Alternate Day Fasting: A New Study Breakdown | Educational Video | Biolayne

A recent study
pubmed.ncbi.nl...
on intermittent fasting sought to determine how alternate day fasting (ADF) affected weight loss, fat loss, lean body mass, metabolic rate, and various other metrics in free living people compared to people who engaged in either intermittent fasting without weight loss, or continuous caloric restriction (CCR). The treatment groups were
ADF (weight loss): 150:0 (150% of maintenance calories on one day, then 0% the next day, with alternating days)
ADF (no weight loss): 200:0 (200% of maintenance calories on one day, then 0% the next day, with alternating days)
CCR (weight loss): 75:75 (75% of maintenance calories everyday)
This study design allowed the researchers to separate any specific effects of fasting on weight loss & metabolism from calorie restriction by including the ADF (200:0) group since they were eating an amount of calories that should maintain their body weight.
The study design was also extremely diligent as subjects were randomized based on their fat mass index as well as their activity levels. This helped ensure that any observed results were due to differences in the treatment effects rather than the inherent characteristics of the groups themselves.
What did they find? Both caloric restriction groups (ADF 150:0 & CCR 75:75) both lost the same amount of weight, but CCR lost significantly MORE fat mass and virtually NO lean body mass. The ADF 150:0 group however, lost almost 50% of their weight from LBM. Moreover, the ADF 150:0 group also had a greater decrease in total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) compared to the CCR 75:75 group. This was due to a reduction in their spontaneous physical activity (NEAT).
In this video I break down the full study and what the results mean for people who practice alternate day fasting
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[@christinaherren]

I began ADF in February and I've lost 42 lbs. Im now at a healthy weight and no longer in the obese category . I understand it was due to calorie restriction but this is the only way I could do it. I have a tendency to binge and can't overcome it. Adf gives me opportunities to 'binge'/eat ad libitum three days a week. Sorry but that is part of food addiction and ADF is one tool that works for people like me, imo. I don't have a PhD, just a regular person overweight person.

[@lamasimon9421]

@christinah5586 thanks for sharing your post. We're you diagnosed by a doctor for food addiction, if so what type of Dr? How long did it take you to lose the 42 pounds in trying to find a way to manage my weight with my eating as well

[@MultiplexityGaming]

yeah I am seeing a lot of conflicting data/tests. At the end of the day, what works for everyone is what they can most easily stick to. Doesnt matter if its calorie in/calorie out, OMAD, IF, or ADF.

[@LavidaLovesCoils]

Congratulations Christina! I’m just joining my journey with fasting, 36/12. I don’t feel restricted by calorie counting and deprivation. I’m more mindful and choose healthier options during my eating window.

[@laquan3661]

Same here! Crazy news I fast nearly 7 full days and I lost .6% percent of body fat at the end of day 5 and another .6% at the end of day 6! It was insane. All the way from 18.2% body fat to 16.6%. If you guys want to experience these results, start with same day intermittent fasting first to get used to burning fat for fuel, then ADF, then do prolonged fasting.

[@maryann2600]

I was going to comment something similar. What these studies don't take into consideration is that it is 20 times easier or more to not eat anything all day than it is to eat below your maintenance calories. With the addition to autophagy, making sure protein is a priority in every meal, and strength training, I think ADF is a winner for me.

[@diceymaan]

Something very interesting they also found out, was that meanwhile the weight loss was the same, ADF reduced insulin resistance by 50 % more than with the continuous calorie restriction diet. And this is extremely important for people who are type 2 diabetic.

[@elizabethweiland2487]

And critical for obese people who have stubborn insulin resistance. They also don't account for all the proteins lost during autophagy - burning the proteins that we want to get rid of like excess skin, cancer cells, and other old junk around. We want to burn those proteins. They do not distinguish this, which is a critical gap.

[@j.rob.5943]

False, that was not in this study

[@tatjanakane503]

Lower insuline, better fat loss.

[@lovelife1867]

@@j.rob.5943 cause ppl always connect if to exercise and wellness while it is a system to improve your life rhythm even if you do not exercise.

[@MrBiggharv]

Yes!!!! I've been saying this 💯

[@leegarryallen]

These studies fail at the idea stage. I do ADF and there's absolutely no reason to overeat on your non-fasting days. The idea you eat 150-200% on eating days is just nonsensical

[@alexandracasados22]

I agree I just eat for that one day

[@thinkingoutloud3358]

Same. I’m pretty new to ADF but so far on feast days I’m barely hungry enough to eat regularly let alone more. So I make sure I eat enough for the day and that’s that, sometimes even if I’m not hungry because I want to make sure I’m eating a sufficient amount of calories.

[@theonlyEYEBROWKING]

How long is your eating window after the 36 hour fast?

[@nounours5016]

Hello, as you rightly pointed out, the study involved NON-OBESE subjects. They therefore didn't have as much body fat to lose as people weighing 250, 400 or much more pounds. As a result, the study may be a little biased, since their bodies didn't have enough fat mass, so they were forced to tap into lean body mass.

[@chingonbass]

when i do continuous caloric restriction i'm hungry all day because of the half assed meals. When I alternate day fast i'm not really hungry on starving days and get to have full assed meals. And yes I lift. But maybe it's different because i have some blubber to loose.

[@fatty2027]

Do what works for you but as a former gluttonous fatty who has stayed lean for 23 years, you need to eat more high volume low calorie for so you aren't hungry. I am still a hog that likes to eat until I pass out. I supplement my food with "fillers" like lentils, beans(plain), broccoli, cauliflower, onions along with about 6-8iz chicken breasts. 3-4lbs of food but only about 400-600 calories.

[@alexandracasados22]

Same!

[@olympic-gradelurker]

I've tried high volume food eating and it never worked. I could eat all the low calorie vegetables and still be hungry and unsatisfied. Eating every other day allows me to eat truly satisfying meals instead of meals that were all fluff and no substance.

[@Memento__Mori]

Really good content Layne, I've been on ADF for 8 months now. It feels amazing, strenght is good muscles feel nice and pumped even on fasted days when I work out. No hunger when fasting, hyper focus, 0 negative effects on me personally. Thanks for the video eventhough it shone some light on my knowledge of ADF I will still stick by it untill I no longer feel like it is benefiting me. So far this is the perfect stratetgy that fits my lifestyle and its working :)

[@juenmmonterrey7767]

i had been fasting , doing 16 /8 , then some days omad , i was eating few calories and i started loosing hair and eting dizzy... i have now replenished potassium and magnesium levels . i still need to loose weight. does ADF deplete you of minerals and vitamins??? have you gotten dizzy , in these 8 months?? do you take supplements and vitamins??

