Intermittent Fasting & Protein Requirements to Prevent Muscle Loss

You need more protein when fasting to prevent muscle loss, studies find.

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-----------------------------------------Show Notes--------------------------------------

0:00 Intro
0:04 Increasing protein while fasting
0:12 Muscle loss with fasting
0:22 TRF and muscle loss
1:06 65% of weight lost was muscle
1:29 Pros and cons of low insulin
2:07 Higher protein when fasting
2:15 Books to Read
3:30 Fasting through the lens of muscle
4:13 Resistance training when fasting
4:35 Protein goals when fasting
5:00 Anabolic resistance and fasting
5:50 Calorie deficits and fasting
6:08 Concluding Remarks

[fritz]

2 lbs of beef, 3-4 eggs, some block cheddar, full fat yogurt or cottage cheese with some organic berries, avocado. 71 yrs old -6'1" 189 lbs weight train, fast about 14-15 hrs. I'm good.

[stevebyrne]

Thanks Mike, great video and very helpful! I am 65 years old doing IF for 7 years and carnivore for most of the past 4 years. Did well I think even without lifting weights but been lifting weights for nearly a year now and my body has really transformed. I never ate enough protein since early adulthood so I never developed much muscle. Now my muscles are better than I have ever experienced. And I often do 65 hour water fasts without any drop in strength or appearance of muscle. I do eat above 1.6g/kg. I really learn from your content, keep it up!

[anonymoussource]

This is sound advice.👍

I started “dirty” Keto and intermittent fasting last year after finding out I had a mild fatty liver (NAFLD). The good news was it took only one month of Keto and I.F. before my fatty liver issue was resolved. I also lost 15 pounds in that one month period and achieved ideal weight. The bad news was my arms became skinny as hell. So after that, I went “Ketovore” and I prioritized protein into my diet. I now do steak and eggs and calisthenics on a daily basis and my health is better than ever.

[pouyanhatami]

When I started the ketogenic diet in 2018 which included fasting, everyone was saying that once you enter ketosis, you wouldn't lose muscle and that ketones actually help protect your muscle mass. Jacob Wilson was all about that. I've been lifting for years, and yeah, I did lose muscle no matter how much I focused on the P:E ratio. I stuck with it for over three years, while I enjoyed the feeling, but eventually stopped fasting because it was pretty clear to me that you do lose muscle. I'm still on a low-carb diet, but I don't think fasting is helpful when you're a serious lifter.

[MiguePizar]

i have been doing 1g protein/lb since I started IF 17 years ago, and that's why I never lost muscle and actually I have been gaining consistently, and as fast as a 6 meals per day. Best

[JenniferDarling-pk]

I will never IF on a regular basis again! I lost a lot of muscle mass, very little fat and my hair thinned out. The people who promoted this lifestyle stressed that muscle would be protected and belly fat would be reduced. They were completely wrong, none of this happened for me. From now on 25g protein and vegetables over three meals and fasts will be once a month for immune health. Thank you for making this video. It confirmed what I suspected happened to my body and I now know how to correct the problem.

[ardbegrules]

I just started cutting with OMAD this week and also cut my protein to 0.7g/lb. Going back to 1g/lb after this vid! Thanks!

[lostieaddict]

Thank you so much High Intensity Health!

[LarryDiamond-teyt]

Mike I’ve lived the muscle gain. This has so many limitations it’s crazy.

I remember a study you shared that you loved. 12 versus 16 hours in trained individuals. Better everything. Including better strength. But smaller muscles.

Why? The 12 hour had more glycogen not more muscle fiber. Betting the same happened here.

How did they measure it? Also HGH goes up with 24 and longer fasts. Then amino acids are recycled.

Nope way too many people ADDING muscle when fasting.

ADD to this that the great researcher Ben Bikman says there are insulin spikes in insulin resistant folks when protein is consumed.

And folks have excess protein on them that can be consumed: skin and other organs.

[brandonyoung]

Reduction in “lean mass” does not mean contractile tissue exclusively. Muscle tissue is made up of mostly water: the reduction is most certainly mostly water

[alexsaraceno]

I thought Intermittent Fasting was muscle sparring up to 72 Hours. This according to Dr. Ekstein, Dr. Jason Fung, Matt Delauer, Dr. Mindy Peltz, Dr. Boz, and few others. They even had studies to prove it. What just happened ? I'm 14 hours into my first 48 hour fast since starting my weight loss journey.

