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IIFYM works....PERIOD

macgyver

macgyver

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Nov 24, 2011
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I know many have heard me say over and over about the power of IIFYM. There are still those stuck to their old bro-lore Ezical bread and chicken breast ideas.

I figured I would start a thread just for the general passers-by to remind them that dieting does not have to live on rice cakes.

I am currently the leanest I have ever been and staying here easily. I have been eating an IF protocol, with IIFYM. Tonight is a higher carb night.

I stopped and picked up a variety of my favorite carbs on the way home from getting my son from soccer.

I normally stick to frozen yogurt for the lower fat aspect (when I am just going for the carbs) but I ate a lighter fat day so I went for the peanutbutter cup and then had 2 Italian ices.

Not trying to be a dic, but there are still guys who dont believe that you can eat like this. Well....you can. Been practicing IIFYM for almost 10 years now. (IF protocol only this past year).

uTfzqbc.jpg
 
Mike_RN

Mike_RN

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Troof. I practice IIFYM and IF. First meal is post workout around 1pm last meal is 11pm. Anything goes as long as my fast is 14 hrs or more. My post workout meal for the last year has been:

2 packs of Ramen
3/4 cup egg whites
4oz of steak or shrimp
 
Lizard King

Lizard King

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Troof. I practice IIFYM and IF. First meal is post workout around 1pm last meal is 11pm. Anything goes as long as my fast is 14 hrs or more. My post workout meal for the last year has been:

2 packs of Ramen
3/4 cup egg whites
4oz of steak or shrimp
Do you mix that all together or eat them separately? Do you leave the salt packs out of the Ramen or leave them in?

Thinking that would make an awesome soup though, reminds me of the noodle bar in the Asian room in the Claridge in AC back in the day. I used to get pork chop Ramen soup at like 2am, nom nom nom
 
FlyingDragon

FlyingDragon

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The Fasting Cure Is No Fad
New research is showing the profound benefits—for weight, longevity and fighting disease—of eating only during limited hours


B3-EQ167_FASTIN_LS_20190731175907.jpg

ILLUSTRATION: GWENDA KACZOR
By
Andreas Michalsen
Aug. 1, 2019 12:21 pm ET

Fasting is one of the biggest weight-loss trends to arise in recent years. Endorsed by A-list celebrities and the subject of a spate of best-selling books, it was the eighth most-Googled diet in America in 2018.
But fasting shouldn’t be dismissed as just another fad. At the Charité University Hospital in Berlin, I’ve employed what’s called intermittent fasting, or time-restricted eating, to help patients with an array of chronic conditions. These include diabetes, high blood pressure, rheumatism and bowel diseases, as well as pain syndromes such as migraines and osteoarthritis.
There are different ways to go about it, but I advise patients to omit either dinner or breakfast, so that they don’t ingest any food for at least 14 hours at a stretch. That makes lunch the most important meal of the day. It also reduces the time spent each day processing food and lengthens the period devoted to cleansing and restoring the body’s cells, both of which have positive health effects.
Adopting this technique is not as difficult as it may seem. If you sleep from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., you’ve already fasted for eight hours. Now you only need another six. It’s healthy to avoid eating late in the evening to let your body burn energy from food rather than store it, so if you eat dinner by 7 p.m., that’s another four hours. For breakfast, you can limit yourself to coffee or tea (maybe with a small piece of fruit) and make lunch your first proper meal. By that time, you’re clearly beyond the 14 hours and don’t need to restrain yourself: You can eat until you are full.
Scientific evidence for the glory of breakfast is scarce. Instead, we should skip it and eat lunch like kings.
The biologist Satchidananda Panda at California’s Salk Institute showed the possibilities of this approach in a 2012 report in the journal Cell Metabolism. He fed a group of mice a high-fat diet around the clock for 18 weeks; they developed fatty livers, pancreatic disease and diabetes. Another group was fed the exact same number of calories a day, but all during an eight-hour span. Surprisingly, the second group stayed slimmer and healthier for much longer.
There is a logic to it. When we eat, our body releases insulin. That disrupts the process of autophagy (from the Greek, meaning “self-devouring”), by which cells deconstruct old, damaged components in order to release energy and build new molecules. Autophagy helps to counteract the aging of cells and builds immunity. Fasts stimulate autophagy and allow the full molecular process to take place, as a team led by Frank Madeo at the University of Graz in Austria found in 2017.