[@ingridmilliebobby-brown7653]

​@@juenmmonterrey7767Ideally, you would eat close to double the fat from protein and double caloric intake on feasting days with an ADF schedule than you would on a regular 16:8 alone, with no lack of electrolyte consumption whether you're fasting or feasting; that way, you remain in caloric deficit and in a fat adapted state without depleting minerals. In other words, eat your fats, maintain ketosis (this should happen regardless if youre fasting), get your electrolytes and your salts, and low impact exercise should get you to your goals on an ADF schedule. Apparently, a state of ketosis burns through salts so that may have been why you were dizzy, so again, keeping your minerals up is essential. Once you hit your goal weight, consider switching back to 16:8 as ADF is debatably sustainable, especially where muscle building is concered. Based on Layne's videos, carbs may be necessary to reintroduce if muscle building is uour next goal. For me personally, I often look for information on eating low carb and fat reconstitution but it seems the body will switch to fat adaptation for energy but reconstitution may require carbs. Either way, I digress; ADF is great for relatively shorter term weight loss goals but definitely do not skimp on calories, fat from protein or minerals where feasting days are concerned. Good luck on your health journey.

[@cspinto7atUtube]

The study was done on people who were not obese. ADF is useful only to reduce obesity and will not benefit people who aren’t obese.

[@sonderexpeditions]

Same. I love it.

[@FitnessToday69]

Anyone that would practice ADF for weight loss would never eat 150% to 200 % every other day. They would eat nothing one day, and then maintenance or slightly under maintenance calories on eating day. And they would do that continuously until they reach their goal weight.

[@danieltemelkovski9828]

So you're saying they typically average 50% below maintenance cals over both eating and non-eating days? That's basically a starvation diet. ADF must really be some magic bullet if people can adhere to starvation cals for months at a time. (The math for someone whose maintenance is 2000 cals: [2000 + 0]/2 = 1000 = 50% below maintenance.)

[@michaelfox6609]

@@danieltemelkovski9828 yes, that's exactly what he's saying. But it makes sense doesn't it? Over all 50% below is because you're not eating one day and eating mostly 100% the next. No, it isn't a starvation tactic. Restricting calories daily only to hit a wall while losing more muscle in the long run thus burning less calories than before is the true starvation diet.

[@danieltemelkovski9828]

@@michaelfox6609 Lol, do what you want man. But if you think 50% under maintenance is a good idea, good luck.

[@michaelfox6609]

@@danieltemelkovski9828 loads of people do it as their life style. We are talking eating whatever you want every other day. It's not gonna damage anything. Stop being lazy and do some actual research on the matter.

[@danieltemelkovski9828]

@@michaelfox6609 Firstly, it's immediately doubtful that anyone is actually maintaining 50% below maintenance for any significant period of time, because that is insanely low. So if they think they are, they are probably just miscounting their calories. (Something that is extremely likely for people who use words like "eating whatever you want" - as though fasting every 2nd day magically discounts the calories you had on eating days.) Secondly, if people really are eating 50% below maintenance for significant periods, I can't wait to see - as Layne calls it - the "after the after" photos, when their weight rebounds like crazy and they regain all the fat they lost plus another 10lb for good measure.

[@nomaderic]

Currently almost 6 weeks into rolling 48s. (One meal every 48 hours) Im down over 25 pounds. Im go to the gym every other day. I heavy squat 4 times a week and my strength has been skyrocketing as well as muscle growth. I know alot of it is "newbie gains" but why not use it right now. I'm losing 1 pound every 2 days and I'm gaining muscle. My squat has gone from less than 100 pounds to 225. My bench has gone up 50 lbs as well. Every single thing is done properly though, I make sure to get more than enough sleep. My refeeds are strategically planned with adequate amounts of protein/vitamins etc and I listen to my body to know if I'm not recovered enough and lower my gym output temporarily if I do. I was around 230 and idk maybe 35 40 percent bodyfat. Today I weighed 193. I plan to get down to 170 to 175. Once done I will no longer do this. I will transition to omad while eating maintainence, before slowly getting into a surplus and beginning to gain.

[@AlteroCoach]

It's awesome! Thanks for sharing! I think it's working for you well because you still have plenty of fat on you and it's sparing your lean muscle tissues. That experiment of ADF was on lean people. Thanks for your good example people should not be afraid of fasting. And my congratulations on your spectacular results!

[@bunny2chandu]

@@AlteroCoach great point mate

[@pokefan5ever]

@@AlteroCoach I would be really curious to hear what you think the threshold would be when a person gets too lean to do ADF anymore. I’ve done both ADF and CR for weight loss and I seem to gravitate towards ADF more, but I still have 50 pounds to lose.

[@AlteroCoach]

@@pokefan5ever I think the threshold would be around 15% body fat for men and 20% for women. And still, there are a lot of other variables that may play a role in how much you lose muscles if you go even below. Anyway, for you, my friend, it's still too far to worry about. ADF is just a tool to reduce calories without counting calories. For someone, it's easier to not eat anything for one day than to count and cut calories. As we can see from the research ADF may not have enough advantages for metabolic health. I prefer to fast for 3-5 days for all those awesome benefits of fasting. But for just losing weight any way of CR can be good with fasting or not. As long as a person can stick to it and get the results. Other things are not that important and mostly overrated.

[@enntense]

Just my 2 cents here. I think if you cut massive weight planning to gain muscle "later" you are going to be sorry. You need to slow down. As they say, you didn't gain the weight in 3 months..

[@diceysituation833]

This study is misleading. The group of people that were tested on were healthy. I wouldn't do alternate-day fasting if I was, since I know it would affect my muscles. Alternate day fasting is for people who are very overweight, and have the fat stores to use as fuel. The body will always prefer burning through that fat if it can afford it than it would in taking an equal amount of it from muscle

[@TheStefanV]

Great vid, nonetheless I've had much better energy, strength and mood and long term results with ADF and fasting vs caloric restriction after many failed cuts where I rebounded 100%, the weight re-gain after cutting with ADF was much less! However it's not for everyone

[@SLees-tv7gh]

I agree, it really works for me.

[@vigilantezack]

The main downside discovered in the study was loss of lean mass. Nobody wants to loose much mass during a cut. Nobody wants to drop scale weight only to find they still look fat "skinny fat" because all their tone went away. I think day-long fasts are beneficial a few times a month. A multi-day fast a few times a year. The longest I fast during calorie cut is just skip breakfast maybe.

[@Prog47]

Do you eat double the protein because you skip a day of eating or just normal protein?

[@nickmontanaro9638]

Fasting really does help break food's hold over me mentally. I think that's it. I just make sure that may weekly caloric intake doesn't come anywhere near my weekly maintenance number and I'm good.

[@nickmontanaro9638]

​@@Prog47he explained why the answer is no to that. You can't eat more protein tomorrow to make up for a protein deficit today. Not after an entire day or after extended fasts.

[@janellinell4552]

Fasting has reversed my aging my skin is glowing!!! I did an alternate day fast but on fasting day I only had 500 calories of protein (meat or protein shake) still lost weight. Weight train on feast days very important

[@Macatho]

Did you weight train before starting intermittent fasting? Cause and effect... cause and effect

[@leah.ludovici]

Cut the 500 calories on your “fasting” days, your health will improve significantly

[@hard2getitrightagain314]

This seems to be the study where the fasting group was defined as 500 calories per day on fast days. That's not fasting.

[@leah.ludovici]

Exactly

[@Paddy-von-Sanchez]

Are you serious? If so then this whole video is pretty deceptive!!