[JennifertxCarnivore]

To those new to carnivore- Carnivore diet cured so much for me! I am 5’7” and 47 years young. I update this list as time passes so it is always up to date, newest items at bottom of list. I have been zero carb carnivore (zero plants) for 1 year this Sept. 2023. And yes, carnivore is a permanent lifestyle for me!

* No more perimenopause- completely reversed!

*Period cycles all timed perfect with 4 week intervals.And no PMS symptoms, but only the actual menstrual cycle itself!

*No more night sweats

*No more waking every 2 hours at night!

*It used to take me 20 minutes or longer to fall asleep at night when I would first go to bed at night- before carnivore. Now it takes like a minute or less. Haven’t noticed since I am out fast!

*No more life long eczema

*No more cold hands (may have been Reynold’s disease, never diagnosed.)

*No more cold body temp in general! Used to feel like a reptile - only warm in texas sun. (may have been Raynaud’s disease, never diagnosed.)

*No more IBS symptoms (gas, bloating, stomach pain, constipation, diarrhea)

*No more feeling low energy by 12pm and zombie by 4pm

*No more purple looking hands in winter (may have been Raynaud’s disease, never diagnosed.)

*No more brain fog

*No more arthritis that I felt in hands, knees, and hips- or elbows

*used to have sore hips when sleeping on my side. No more!

*Lost 45+ pounds from former baby weight and peri menopause weight.

*Always had 20/20 vision with slight stigmatism- but in March doctor said my stigmatism is reversing!

*Don’t sunburn as easily anymore and tan well.

*Wrinkles around eyes seem to be much less. I am 46 and look like I am in early 30’s.

*Gums look super healthy. Dentist seems irritated as my teeth are not dirty when cleaning every six months. Think they know they won’t make money off me.

*No more sore chest from monthly periods- no swelling feeling of fullness or discomfort that prevented me from sleeping on my stomach. Now I sleep every night on my stomach!

*Fibrocystic Breast issues reversing! Almost all gone after 6 years of buildup!

*no cravings unless they are for meat

*no more angina symptoms before a period- which started about 3 years ago.

*No more feeling weak like almost passing out and dizzy around ovulation and periods when walking around.

* no more fingers swelling- that started a few years ago- rings kept being tight- is pattern I noticed. One ring I had resized larger and it’s super loose now. Will have to resize smaller.

*feel stronger- now lifting barbells not just hands weights. Dr. Baker said since I am 46, and 5’7” at 122lbs- need more resistance training to add more muscle weight. . So bought a 47lb barbell off Amazon and have 40 extra pounds added to it. Will continue to progress with that.

*Before carnivore- i had started growing grey hairs in one of my eyebrows, few hairs at a time, but no grey in my blonde hair yet - but assumed it was coming. Now on carnivore I have had no new grey hairs growing in eye brows and still no grey hair in my natural blonde hair. And in the sun it gets super light highlights.

* no more body odor!

* I used to get a little anxiety with large crowds- like if attending special events- but since on carnivore I don’t get it that much.

*I was a bit OCD before carnivore, but so much more relaxed so barely like that.

* I was a relaxed person before, but somehow am even more relaxed and never stress about things.

*Since I was a young child my sense of smell has been terrible. But not even a month in on carnivore my sense of smell has gone crazy! I smell things even far away! Amazing!

*no more allergies! I was allergic to cedar and oak pollens- and mold- but since carnivore I am no longer reacting to those outdoor pollens which is amazing!

* I have had no more issues from ear wax build up. Had it twice after having kids and docs would say it was a hormonal problem. Carnivore cured that too!

*Veins in my arms look healthier. They were almost invisible before.

*Legs no longer hurt on longer road trips or plane rides!

*I used to get a popping sounds in my right shoulder when lifting weights. Was probably a pulled ligament. That is now gone!

*I have been lactose intolerant since I was a kid, and I feel my nails are a bit stronger than before. They do break if I catch them on things but I feel they are getting stronger on carnivore.

*My teeth look more white on carnivore.

*My blood pressure has improved on carnivore. 6 years before carnivore up to starting carnivore my blood pressure was increasing. Now on carnivore it is back to normal like when I was younger. Last reading it was 100/75 which is awesome!

*i used to get eye twitches in my eye lids, but that is gone.

* at times when trying to fall asleep I would close my eyes and at times felt dizzy like falling feeling or spinning. But haven’t has that since I have been on carnivore for 12 months.