Fasting also can contribute to brain health and happiness. The neurobiologist Mark Mattson, who retired this year from the National Institutes of Health, has demonstrated in experiments for two decades that nerve growth factors contribute significantly to brain health and positive mood. He also found that fasting, restricting calories and exercising spur distinct increases in the best-known nerve growth factor, BDNF.
MORE ESSAYS

Test animals in Dr. Mattson’s laboratory that fasted intermittently even showed a significantly lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s, though those results would have to be clearly confirmed in large human studies to reach any firm conclusion.

All of this presents a question: If we should generally eat only two meals a day, which meal is it best to skip? Many of us have heard the saying: “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and supper like a pauper.” Scientific evidence for the glory of breakfast is scarce, however, and realistically, it’s easier to sustain skipping breakfast than skipping dinner.
Instead of breakfast, we should eat lunch like kings. A rich lunch beats a robust dinner. A U.K.-led study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2016 showed that among 69 women, those who consumed most of their calories at lunch shed 3.3 pounds more in 12 weeks than those who ate a bigger dinner. After all, it’s around lunchtime that the body requires the greatest amount of energy for keeping its body temperature up. Less energy thus passes into our fat reserves.
Fasting overcomes an instinctive need in a way that gives us physical and mental strength.
Researchers are increasingly probing the optimal timing of meals, duration of fasting and the various potential health effects. Scientists at the University of Padua have found, for instance, that young, healthy athletes fasting for 16 hours benefited from metabolic changes over eight weeks compared with their peers. The regimen lowered the levels of inflammatory factors in their blood and factors accelerating the aging process, including insulin.
Fasting might even be effective in preventing the recurrence of cancer, as suggested by initial results of an epidemiological study conducted by researchers at the University of California at San Diego, published in 2016 in the journal JAMA Oncology. Among 2,400 women with early-stage breast cancer who provided information on their eating rhythm, roughly 400 suffered from new tumors within seven years. But women who fasted for 13 hours nightly had 26% less risk of recurrence than the control group. One possible reason was suggested in data summarized last year from a decade of animal experiments by Valter Longo and a team at the University of Southern California: Cancer cells are less able than normal cells to survive a lack of sugar.
As a practice, fasting is more than simply restricting calories or nutrients. For many people, it is also a spiritual experience. Over the course of our lives, we encounter many kinds of deficiency, whether of money, success or affection. Fasting is a conscious renunciation, a controlled exercise in deprivation. That’s why successful fasting increases self-efficacy—we overcome an instinctive need in a way that gives us physical and mental strength. In his novel “Siddhartha,” Hermann Hesse describes this wonderfully: “Nothing is performed by demons; there are no demons. Anyone can perform magic. Anyone can reach his goals if he can think, if he can wait, if he can fast.”
—Dr. Michalsen is a professor at Berlin’s Charité University Medical Center. This essay is adapted from his new book, “The Nature Cure: A Doctor’s Guide to the Science of Natural Medicine,” which Viking will publish on Aug. 6.
 
The other Snake

The other Snake

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IIFIYM (If It Fits In Your Mouth) is the best bulking out there. As for the fitting my macros, I like it if you're macro are right. IF, no way! If I'm trying to do more then just lose weight, IF is not for me. End game for me is more muscle and less fat. If all I wanted to do is lose 20 lbs, I could that by chopping an arm off.
 
Mike_RN

Mike_RN

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Do you mix that all together or eat them separately? Do you leave the salt packs out of the Ramen or leave them in?

Thinking that would make an awesome soup though, reminds me of the noodle bar in the Asian room in the Claridge in AC back in the day. I used to get pork chop Ramen soup at like 2am, nom nom nom
I fry up the steak (chip steak or sirloin) then make the egg whites like and omelet. Toss it all together in big bowl with the ramen and 1 to 1.5packs of seasoning and enough broth to cover it all.