[@hard2getitrightagain314]

@@Paddy-von-Sanchez that was exactly my point

[@Paddy-von-Sanchez]

​@@hard2getitrightagain314i know! I was just shocked at his failure to make that clear.

[@Paddy-von-Sanchez]

​@@hard2getitrightagain314 I know! I'm just shocked that he didn't make that at all clear.

[@stevencollins6216]

Other research from randomised controlled trials have shown far less LBM loss on ADF when exercise was introduced to the equation, which shouldn't surprise anyone. Other findings from ADF research shows greater fat oxidation (and lower carbohydrate oxidation rates) as well as improve metabolic markers. In short, ADF is a viable body composition strategy, which could have greater overall health implications compared with continuous energy restriction.

[@naturalaquatreasures]

Well said.

[@wowzers1237____]

Care to cite the other research you're referring to? Title of the study? Would love to take a look.

[@vikingnorsefitness5727]

Seemed like Layne took this one study and warped it completely outta context to fit the plans he sticks to and has his trainees stick to. He said himself the LBM includes glycogen, water, etc.. of course those will be lower when you're in a constantly flux of not only fasting, but also, drinking tons more water on those eating days which is a diuretic and flushes the water out, giving the misleading impression that you've lost Muscle, when it's not muscle you're losing at all!

[@nellosnook4454]

My fasting journey has evolved to 44/4 Alternate Day Fasting (ADF). 44 hours straight fasting, 4 hours feeding. You won’t crave bad food or alcohol. I feel FANTASTIC! Mental focus too! And the pounds MELT off incrementally on a daily basis. I’m only 9 lbs. away from my target weight & waist numbers. You don’t hear much about fasting, because nobody makes any money off of you eating less! Truly a FREE, DIY weight-control lifestyle!

[@Melesniannon]

The lack of protein storage is a really important point that I think cannot be stressed enough in videos on this topic. I've done 16/8 IF for years and I wouldn't want to go back to adding a meal and redistributing my caloric intake, but a protein shake could absolutely be on the table.

[@Cork_UO]

What do you mean by a lack of protein storage?

[@Melesniannon]

@@Cork_UO As Layne mentions in the video our bodies have only a limited capability to store amino acids, unlike glucose (carbs) which can be stored as glycogen in muscles or liver, or fat, which is stored as adipose tissue and around the organs. Since fat can be used to create glucose when needed (which incidentally uses proteins), you have as much glucose and fat as your body can store fat. This isn't the case for proteins, our bodies can make some proteins but the 9 essential proteins can only be consumed. So protein availablility in the body depends on the availability of those 9 proteins primarily (consuming others is bonus of course) and what I understand from this video, there isn't a lot of storage space. I guess they're available as long as they're in the bloodstream but I'm no expert. Excess proteins will likely be oxidized for energy, I don't know if they can be converted to fat and stored (would guess so but not sure), and I guess they'd otherwise just be excreted.

[@Cork_UO]

@@Melesniannon The part you are missing is that your body can also convert excess protein and some fat into glucose by a process called gluconeogenesis. Glucose creation in the body is not tied to only carbohydrates.

[@Cork_UO]

@@Melesniannon Although technically you are correct that you can't store protein in the body it's also technically correct that you can't store carbohydrates in the body. Both have to be broken down through different metabolic pathways in to glucose for storage. You wrote "glucose (carbs)" implying that the body only makes glucose from carbohydrates which is false.

[@Melesniannon]

@@Cork_UO I didn't miss that, I literally said that "Since fat can be used to create glucose when needed"... Taking my comments out of context isn't a very nice thing to do. It also changes nothing about the fact that this is about protein consumption, storage (or lack thereof) and use. I referred to the other storage types merely to indicate protein has no equivalent of either glycogen storage or fat storage. Incidentally glycogen is a carbohydrate so it is technically NOT correct that you can't store carbohydrates in the body.

[@alexeivernyi2910]

I hope this opens up some people’s minds. Layne changing lives for the better 🤘

[@micahstephenscoaching]

I was just watching videos on ADF when I came across this. This was the only video I saw and only study I saw saying that it did not have an edge over continual caloric restriction. Every other study I heard said it created greater fat loss. And people reported ADF was much easier to stick with. The studies also pointed out ADF improved insulin sensitivity and bloodwork. Not to mention the autophagy. I’m skeptical of this study.

[@everready2903]

I've done this. Worked quite well. Your metabolism doesn't slow down and you can burn some fat every other day. Patience is key what loss. You were patient putting it on lol

[@azulsimmons1040]

I like fasting on occasion. Seems to clear the system and I feel better doing it now and then.

[@linuxmanju]

+1 I do it once in a week or bi week for 18/24 hours. Intention isn't to loose weight, but does one thing very good.. cleanses your digestive system. More than one day, start loosing muscle and feel like shit. Been there and done that Keto + OMAD, got results on the scale, never felt healthy and had huge issues with sleep. TSH shot up to 7. Now I eat everything except free sugar ( for the lack of term ), TSH back to normal, and sleeping 8 hours. Put on some good muscle mass and feeling healthy and active.

[@profundisconfutatis8093]

The best weightloss I've had has always been from one meal a day. I don't really care what the studies say, right now I'm lifting all the time and eating one meal a day, once or twice a week when I can actually go to the gym I eat twice a day. That said recomping is pretty easy this way, last time I lost about 20 lb and then coasted for about 7 months, I've started again and I've lost about 11 or 12 lbs while putting on some of the muscle I used to have back on. I think the most significant thing for me, is that fasting seems to hit my visceral fat a lot harder, standard caloric deficit seems like I lose a lot of sub fat but keep all of my midsection

[@nickmontanaro9638]

I have found visceral is the FIRST to go when fasting. My barrel belly is the first thing to go when extended fasting.

[@leah.ludovici]

“I don’t really care what the studies says” Ok? Good for you

[@pokefan5ever]

Hey Layne, I would love to hear your thoughts on another study done with ADF and CR, especially as someone that has used both to lose weight. It was a study done in 2016 by Catenacci et. al. You’re probably already familiar with it. In the results, they talk about how the RMR after the 8 week period in calorie restriction had fallen more than the RMR in the ADF group. Additionally, the ADF group, during the weight regain phase, gained more lean body mass than the CR group did. Could this mean that ADF somehow causes a temporary reduction in LBM, but it gets built up again quickly after the fasting periods are over? I hope this doesn’t come off as a dumb question. I have a Master’s, but it’s in IT and I’m not as good at breaking down nutritional studies, their results, or their methodology as well as you are. I would be very interested to hear a breakdown or explanation for the results 😊

[@JWB671]

Nutritional studies are pointless. Experiment on yourself long term to figure out what you respond to.

[@ErBeary]

I am very familiar with the study that you are referring to. The difference in the results is the study participants. The study that you mentioned was conducted with obese adults, while the study that Layne mentions was conducted with lean adults. Why on earth would a lean and healthy adult benefit from Alternate Day Fasting?! It literally makes no sense. I studied food science and nutrition for 2 years at the collegiate level and independently for over 17 years. The human body is smart and will not break down muscle mass if if has plenty of fat stores to utilize. It just doesn't make sense.