*the skin on the heals of my feet are no longer cracked and dry! (Newest update added!)

*when laying still in bed to fall asleep at times I would feel dizzy or feel like I was falling through the mattress a bit. I would be laying still and get that suddenly. Felt weird and made it hard to fall asleep. Never diagnosed with vertigo, but it may have been that. I no longer have that since I have been carnivore, which is nice!

*little leak from sneezing or coughing that ladies get from estrogen dominance is gone on carnivore! Hormones balanced so no more estrogen dominance!

*The top inner corner of both my larger toes have felt a little numb for years. Never had it diagnosed. But being 1 year on carnivore I no longer feel that numbness! My nerves have healed in that spot on both toes! Crazy!

*My slightly receding gums behind my center bottom front teeth have rebuilt so gums all over are super healthy! I have flossed daily for years, but gums look even healthier!


If I think of anything else will add. ☺️👍🏻

I know when people go on carnivore they are trying to heal something, but if they aren’t like me and notice small things- they may not notice they are healing way more than they realized- things plant foods were causing! And they need to remember, processed foods are made from plants- but so are whole foods (raw or cooked!) they are all toxic!

The carnivore diet cures! ☺️👌🏻 The body is a network made of multiple gears- and if one gets messed up it causes a whole domino affect of problems like I had! The carnivore lifestyle is not a fad, it’s the ancestral human way of eating! Go Carnivore for a few months and see how you feel! ☺️👍🏻 Dr. Baker, Dr. Chaffee, and Dr. Baker have excellent videos on how to start carnivore!

[JesusGarcia-Digem]

I've been on OMAD for over a year and a half, 2300 max calories. Recently found Mike Mentzer H.I.T heavy duty training. The ideal routine is the program for me as a natty. Fantastic way to train, at least for me. H.I.T. High intensity training has seen a recent resurgence in the last few months!

[dannnyjos]

Yeah but... were these participants doing resistance training?

[Lee.b]

Great info, I already eat 2g per a kg of body weight while resistance training and follow 16/8 and I am gaining muscle (40yr old) once again great info thank you

[jonathanpeck]

This couldn’t have come at a better time! I’m 90kg (12-14% body fat) and intake 180g daily but I’ve been doing a 16:8 (2 meals a day 2400 cals) fat loss phase and have found in having to go up to 200/220 to keep general energy up/muscle loss at bay

[IaneHowe]

What people do not understand is that the people who decided to do IF are still stuck on the wrong idea of under eating. So you can send people to resistance training as much as you want if they don't eat enough Macros during your eating window, which will lose muscle mass because the body will eat itself.

[jesuschristislord]

I just fasted all of August. No food.
Didn't lose any muscle.
Been doing 30+ day fasts every year since 2020 made me so angry i stopped eating for 5 weeks straight.

[Drunqenclam]

Great video!

This is what I have been noticing myself as well. I have been practicing all kind of diets for typically a 3 month period, just enough to be able to actually see what results I can expect. So to my main point; I have noticed that as far as losing fat goes, the few things that is required to prevent muscle loss is; 2g protein per kg lean body mass, daily strength training and of course enough sleep.

Right now for instance I am eating approximately 200g protein and 80g of fat daily in a 4 hour eating window and it works great. I am leaning out and getting stronger. I train fasted as well.

With that said, initially my strength decreased and I am getting close to where I left off with my high carb diet. Also I am not training high volume at all because with a very small carb intake ( sub 5g daily ) I just don't train optimally at all. This makes sense because the more training volume the more our bodies rely on carbohydrates for fuel.

So my solution to this is doing 3 - 5 sets og 3 repetitions in an OLAD(one lift a day) training style with 5 minute rest periods. That seems to be the sweet spot. You can also train in the 5 rep range but generally the fatigue starts to sneak up on you after a week.

So I will say that as far as losing fat and preventing muscle loss (heck even building muscle) you do have to make sure you get 2g per kg lbm, stimulate the muscle and rest enough to repair. 100%.

So for anyone who are curious if strength training 6 days a week on a 20/4 IF eating pattern works? Yes it does. Trust me. It's not optimal and you likely will not become a champion, but it will absolutely work. 💪

[Sophal]

The trial was done with metabolicly unhealthy people who are insulin resistant. We know they have more problems keeping muscle or building it. I guess if you do the studie with metabolicly healthy people you would have more muscle sparing.