Hectic Schedule & Intermittent Fasting
Adapt to what life throws your way and believe in yourself!
There has been A LOT of talk in recent years about the benefits of intermittent fasting. For body builders used to eating at set intervals, the thought of going for a prolonged period of time without food can seem daunting! Trust me, unless I’m dialing down for stage, I NEED and LOVE all my food. But recently, my usually in control schedule, has exploded into a colourful array of chaos.
Running multiple businesses and juggling home life, sees my schedule challenging at the best of times, but coming back from a major injury has seen my lifestyle change even more so. I love experimenting with new methodologies and finding new ways to work within my limitations. I am always researching and trying different things. So my current crazy schedule and lifestyle presented the perfect opportunity for me to try Intermittent Fasting.
There are loads of options out there for intermittent fasting. I’ve opted for the 16/8 protocol. 16 hours fasting, with an 8 hour meal window. I’ve also dropped my calories slightly due to a reduction in exercise capacity and cut my meals back from six to four, with a lower fat and carbohydrate split.
Why intermittent fasting?
Aside from Intermittent Fasting fitting nicely into my current lifestyle and schedule, I am attracted to the major health benefits that research suggests can be gained from intermittent fasting. These include:
improved metabolic efficiency and increase insulin sensitivity levels;
reduction in oxidative stress and greater mitochondrial energy efficiency; and
Increased cellular capacity to resist stress, disease and aging.
For me, I’ve found intermittent fasting has allowed me to reduce my overall body fat, maintain muscle mass and continue to make progress toward achieving my training goals, while maintaining an incredibly busy lifestyle. I’m taking baby steps but everyone of them is in the right direction – forward!
Importance of good supplementation
While I am finding intermittent fasting is allowing me to continue to achieve results, my supplement regime during this period has also been incredibly important, and must really form part of any intermittent fasting protocol whether its 5:2, 16/8 or eat-stop-eat.
I’ve found using Green Fusion in the morning gives me that vitamin boost and reduces acidity, and combining it with an amino acid like Leucine helps to prevent muscle catabolization.
Training fasted can also be a challenge when fasting and using Pump FX has given me the boost I need to get through my morning workouts. I’ve been getting great results with Pump FX particularly when combined with ZMA to aid recovery and increase sleep quality.
The wrap
Whether you achieve results or not is up to you. We’re all presented with situations in life that don’t allow for us to maintain our usual routine. Some will use this as an excuse, but I choose to find ways to continually plan for my results. For the time being intermittent fasting combined with the right supplements has been a great way for me to continue to achieve results while working through challenging times without giving up on my dreams. Anything is achievable if you are willing to work hard for it, adapt to what life throws your way and believe in yourself!
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