[@pokefan5ever]

@@ErBeary Thanks for the response! That was my experience as well. After losing 90 pounds with ADF and starting out morbidly obese, my muscle mass seemed to be perfectly fine and was even higher than average, according to my DEXA scan at least. It makes sense that leaner individuals would lose proportionally more muscle than obese ones. I still don’t understand why they would even measure this for lean adults or what kind of practical application there could possibly be in lean populations using ADF, considering they aren’t the ones needing to lose weight.

[@stacybb3943]

@@ErBeary I agree with your reasoning! Honestly, I think this study was essentially useless. They should have used overweight people.

[@Prog47]

​@@pokefan5ever Hey Kristy. Can I ask about your protein intake? I now take 160g of protein while eating 2300kcal. I'm losing 1kg per week but I've always liked fasting. It comes naturally to me and used to do 24h fasting all the time. About the protein, if I eat 4 days per week doing ADF does that mean my protein will be (7 x 160g) / 4 = 280g ? Or should it be 160 because as Layne said, protein only matters on a meal to meal basis?

[@NaeNae23]

This was done on people who were a healthy weight. I have done calorie restricted diets for many years and I just got bigger. Since adopting fasting I am at my lowest weight in 10 years. You also don't consider autophagy the other benefits of fasting. I still don't understand why this was done on healthy weight people who did not need to lose any weight. Also long term calorie restriction never works this was only a month not enough time to see long term analysis. I would like to know which company sponsored this research. I think I would prefer to listen to Dr Fung a medical expert who has improved many diabetic people's health over a research paper you just read where include speculation.

[@MMAoracle]

How did they lose the same amount of weight when having the same calorie restriction if their energy expenditure varied between the two groups)? Due to higher amount of weight loss coming from fat (which is more energy dense per gram, meaning that in fact you lost more calories)?

[@Stanthemanmusic9]

I eat once a day, The Best move I made in my life. I work out every day now. I am building muscle and it's noticeable. People indicate to me all the time they see a difference. I am 58 years old. It's working for me,.There are many benefits.

[@omarramonlopez]

53 here…;Elijah Muhammad suggest one meal per day but then doing it every OTHER day … Considering the toxins in today’s foods it’s been great for my body’s cleansing process. I find eating once a day is great for good health and macro nutrition but once every other day addresses circulation, digestion, immune and micro nutrition try for 2 weeks

[@ianthomasyoung1134]

Duh. Well of course the ADF group would lose lean body mass if they're of normal BMI to begin with. It'll be far more helpful if the study was done on obese people. Why would a person of normal BMI even want to do alternate day fasting?

[@fernandorosales2789]

Tbh the most interesting findings for me were the unrestricted fasting group. Their bodies basically signaled how much go eat to maintain. It's really interesting how many mechanisms the body has in place to keep us at more or less the same body mass.

[@Mrbluefire95]

I definitely think the fact that the body doesn’t store protein very well is the biggest argument for continuous calorie restriction being superior. That being said, the psychological factor is a major component in a diet being successful, so I think that if fasting is required to even get a caloric deficit in the first place, then it’s not worth writing it off.

[@ZeRo-yc7zf]

I completely agree. Trying to change my eating habits to 5-6 meals a day and spread out protein just completely derails me on a diet. As someone who used to be totally obese I’m best just eating strictly when I’m hungry. If I force myself to when I “think” I need to eat it leads to binging and terrible eating habits and I’m starting to think it will benefit me better if I go long periods without eating if I’m not actually hungry during that time. I think I’m better off being patient with muscle gains in the name of staying at a healthy weight

[@markgillespie3971]

I think a better approach is to not completely fast on the fasting days but to have 500 cals or so of mostly protein to prevent the muscle losses.

[@BOBANDVEG]

Humans already had a fasting cycle. Most people have dinner around 6 o'clock at night....then they dont eat anything until the morning....that's when we "break the fast" (breakfast). Just do this everyday , itll work out lol

[@BrunoPorro1618]

@@markgillespie3971 absolutely! i was thinking the same thing!

[@Cork_UO]

What do you mean the body doesn't store protein very well? And what would that have to do with anything?

[@Stuke51]

Fasting is the only way I’ve successfully adhered to a calorie deficit. Intermittent or prolonged, never really tapped into alternate day fasting. I definitely do care about preserving lean body mass so this is making me rethink my approach. May switch to bone broth fasting this time around so that I’m still achieving daily adequate protein intake and see how my strength loss compares to previous cutting cycles. Very interesting study!

[@nickmontanaro9638]

How.would bone broth give you adequate protein?

[@theinvisiblewoman5709]

You can do a dirty ADF fasting. So on that 36 hour fast have your bone broth (staying under 100-500 calories) and then on that feast day eat your calorie goals. I also like to exercise on my feast days which will minimize muscle loss.

[@LvUhcX]

@@theinvisiblewoman5709I find ADF helps best even if it’s dirty… my cysts popped 😮 and stomach tighten

[@rdance3]

At the age of 56, in a 5 month period, while IF 18/6, I lost 6 lbs of fat, while gaining 3 lbs of muscle. By DEXA Scan, I went from 13.0% bodyfat to 9.9%.

[@rdance3]

Calorie deficit of about 250.

[@dan0872]

My thinking after watching this has done a 180. I have 2 questions though... 1. This study was done with people of a normal weight/BMI if I recall. Would the scale lean towards ADF if you had a substantial amount of weight to lose? 2. This study was only a month, I hear cutting calories would start to plateau weight loss after approx maybe 2-3 months. Is that theory true?

[@TabithaDavis]

Yes, I feel like if you chose pretty overweight people instead, that makes a difference. I'd like to see THAT study.

[@supimsatan]

Probably the best studie i have heard on diet plans.

[@Ayrad160]

Alternate day fasting is not intermittent fasting, stop confusing people .

[@jonathanjones2435]

this study contradicts just about every other study I've ever seen on ADF

[@diceymaan]

One of the most important factors here, is the time - a month. A month is not enough time to hit a plateau and once you hit that plateau, ADF is gonna be looking at the limited calories diet in rearview mirror. Not only that, but the limited calorie diet is gonna take down your metabolism, not by 25 % but it will. However with ADF, your body has a much more difficult time to plateau, especially when there's parties, holidays, and vacations where you can feast two days and then fast, so your body does not get the indicators that it needs to protect life. A great way to negate the lean mass loss, is to eat 200-300g (7 - 10.5 oz) steak on the fasting day. Another way to negate it is to go lifting weights, you'll build muscles, especially if you are a noob, and will still be slightly on surplus in muscle mass. Since this only was a month long trial, they did not see it, but at some point the loss of muscle mass will stop. The point however is, if it works for you, do it. As long as you are losing weight and it's something you can go on with forever, do it :)

[@DavidCooper71]

Hi Layne, cool study thanks for sharing. Regarding fat-free mass and fluid. Just controlling intake doesn't account for differences in output. It's reasonable to assume that the fasting group was losing more glycogen on fast days. Carbs are stored in glycogen with 3x their weight in h2o. Hypothetically, that could make up a significant difference.

