests, is when you fast for a 24 hour period. It is more or less the equivalent of eating only one meal.
For example, after dinner on Tuesday you fast until dinner on Wedneday (24 hour period). Your dinner on Wednesday would then be approximately the same size (or slightly larger) than your “normal” dinner.
This method, when used 1 – 3 times a week, allows you to create a greater weekly caloric deficit by incorporating several very managable low calorie days each week.
I recommend placing higher carboydrate days in between 24 hour fasts to spike important metabolism-regulating hormones. This will allow you to get the most out of each 24-hour fast.
Again, strategic fast days are one of the pillars of my Xtreme Fat Loss Diet program. If you’re interested in losing up to 25 lbs in 25 days, check it out here:
==> http://XtremeFatLossDiet.com
Do YOU use fast days? If so, what has your experience been? Respond below! At least 100 comments and I’ll be back w/ ANOTHER killer blog this week.
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
What about muscle loss?….
I found it a huge struggle to fast all day; I made it for 24 hours after my cheat day but it made me feel sick! By non-calorie drinks does this only mean water? I’m not sure of any others besides diet soft drinks which are terrible for you anyway :\
Would using a Thermogenic during the fast be recommended? Is it more effective in burning fat?
I’m on day 4 of my first 5-day cycle in the 25 day Xtreme Fat Loss Diet, so I’ve completed my first fast day, and although at the end of the first fast day I was tired, today I woke up with A LOT more energy than I’ve had in a long time. It’s going great so far, and I can’t wait to measure in on day 6 to record my first cycle results!
Also, I was wondering…on the XFLD can you eat free veggies on the fast day? Or does that defeat the whole point of the fast? Just curious…
@ Joel Marion:
Joel I must be seeing things….its day four Moderate Carb day, I must say It was awesome to eat food again and not just shakes, though I found it exceptionally difficult to put 120 grams of Carbs together for one meal..”Whoa there cowboy” thank goodness for Waxy Maize, 40g a scoop. Anyway…..
Today is Thursday and I lost 5.5 pounds since tuesday….omg…Im sure a bit of that is depleted glycogen and I am thinking water, but I have been drinking water like a horse for the past 4 days. Is this program really that effective?
I’m a nurse and work 12-14 hr shifts and just started XLFD this week. I worked on my fast day and had no trouble with energy levels. I had the same concerns. But when I felt hunger pains I just drank water. Made it through a long 14.5 hr day with no lags in energy! Wish you the best! @ Eric:
Thanks, Sue, Lorraine, T, and Kylie. I suppose everyone has a slightly different response to the fasting. I’m sure it will become a little easier with time, Sue. Good luck tomorrow! And if Lorraine can do it as a physical therapist, I should be able to manage it at my desk job!
Eric
Cyprus
@ Joel Marion:
Hi Joel, well thanks for an answer, though it doesn’t help me understand the beer/calories question. Firstly may I say that I’m not trying to endorse or excuse/allow consumption of any amounts of alcohol, small or large .
I wrote-
Beer. That’s calorie free. It’s 96% water. It has ‘virtual’ calories that will add weght/fat to your body when eating because it replaces the actual calories from the food. You put on weight/fat from the food. NOT FROM THE BEER The beer is NUTRIENT FREE. It contains no discernible fats, carbs or proteins. So from the pov of weight gain/fat loss, would it be okay to drink beer on your fast day then?
You wrote:-
You have a very misunderstood understanding of beer. There is nothing “calorie free” about it.
Okay let me re-phrase. Beer carries a calorific value of between 140 & 180. But isn’t this a virtual calorie? My understanding is that beer carries no discernible nutrient value. They are the oft quoted ’empty calories’. Beer, in itself, does not add fat to your body. It doesn’t contain fat, or carbs or protein. It is virtually water (96%). How beer adds fat or enables your body to store fat is thhat it adds to the number of calories you’ve consumed that day (quite exponentially) and that you gain or store fat from what are now the excess calories you’ve consumed from the food, which does contain fats, carbs & proteins. Beer adds fat to your body in an indirect manner. I think I’m also correct in saying that beer breaks down protein and prevents/hinders the absorption of protein. So if you workout Friday afternoon. Consume a protein drink after and a protein/carb packed meal after,that if you then go out for the evening and drink pints of beer that will negate the extra protein you took in earlier. So a largely pointless exercise. But I digress.
Working on my understandings, it seemed a logical conclusion that if beer only adds/stores fat indirectly from the other calories gained from foods, that if on a fast day you haven’t gained any calories from food, you can’t add/store fat from the ’empty calories’ gained from the beer. You can’t make something from nothing. And beer in itself, is nothing, empty, nutrient free.
I’m not disputing anything you’re saying, and I fully understand that beer does not aid muscle building or fat reduction, for reasons I’ve given above, but this is a complex issue and I’m sure that many people would like to understand the ‘alcohol question’ better, and if you or anyone else in the fitness industry known to you, and I’m not sure who that is? Maybe, Jeff Anderson, Lee Hayward? Could really nail this subject, I’m sure there would be a lot of very grateful people including myself.
If someone just drank beer and ate virtually nothing at all, ignoring other side effects like dehydration, would they get fat? And why? I don’t think they would. In fact I’d go as far to say that they would lose weight where the body would cannabalise the muscle and fat stores for energy. Look at your average homeless person. So, if you’re on a fast day, would drinking alcohol on that day, even if you consumed 5000 calories worth, put fat on your body? The logic tells me it wouldn’t.
Hi Joel
When would you implement the 1-3 fast days in the 5 day cycles of the extreme diet since there is already a fast day after the cheat day?
Thanks.
@ Joel Marion:
Hi Joel and thanks. You’ve now brought the ‘hormone factor’ into the equation and that was something I’d overlooked. Beer increases the oestrogen levels or female hormones, hence ‘man boobs’ etc. I wasn’t looking for an excuse to drink beer in any amounts on fast day, but I wanted to know if or why not. I suppose the safest advice is “don’t drink beer at all, ever” and perhaps you don’t. Lee Hayward doesn’t. But the vast majority of us do. I once gave it up for 4 months and without making any other dietary changes apart from my normal healthy eating, high protein diet I lost 1 1/2″ off my waist. I don’t have any fat anywhere else so I’m unaware of losing any other fat. But I hated it. It was a miserable four months. I was pleased I’d got my waist size down but it didn’t compensate for the misery and effect it had on my social life. Then as soon as I went back to drinking it went straight back on. In less than the four months it took to lose. Much less. Less than four weeks! And it wasn’t excessive drinking. A glass of wine at night and a couple of pints twice a week when I wouldn’t have the wine. That doesn’t seem fair? SO its going to be a Chicken Tikka Massalla & 3 pints on cheat day then! :-)
Hi, I am at the end of my first 5 day cycle (protein depletion day) and I was wondering if there was any other way of taking BCAA’s without having to take a bunch of pill form BCAA’s? Taking pills is hard for me and makes me feel sick everytime I take them. Is there possibly a very low-calorie BCAA powder that I can just mix with water? Even if it tastes disgusting I still rather take them then the pills.
Thanks
Would it work the same, or what’s the difference between having bcaa’s or having a pure source of low calorie protein like whey on fasting days?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...read more