Can I just put up a picture of myself here to answer this question?? I kid, I kid! But remember, I’ve been an intermittent faster for going 18 years now. The question I get asked by people- particularly men is Will intermittent fasting cause muscle loss?. The Guys fear that all of their hard work lifting heavy things will go to waste. Let me set your mind at ease!
Let me start by sharing this quote from Dr. Jason Fung, “Muscle is about exercise, and fat is about diet.” People really try to interchange this fact and you just can’t. You are going to either lose muscle or gain muscle from the exercises you do, or don’t do. And you simply cannot eat your way to more muscle. But how does that answer the question Will Intermittent fasting cause muscle loss?.
Of course you have supplement companies that LOAD their products with ungodly amounts of protein because if you consume your bodyweight in protein…you’ll put Arnold Schwarzenegger to shame, right?! This not only isn’t true but too much protein is also bad for your health. Again, these companies put profit over the people…take what they say with a grain of salt. Those muscle bound men get paid to say it’s this protein and that creatine that got them swole…simply not true!
Now I have shared with you in the past the amazing benefits intermittent fasting has on increasing your human growth hormone (HGH). Well, HGH protects muscle tissue. This is why we don’t lose muscle while sleeping (when HGH can be at it’s highest). We also don’t lose it while exercising. Again, HGH increases significantly when we exercise. AND HGH is also elevated during fasting (because of it’s direct relationship to insulin…when insulin is low, HGH is higher). So in answer to Will Intermittent fasting cause muscle loss – the answer is no! HGH will help protect your muscle tissue.
Think about this though. Our bodies store fat for the sole purpose of it being used for energy when fuel isn’t coming in via food. Why on Earth would it break down muscle tissue before this fat when the fat was put there to be used as fuel? Now that’s just common sense!
If you want to lose weight, eat clean food…not too much…not too often. If you want to gain muscle, go lift heavy stuff in the gym but please refrain from moaning and groaning (nobody likes that! 😉 )
Conclusion: Will Intermittent Fasting cause muscle loss?