[@vikingnorsefitness5727]

EXACTLY, not to mention the ADF group would have to double water intake during their eating day which would flush out more water, hence the more LBM they'd lose, which, like he said himself, the LBM includes water, glycogen, etc.. You're not actually losing real lean muscle whatsoever, nor strength.

[@ocaraevil]

Great video. probably some of the lean mass content was water and glycogen , not eating you drink more water(so you pee more) and less salt and less glycogen(fasting depleats more/faster the glycogen). and other studys show that the body do not lose that much muscle by fasting 1 day.

[@heavymetalfitness2091]

Fasting? Oh you mean sleeping?

[@DanielPerez-nl4rz]

I've had great success with adf while lifting. The best part of adf is that it was the easiest way for me to restrict calories long term. At the end of the day/week/month/year its all about CICO. ADF has been the best tool I've used to manage this.

[@adityaaddrix9679]

Please tell us more. I do the same. How did you manage your gains? Do you eat more on feeding days?

[@DanielPerez-nl4rz]

@@adityaaddrix9679 I eat whatever I want on my eat days, but have found that my cravings for unhealthy foods has decreased dramatically. After my lifts I always have ~40g of protein (shake or chicken) even on my fast days. If my muscle building progres slows down I will consider shortening my fasting time, but for now I'll keep doing adf.

[@a_fuckin_spacemarine7514]

Intermittent fasting is great for people like me who enjoy eating loads of food all at once! I hate eating smaller meals, and often find that I eat more that way, same as if I actually count my calories, I get too caught up in it and always end up binge eating. My only rule is 95% of what I eat is made up of whole foods prepared by meself. Neat video

[@loftonrudolph7586]

Since I started fasting I noticed I dont like little snacks. Just one or 2 medium size meals. This has been a factor for my weight loss because I dont "eat between meals"

[@justified2065]

On ADF, I love that on my fasted day, my cardio is crazy cause the fat utilization is very high plus I only workout on non fasting days, which is the key for me.

[@GeeDeeBird]

The main flaw I see in this study is the short duration. I believe ADF ketosis doesn't start for several weeks. A four MONTH study would be useful.

[@TheDtjlane]

Awesome video! Thanks Layne. I always feel better having you break down these studies for me.

[@gurucartel3422]

The control group was not a control if they had to eat 200%, because they were restricted in the sense they had to eat 200% alternate day. That is extremely difficult to do for some people.

[@Sevbi]

For me the main benefit from fasting is, that it feels easier to me

[@NegativePressure]

I'd love to see this study exactly redone with obese subjects. I feel like the amount of fat free mass lost would be much lower. That is just my guess but I'd love to see the science either way

[@jordanmedwell]

Fasting or pushing my first meal of the day forward definitely helps reduce cravings and overeating for me. Especially the junk food

[@MrMoogle]

Same here. If I don't eat breakfast, I'm typically not hungry until mid afternoon. On days where I force myself to eat breakfast, I'm hungry again before 11 am. Once I start the system, it just wants to keep going regardless of carbs, fat, protein in the breakfast. Once I eat, I want to keep going and not snacking becomes much harder than if I just skip breakfast entirely.

[@davidjd123]

I combined calories restriction with the occasional "fasting cycle" every other week or so, calorie resitriction should be the foundation to anyone weight loss journey, then using alternate day fasting should be added once you get the hang of calorie restriction.

[@raoulhery]

Great content. Fasting is so powerful but they dont want to promote it because it's free. Keep up the good info

[@ThePsyborg1]

Fasting is the healthiest and fastest way to Lose body fat. Period.

[@thefaboo]

I "do intermittent fasting" but really breakfast just makes me nauseous and I don't mind feeling hungry 😅

[@toolate6971]

Hmm... Seems you don't watch KZbin videos even though you make them. The most important part of IF is its impact on Insulin Resistance in those with type 2 diabetes. Weight loss is a significant side effect of IF, but calorie restriction does not resolve the IR problem. For healthy people that do not want to benefit from autophagy can do CR, but the benefits of IF are far more than what was addressed in that study, unfortunately.

[@adityaaddrix9679]

Check mate. I too feel this video tends to gravitate a lot towards CR. Very biased. Plus, the research being funded by Nestle explains it all.

[@mulalomercytshivhilinge4913]

@Aditya addrix well spotted. The study funded by one of the biggest junk food producers will be bias.

[@La_sagne]

CR resolves IR indirectly over time by people trying to sate their hunger and that doesnt work well with sugar. that works much better with protein. or in other words.. the people who actually do CR usually do it by restricting sugar more than the other stuff because doing it by restricting the other stuff and keeping sugar is hard

[@makenziezeman3120]

I freaking love these research breakdowns Layne!!! Thank you.

[@popelgruner595]

I wish he would have done it properly. He hasn't told the viewers anything on how this study was flawed, how few people actually participated in the study, how short the study ran, why a study in WEIGHT LOSS was performed only by LEAN HEALTHY adults, not overweight ones, and why he didn't mention that Nestlé actually affiliated with the study, a company best known for high caloric, sugary foods.

[@BrunoPorro1618]

@@popelgruner595 i haven’t looked it up, im about to, but is that mentioned in the study? (Nestle being affiliated)

[@popelgruner595]

@@BrunoPorro1618 "Nestlé Health Science, Translation Research, Avenue Nestlé 55, CH-1800 Vevey, Switzerland." Number 5 of the listed affiliations.

[@GrammaticusSum]

Anecdotally, I lost 15kg in three months with ADF aiming for a Ted Naiman style high protein (1.2-5/kg) ratio on eating days with no calorie restriction. I kept it off for six months eating a more relaxed lower carb diet, but rebounded after COVID hit and started stress eating junk food. I’m back to it now, and I think the biggest benefit is how much more quickly you feel satiated the day after the fast. I have binge eating tendencies, and for that reason I struggle with daily restriction, for a lot of us trying to get to a normal weight I think ADF, when combined with higher protein ratio (~50-60%) is a godsend. I’ve tried both alone and I am not able to maintain the habit, weirdly ADF offers a lot of flexibility.

[@daisylilies2483]

Honestly same thing here I did adf for 4 months and on those feeding days I don’t feel crazy hunger and sugar Cravings, however it does take a while adjusting to that routine.I personally didn’t do low carb or counting calories on feeding days I just make sure that I eat nutrient dense food and less to no processed foods

[@mrpdmasta]

LAYNE!! 4 weeks isn't long enough to show metabolic adaptation. Daily restriction vs every other day fasting would produce different results for metabolic adaptation perhaps

[@bunny2chandu]

Good point. But the study isn’t on obese individuals where metabolic adaptations take a while to occur. Maybe in healthy individuals like in this study, there probably might be a chance? I can’t say for sure but just something to think about.