Just like the noodle houses and yes it’s damn good. I eat a moderately high sodium diet without any issues so the seasoning packs don’t bother my BP.
 
macgyver

macgyver

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Nov 24, 2011
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Cool to see I am not alone in this one. I was beginning to feel that not a lot of guys were receptive to the IIFYM thing over here. I have a few gray hairs as well, and when I first got introduced to the idea 10 years ago, I was thinking there is no way this works. I too grew up in the bro-lore ages (pre-internet) Muscle media 2000, Arnold Enclopedia...etc.

I still run into guys that refuse to believe this. I do the best I can to spread the word, but it still falls on deaf ears from time to time.


make the egg whites like and omelet. Toss it all together in big bowl with the ramen and 1 to 1.5packs of seasoning and enough broth to cover it all.

I actually was using ramens for a while for my go-to quick carb grab to round out some meals. I would ditch the flavor packet though. I use "Better than bullion" concentrated beef or chicken stock. Good stuff!

Better-Than-Bouillon-Premium-Roasted-Chicken-Base-098308002024.jpg



If I have any worries about sodium, I balance it out with "no salt" Potassium chloride I have found can allow me some pretty high salt intakes without associated bloats if I balance with no-salt. If I ever go really far off on sodium, I will mix 1-2 grams of no-salt in some water w/ some grape drink flavoring and chug it. It is pretty amazing how it can balance out sodium intake.
 
BrotherIron

BrotherIron

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Troof. I practice IIFYM and IF. First meal is post workout around 1pm last meal is 11pm. Anything goes as long as my fast is 14 hrs or more.

I know I've getting a bit off track but I did want to ask... Do you find it difficult to concentrate during fasting? Meaning are you able to focus while following IF?

I feel hazy and light headed when I try fasting. Now, I didn't know 14hours would be considered a fast. I know that sounds dumb but I thought it had to be 18hr minimum. Perhaps I'll give it a try again at some point. I'm just concerned with my studies since they're not easy. MikeRN has a good idea since his field of study is very similar to what I'm studying. Are you as sharp during the fast? Do you feel like you're brain/mind is firing on all cylinders?
 
macgyver

macgyver

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Nov 24, 2011
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didn't know 14hours would be considered a fast. I know that sounds dumb but I thought it had to be 18hr minimum. Perhaps I'll give it a try again at some point. I'm just concerned with my studies since they're not easy. MikeRN has a good idea since his field of study is very similar to what I'm studying. Are you as sharp during the fast? Do you feel like you're brain/mind is firing on all cylinders?

I am not @Mike_RN but I will share my answer.

I do very technical work which requires lots of problem-solving and concentration all day long. I have no trouble concentrating, maybe actually better concentration since I am not feeling like I need to eat all the time.

There was an adjustment period initially but for me it was my new 'normal' in less than a week. Going back and fourth, I dont think would work for me and set me back. After the first 3 days, ,my food cravings early in the am went away.

I am not strict about the fasting period. I dont get all bent out of shape about a specific 'window'. That said, I try to not eat lunch till 2pm-ish. And my last 'meal' (which is usually supplemental protein and fiber before bed comes at about 10:30 pm So my 'fasting period' is generally 15-16 hr. Some days a little less, others more.

I DO have some minimal cals in the AM in my coffee. I use a MCT powder as a creamer in my coffee. (does not impact blood sugar and only about 10 cals per cup, so I just roll with it) . I used to use a splash of milk, but figured the MCT would be 'better', but there was nothing wrong with the dash of milk either....
 
Mike_RN

Mike_RN

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Pretty much covered it. I’m in PACU (recovery room) but worked in a very busy ER for 10yrs prior. Aside from being a little slow during a few adjustment weeks, Inrun high speed and less foggy faster than I did when I ate a big breakfast.

I do half and half with a teaspoon of raw brown sugar in my coffee 20oz every morning. I’m not trying to stay in Ketosis per se, so the little bit of calories isn’t enough to make a difference in the benefits of fasting.
 
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