Keep Your Muscles, But Lose the Fat

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard that fasting (or commonly referred to as starving by the uneducated) will cause you to lose your muscle mass. Every time someone asks me how I stay in good shape they think I’m lying when I say intermittent fasting is a major weapon in my overall health and fitness plan.

What? Come on man… you’re supposed to eat to get muscle, protein with every meal, 17 meals a day…

OK, I exaggerated that last one a little but you get the point. Fasting and the fear of losing your hard-earned muscle seems to be one of the most prevalent myths out there and it’s time to get to the bottom of it.

[Raise your hand if you've posed for a picture doing the double bicep shot? Of course we have:)]

Use it or lose it sister…

Intermittent fasting reduces your caloric intake but does not result in a loss of your hard-earned muscle if you follow this one golden rule: You have to be involved in some sort of regular resistance training program like strength training, body weight exercises, resistance bands, whatever.

If your pushing, pulling, lifting or holding then your on the right track. NOTE: Speaking of tracks: Can’t you hear “pushing, pulling, lifting, holding” as a catchy sequel to Kayne West/Daft Punk remix of “Stronger” in the near future? Seemed like a great idea until I typed it…

The hospital patient argument

The common comparison fasting naysayers cling to when arguing the above statement is that of hospital patients and the amount of weight some people lose when they stay at a hospital for more then a couple of days. But little does one know about the existing medical conditions of people staying in the hospital, their length of stay, or what type of diet they have been prescribed. In many cases, they are put on low-calorie diets and confined to bed rest. From a basic biological standpoint then yes – absolutely – muscle will be broken down to fuel basic bodily functions because the body is just so damn amazing.

But if your not confined to a hospital or struggling for basic human needs in a third world country, there is a simple way to preserve your precious muscles while effectively burning fat: 1-2 intermittent fasting periods per week combined with resistance exercises with my personal preference being weight training.

This research doesn’t lie

In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers from West Virginia conducted a study of men and women undertaking a very low calorie diet. Even with a 12 week long diet consisting of only 800 calories and 80 grams of protein per day, they were able to maintain their muscle mass as long as they were exercising with weights three times per week.

In one of my all-time favorite studies, researchers from Queens University had men restrict their caloric intake by eating 1,000 calories less per day than they normally ate for 16 weeks. They took part in a weight training program 3 days a week and were able to maintain all their muscle mass while losing over 20 pounds of body fat!

I’ll repeat that again:

eat less + resistance exercise = same muscle and less fat.

My experience with fasting and muscles

As long as you are using your muscles, they will not waste away during short periods of dieting. From my own personal fasting and training experience, and in talking with athletes like Vince DelMonte, undergoing periods of low calorie diets while continuing a resistance training program can produce some amazing results. Hell, some of my best workouts have been completed during a fasting period and it’s something I plan to cover in more detail in future fat loss tips.

So if you’ve contemplated intermittent fasting but shied away from it because someone told you that your precious muscles would shrink, think again! Author Brad Pilon is an expert on fasting for fat loss while keeping your rock-hard muscles and has dedicated an entire book called Eat Stop Eat to this practice with even more research studies to boot. He does a great job in explaining the why, what, when, and how’s of fasting so that you to can lose fat but keep your muscles!