[@bunny2chandu]

Also “, you’re probably right that metabolic adaptations don’t occur in 4 weeks. metabolic adaptations mainly speak about the BMR. The adaptations occurred in this study are that of TDEE. So that if NEAT. I don’t think that comes under true metabolic adaptations

[@popelgruner595]

I fully agree. I wish he would have done his "research" on the study properly. He hasn't told the viewers anything on how this study was flawed, how few people actually participated in the study, how short the study ran, why a study in WEIGHT LOSS was performed only by LEAN HEALTHY adults, not overweight ones, and why he didn't mention that Nestlé actually affiliated with the study, a company best known for high caloric, sugary foods

[@rholmes1990]

@@popelgruner595 he did say why this study was done on healthy individuals.. He explained it was done this way to "show proof of concept". At the same time, even healthy individuals can lose weight and will more than likely have less confounding factors making it easier to tease out why and how the weight loss occurred. The sample size does not make the results null, sure a larger group may have helped the stats and get better averages, but results are still results and studies cost money, time is money which ties back into the idea of showing proof of concept. The more people you have in a study like this the more likely you are to have drop outs and those who do not follow protocol. Nestle has an entire section dedicated to healthcare.

[@sgtshultz13]

He is no genius. He just reads the Q cards

[@matthewhickok1906]

There are studies that contradict this along with my personal experience. Using so-called daily “calorie restriction”, my fat loss stopped, my energy tanked, and my strength decreased. Keeping the same food intake and doubling it one day and fasting the next day got my fat down, allowed me to retain strength and muscle, increased my energy and mental acuity, and dramatically improved my health markers. Trying to return to “calorie rationing” resulted in fat gain and strength loss. Of course a measurement of the potential heat energy contained within a bolus of food is not applicable to humans, but I digress.

[@biolayne1]

what studies are those? Go ahead and try to cite them. Can't wait to see these mental gymnastics

[@JWB671]

@@biolayne1 says the guy with the fasting insulin levels of a pre diabetic.

[@williamblake5289]

@@biolayne1 ahah biolayne, is there any scientific study that can teach you how to squat?

[@Macgee826]

​@@biolayne1why do you keep projecting fella?😂

[@MomenKhaiti]

First timer on your channel. I just saw this video after watching one from Thomas DeLauer talking about ADF benefits. While I'm a huge fan/advocate of AF+Keto and have been applying both for a while, when research like this prove that calorie-restriction is the real cause of weight-loss, it just assures me that it's 100% individualized. I don't think there's a one-size-fits all type of diet/lifestyle. I think we all need to explore what works for us individually, which tends to change over time so what might work for us today might not work a few weeks, months or years from now. The key here is to keep experiementing different things and give every diet a few weeks of consistent effort. The human body is so dynamic and complex things tend to keep changing depending on lots of factors, including but not limited to, seasonality, horomonal situation, sleeping, level of activity, microbiome and mental and toxic stress. Just subbed, listening to the other side of the story can sometimes be healthy, no pun intended.

[@dustinwainwright6429]

I would love to see this same exact study done with UNhealthy individuals. Then see if the results are comparable. Hard to apply a study done on ALL healthy individuals to obese individuals hoping to figure out the best method for weight loss Edit: and I say this mainly because unhealthy people are physiologically different than healthy individuals.

[@pokefan5ever]

I would also love to see the differences in LBM with this same study done in obese people. I’m betting they lose significantly more body fat percentage-wise in the ADF group of obese people vs ADF group of lean people such as this study.

[@popelgruner595]

Same. This study is so flawed... He hasn't told the viewers anything on how this study is problematic, how few people actually participated in the study, how short the study ran, why a study in WEIGHT LOSS was performed only by LEAN HEALTHY adults, not overweight ones, and why he didn't mention that Nestlé actually affiliated with the study, a company best known for high caloric, sugary foods

[@Cork_UO]

I agree. They did a study with people that already had low body fat to begin with and didn't need to lose weight. How is that a good study on weight loss?

[@blammela]

He explains in the video opening

[@starrypeaceb]

It's appalling the number of people who still don't realize this whole channel is dedicated to strawman arguments on fasting.

[@jpeg.jordaan]

why would you put the fasting people on 150% of maintenance and not 100 or a slight defecit... if you are overeating then its pointless to begin with

[@bills6583]

The editing on this one was great and your break down was very informative love this style

[@Irishbomer]

Smartest man in the fitness industry!!! I also love watching videos from your colleagues Gabrielle Lyons and Don Lyman I get so much information from y’all!!

[@sup3rslowmotion251]

Why oh why did they have to use 150:0 instead of 100:0 or simply ad-libitum? It genuinely bothers me because I want to see the real data. I wanted so badly for my reality to be shattered here. It's almost as if they set these parameters conveniently hidden under the guise of being pragmatic to the data (equal caloric intake) in order to get a desired result. That could very well not be the case, but it still bothers me because I feel like we have missed out on a real opportunity with this study. For context, if you ever do true ADF for any extended period of time and you eat ad-libitum on your "feed" days, what you will notice is that on average you will eat at around daily maintenance and actually slightly less than your baseline. This is not just my own subjective opinion, most people will find this to be the case, though there are obviously outliers. This would have resulted in greater weight loss, but I don't care about that, we don't need a study to understand that.. I care about all of the other bio marker data, it would have served as real and true insight for people based on how they would naturally behave fasting this way, not forcing themselves to eat 150% baseline on feed days. I'm not saying the data would be any different (other than the weightloss), but what is frustrating is that now we will never know. And it would be really nice to know and have this study to lean on, instead we are left with more ambiguity.

[@AncientYouth64]

most people always miss the detail, who'd have thought that lack of unconscious movement might be the reason for lower body weight loss

[@evilcoder]

I think the main problem for those who need to cut is that sometimes it's difficult to stay every day at 75% tdee while it's easier to eat at 150% tdee and fast the next one.

[@Simon-talks]

47 years old here, 31 years of consistent natural training and have been intermittent fasting for 20 years now, while otherwise living a bodybuilding lifestyle. So "not having muscle" or any other negative performance affects has never been my personal anecdotal experience. Maybe I'm a genetic outlier but I'm consistently one of the more muscular(and young looking) guys at most gyms I've trained at over decades, despite being a couple decades older than a lot of the guys there. And I was a string bean when I started training, so it certainly didn't feel like I had great genetics. I just consistently kept building muscle over time(and have maintained all of it at my current age). I have tried 6 month periods of eating all day to see if it would increase my muscle mass, but it never did. I still get 200 grams of protein in(at a bodyweight of 200lbs), divided up as 50gs per meal over 4 meals, every 3 hours, IF 15 hours and eat in a 9 hour window and I keep track of calories for specific goals like anyone living the bodybuilding lifestyle. It never made a difference to my muscle mass, strength or any other metric, whether I was eating all of my waking hours or in just a 9 hour window as long as I was getting my required protein and daily caloric needs in.

