Low Carb vs. Intermittent Fasting -- or both?

[Todd Becker]

my vegetarian IF experiment failed miserably. After about 3 weeks, my body got very weak and caught the 1st cold I have had in 5 years. Felt good for the 1st 2 weeks due to amount of carbs (I guess) I was eating. training 20 hours a week eating just grass fed beef and fat just wasnt cutting it for me either. I have found a better combo. I am back to eating somewhat low carb (grass fed beef and wild caught salmon, cocounut oil, grass fed butter and green leaf veges) but have increased my intake of Japenese yams, sweet potatoes or even russets if I have too. I have even included white rice too, as long as I get at least 500 calories of safe starches (perfect health diet) per day. This has really helped. My work schedule has changed that my workout schedule to that where I lift weights for 15 minutes a day Monday thru Friday early in the morning and evenings I run trails about 7 miles a day. Weekends are 30 to 40 on Saturday and Sunday 20 miles. I will see how this goes for the next few months.

aspen2cody,

Interesting report.  I'd be interested to know your thoughts as to WHY your vegetarian IF experiment did not work.  Can you be more specific in listing the particular "vegetarian" foods you ate?  It seems like you are back to a mostly "paleo" diet, with not old wild meats and fish, but more traditional carbohydrates as well.   Do you think the problem with your experiment was too much of something bad or not enough of something good?

[aspen2cody]

Todd,

I  felt really good for about 2 to 3 weeks while adding back lots of carbs, beans, Ezekiel bread, brown rice and raw milk plus I would have a couple of chocolate wheat muffins every night. Also, It looked as if my body fat was dropping  too. my muscles seemed more full and my abs were quite visible. Remember I only weigh about 150lbs and I am back to my old training routine of lifting weights 5 days a week and running around 70 miles a week. I can only guess that I was depriving myself of carbs or I was really depleted from all the training I was doing. After fasting all day and eating all these carbs I also felt very satisfied.  But after about these 3 weeks my skin started breaking out bad and I felt very sluggish. Then I caught a nasty cold, which is very unusual for me. So I went back to eating grass fed beef, grass fed butter, coconut oil, lots of greens but I have now started including some carbs such as japanese yams and sweet potatoes. This has all been done while fasting. It also has been done to enhance performance in my endurance efforts. I will say this, if I dont exercise what I have been doing most of my life I dont do very well eating a high fat diet/low carb diet. I know lots of folks brag about not exercising and eating this way and maintaining low body fat, it seems that for me to stay around 10 to 12% body fat I must exercise a lot. I will continue to experiment on myself as report my findings as I will continue the IF. Next on the agenda will be to try BCAA after my weight training in the mornings.

[Todd Becker]

Todd,

I  felt really good for about 2 to 3 weeks while adding back lots of carbs, beans, Ezekiel bread, brown rice and raw milk plus I would have a couple of chocolate wheat muffins every night. Also, It looked as if my body fat was dropping  too. my muscles seemed more full and my abs were quite visible. Remember I only weigh about 150lbs and I am back to my old training routine of lifting weights 5 days a week and running around 70 miles a week. I can only guess that I was depriving myself of carbs or I was really depleted from all the training I was doing. After fasting all day and eating all these carbs I also felt very satisfied.  But after about these 3 weeks my skin started breaking out bad and I felt very sluggish. Then I caught a nasty cold, which is very unusual for me. So I went back to eating grass fed beef, grass fed butter, coconut oil, lots of greens but I have now started including some carbs such as japanese yams and sweet potatoes. This has all been done while fasting. It also has been done to enhance performance in my endurance efforts. I will say this, if I dont exercise what I have been doing most of my life I dont do very well eating a high fat diet/low carb diet. I know lots of folks brag about not exercising and eating this way and maintaining low body fat, it seems that for me to stay around 10 to 12% body fat I must exercise a lot. I will continue to experiment on myself as report my findings as I will continue the IF. Next on the agenda will be to try BCAA after my weight training in the mornings.

aspen2cody,

It sounds like the high carb diet was leaving you deficient in certain macros and/or micros--perhaps essential fats and fat soluble vitamins--that the grass feed beef, butter, coconut oil and greens resupplied.  I'll be interested in your BCAA experiment, but I'm wondering why you couldn't get those naturally from whole foods.

My other concern is that for a person who is already as lean as you are you seem to be exercising to a degree that some would consider excessive or unnecessary, unless you are a professional athlete:  70 miles per week plus 5 days/week of weight training.  What about allowing for more rest and recovery during the week?  Or if you need the exercise, trying more of an interval approach, alternating more intensive sessions (hard sprints and intense weight lifting) with 2-3 days off between sessions?