[@bunny2chandu]

Very inspiring that you’ve been able to build so much muscle and keep all of it at this age. I would also like to note that you probably might not come under the typical intermittent fasting category. Generally speaking, I think fasting starts when our food is digested and the body starts to tap into the stored glycogen and fat deposits. And in your case(as well as the majority of others), eating at the 9th hour and even giving 2 hours for the food to digest, puts you at 13 hours of efficient fasting. And if that’s typical fasting then I accept but people who eat all day but sleep soon(getting 7-8 hours sleep) will anyhow are fasting 11-12 hours so maybe that can be one of the reasons you were able to better retain muscle mass. Again, as Layne himself said that there were other studies that have shown lean body mass retention in intermittent fasting studies, maybe you’re right too

[@Simon-talks]

@@bunny2chandu yeah I think it’s a balance like all things. I’m fasting likely 6 hours longer than the average person who starts consuming from the moment they wake up and snack until bed and it fits right at the bottom border of what it considered IF fasting(typically between 15-18 hour fasts). I just think it has more to do with the question of did you still train hard, consistent, reach your daily caloric and daily protein needs and did you still spread that protein out and I’ve always checked off all those boxes even though I’m intermittent fasting.

[@JRP3]

That's not really intermittent fasting.

[@Simon-talks]

Yes it is. Plus a bulk of those 20 years of IF I was even doing 18 hour fasts and eating in a 6 hour window and even built strength and muscle through that period too. I settled on a 15 hour fast hoping that it would build more muscle than an 18 hour fast but it didn’t. Eating across all my waking hours didn’t build any additional muscle either. I’ve kept meticulous track of stats over the years while trying all these methods and closely watching the research. Also look at Layne’s wife…..she’s very muscular and jacked and she intermittent fasts.

[@JRP3]

@@Simon-talks 6 hour eating window is IF, 8 is normally considered the maximum IF window. So you could say you formerly did IF. The muscle you or Layne's wife has is irrelevant to this discussion of the length of time required to qualify for IF.

[@Uvvibes]

yes that makes sense on my fasting days I don’t want to work out but I already don’t work out

[@sassyjj]

I think it really depend on the person if you are losing muscle doing ADF. I am gaining muscle quickly and I've been doing adf because it gives me the most energy while having a work out schedule. I've always bulked quickly no matter what it's just my genes. I do less on my fasting days though for sure. If I am socializing or have an event I work my schedule to have that be an eat day and sometimes double up on eat days.

[@vikingnorsefitness5727]

This study didn't say if those in the experiments were lifting, which, if they weren't, that would explain the drastic LBM loss in the ADF group. Those who were working out don't lose anything, in fact, they gain strength and muscle from ADF

[@MotoguyX5]

I got really roped into fasting for a couple of years and annecdotally can confirm this. I was lean when fasting but had less muscle doing the same workouts. Recently basically stopped fasting and everybody is commenting on how jacked I look despite not changing my workout routine. I’m sure there are some benefits to fasting but not for body composition, at least not for me. Gonna just start doing one longer fast every couple of months from now on myself

[@MotoguyX5]

@@georgesarreas5509 why to what, stopping fasting or continuing to do a longer fast every once in a while?

[@harrypotter6894]

But would you rather be bulky or lean? Fasting is actually meant for insulin resistance (many benefits, please look it up) But if you want to talk body composition, I'd much rather have a lean, beach body. It's more impressive, and you feel better. Plus it's better on your joints and tendons, mobility, etc

[@blainebowling3303]

I’m with you… my 1st meal is right after my morning workout instead of 1:00. My goal is to get stronger and if I put on a few pounds of muscle in the mean time I won’t cry. I’ve been doing the knees over toes so I’m becoming more mobile as I’m getting stronger and more muscular. But to your point I plan to do a 5 to 7 day fast once a quarter for the autophagy. Although you lose a minor amount of muscle the first few days that plateaus and you get all back within a week of re-feeding.

[@MotoguyX5]

@@harrypotter6894 I still skip breakfast on occasion and don't eat 6 meals a day for this reason, although there are some more recent studies coming out that show that fasting can induce insulin resistance in skeletal muscles. It's really hard to know what's right anymore, hence I mostly just listen to my body.

[@davidjd123]

Probably have more glycogen in your muscles.

[@TheKiltedGerman]

Very interesting. I've been doing OMAD for a couple years now with occasional multi-day fasts, and it's worked really well for me. I wonder if the body takes longer to transition to a new eating window than a few weeks.

[@heathmahaffey2342]

Very interesting in that so many times I have heard that fasting produces a muscle sparing state within the body. I’m sure Dr. Fung has stated that the body actually spares muscle while fasting. Hmmm

[@MrViralBucks]

The study was 3 weeks long not 4 weeks.

[@HALFAMAZINGTV]

@14:40 is key context in terms of if you are trying to build muscle. If IF works for you, keep doing it. There will always be studies that benefit/hinder every sub-group. Adhere only if applies.

[@thomasschroedl336]

Great video, thanks for the breakdown! This helps me frame in my mind fasting as a tool, the effects of which on non-exercise activity levels and lean body mass are things to really keep in mind!

[@HungryTrashPanda]

I watched your video awhile ago and came back here to tell you thank you! No wonder I was tired on ADF, I didn’t realize I couldn’t make up for lost protein the next day very well. I understand you don’t mean to implement the study the following way, but it turned into a powerhouse of weight loss, muscle building, insulin sensitivity, and energy for me. A huge deal because I’m post menopausal and was pre-diabetic with poorly controlled hypertension, and nothing was working. Straight calorie restriction or limiting food type (Carbs. Why is it always the carbs?) was the worst. Both made me snap back like a rubber band and rebound face stuff into even worse health. I changed to modified ADF from clean ADF, eating 500 calories of protein on fasting days, and it became instantly easy. I started calculating my calories over a two day period so they amounted to 150% of calories instead of 200%, eating about 20% on fasting days, and the rest on eating days. I eat carbs on eating days, because they work for me this way. Absolute game changer. I’ve never felt better and my workouts are hugely improved. Thank you again!!

[@nilscamps5195]

One possible explanation for the differences in fat loss between the CR and ADF+CR groups is a change in physical activity. The investigators observed significantly reduced physical activity in the ADF+CR group, which they primarily attributed to reduced spontaneous light- and moderate-intensity movements. No such reduction was observed in the other two groups. As long as you keep resistance training as usual you will be fine (info is from the study)

[@KaiBiz]

I view my fasting journey as my breakdown and rebuild process. I have to undo decades of negligence. I can tell I have gotten weaker but fasting has brought on new benefits that can be great tools going forward once I start the rebuild. I have regained my self discipline, curbed my appetite and no longer feel like a slave to constant cravings, and even have way more energy than before. Even when I eat till I am full I don’t always feel horrible like before when eating.

[@TheHookUp]

I'm interested to know what you think about the relationship between alternate day fasting and the diet breaks that you like. It seems like being able to eat 150% of your maintenance might feel like a diet break (even though your diet was just starving yourself for an entire day).

[@RO-LDSLNGR]

BAMF!

[@nvass99]

Sounds like a good way to develop an eating disorder

[@JonathanRoyer]

Y’all just missing the point here! At the end of the day, it really comes down to dietary adherence (the form of restriction u personally find the least restrictive) to achieve your goals. As long as you’re in a calorie deficit and getting enough protein, choose the “Diet” or form of eating that feels the easiest for you and able to stick to for a long time.

[@tahrangotla3296]

Diet breaks every other day? Doesn't seem like that's what layne defines as A diet break

[@punxsutawneyphil3944]

Well the part where you starve yourself for an entire day is the problem since you don't get protein in and will lose lean tissue. As he said in the video.

[@intellectualninjamonkey2496]

You know what, sometimes you need to hear a rational, scientific explanation no matter if it shutters your beliefs or lifestyle. Specifically, the part with the protein distribution and the fat/non fat weight loss ratio completely changed my view on intermittent fasting. Maybe it sounds romantic: you eat sporadically like a caveman, you are free from restrictions of timed meals, you fell like a hungry beast that is going to enjoy his huge meal, and finally you end up like a wiry, muscled savage...and then you listen to Layne and all your romantic, original views about diet just go down the drain. And you decide to just follow the science.

[@briand5047]

Well said. Often, romantic arguments, theories, stories, identification with a charismatic leader and a blind leap of faith are put forth as if they are evidence.

[@chingonbass]

@@smarnold22 is there a reason why you don't endorse intermittent fasting?

[@smarnold22]

@@chingonbass I just meant to say that I have no loyalty to that regime or its proponents.

[@chingonbass]

@@smarnold22 ah OK. I thought you had some kind of good Intel on it

[@popelgruner595]

Have you read this study yourself? This study is biased BS. Questions: how many subjects participated? (Sample size) How long did the study run? Three weeks... How can you measure weight loss in HEALTHY LEAN adults? (BMI of the test subjects is the one of lean adults, not of overweight ones. If you're already slim how much weight can you lose? After all this was supposed to be a WEIGHT LOSS STUDY). The study was sponsored by Nestlé, a producer of high caloric, highly processed food. Given those facts I'm really interested in your answer.

[@DPGBehler]

So this has me wondering, it’s pretty much agreed now that BCAAs are largely useless when you’re getting enough lean protein. Would drinking BCAAs during those fasting periods mitigate the loss of fat-free mass then? Or am I still misunderstanding BCAAs or something else?

[@HeadbangersKitchen]

Shots fired!

[@Parker_Miller_M.S.]

Great breakdown of the study doc! when I was writing an article about IF/TRF just to learn more about the evidence base for the topic, I came to similar conclusions as it relates to lean body mass loss/retention, applications for athletes, NEAT, and overall body composition compared to continued energy restrictions. It was awesome to meet you at ISSN St Pete and chat, hope to see you in Fort Lauderdale next year!

[@JemyM]

ADF finally gave me control and fixed my life because it works based on my personality type. I am 45 and so I tried a lot of things, including Weight Watchers, exercise, calorie restriction (which lead to binge eating disorder) etc. I do not think ADF works for everybody due to differences in how people work, and what kind of lives they have. I haven't cut out a single food group, but improved my macros and what I eat on an eat day. I eat my target weight TDEE to make maintenance easier once it happen. After I lost my first 40 pounds I began to exercise. I can make room for special days by moving the fast day. It doesn't get in the way of my social life. Friends. Family. Traditions. I know why it works (calorie restriction) while I also ignore dubious exaggerated claims. There are books on ADF written by authors without credibility. I factcheck, I reject the books that don't give their sources and rely on manipulation. I ignore the concept of "clean fasting" since it sounds like Orthorexia. There are a lot of that crap in the fasting community. I stick with the science only.

[@TeamYouphoric]

I'd rather eat kale than do alternate day fasting.

[@popelgruner595]

Have you read this study yourself? This study is biased BS. Questions: How many subjects participated? (Sample size and how is such a small sample size sufficient?) How long did the study run? Three weeks...for a weight loss study? How can you measure weight loss in HEALTHY LEAN adults? (BMI of the test subjects is one of lean adults, not of overweight ones. If you're already slim how much weight can you lose? After all, this was supposed to be a WEIGHT LOSS STUDY). The study was sponsored by Nestlé, a producer of sugary, high caloric, highly processed food. Given those facts, I'm really interested in your answer.

[@justme4171]

4 weeks is not nearly long enough to measure reduction in bmr. This study would need to be a minimum of 6 months.

[@mimelsaharXD]

This study has some flaws that negate the muscle loss argument. The study was done on healthy weight individuals, not overweight individuals with large excess of body fat. If the body has more fat to pull from it will less likely burn muscle tissue. This is why it is common knowledge that overweight and obese people can diet more aggressively, while leaner people should diet more slowly. Second flaw is that the study (to my knowledge) does not take resistance training into account, which is the crucial factor for whether your body decides to keep metabolically expensive muscle or burn it of in favour of efficiency. Laynes advice only makes sense if you are losing that last 10-20 pounds, but if you got 50+, its a non argument that adf would not affect your lean muscle mass significantly.

[@theinvisiblewoman5709]

Yeah I was confused. He showed that the third ground has the least lean mass loss but equal fat mass loss. That means higher potential to maintain or grow muscle mass not lower as he said since the 75% and 150% groups loss significantly more lean mass.

[@hotcelebsuncovered]

if the fasting group had been told not to reduce activity, or even to increase activity, I wonder ho. much difference that would have made? Could that reduction in activity have contributed the drop in lean body mass, the body essentially taking a "use it or lose it" approach?

[@WaterandSpirit]

That’s what I’m thinking. Nothing was said about whether they were still training on eating days or not.

[@Lj-mv8hu]

I’ve started adf. I would like to move to eating daily with a restriction but as of now I have a food addiction and simply over eat. Eat when stressed/ happy/ bored. When ever. I’d like to get used to not eating based off emotion then move to daily eating.

[@indy1440]

My take away is eat light in the morning cause I like how it feels and have a nice dinner during restriction. Thanks for breaking it down.

[@magdoc1192]

With out knowing exactly where the non-fat weight loss came from, it is difficult to jump to the conclusion that useful muscle mass was lost. It would have been interesting to have done the study on subjects that needed the loose significant weight, instead of lean healthy people. After weight loss, measure loose skin on the two groups with reduced calories. Did the alternate day fasting group have less loose skin after the weight loss? In other words, did the non-fat weight loss come from the excess skin? Did the increased periods of autophagy of the alternate day fasting group help reduce the loose skin that results from significant weight loss? In my N=1 case of significant weight loss from calorie restriction, I carried loose skin for two years, until I started a 36 hour fast once (or twice) a week, not for weight loss, but for autophagy; my loose skin is nearly gone after about 6 months of fasting (I also reduced my protein consumption on eating day, and increased calories to keep weight constant). I am curious to know if this loss of loose skin was coincidental with the 36hr fasting. Also, I would agree with the study, my activity is reduced on fasting days, as an intense workout would make me hungry. It is difficult to double exercise on eating days due to time restriction; therefore, my overall energy consumption is likely reduced. The study makes sense, however, it is not perfect since the actual non-fat weight loss was not pin pointed. Also, why would they not include obese individual in the study, they are the subjects that need to loose weight.

[@michaelfox6609]

Even if it's strictly tied to calorie restriction, it's common sense that it's much better to have 100% of caloric intake every other day rather than 75% everyday. Most people do not over eat on the eating days. Theres problem number 1 with this shit study. Another problem is none of these studies consist of obese people ever. Another problem (probably the biggest) is it was only 4 weeks. Adf is superior in the long term. 4 weeks isnt long enough to make a study out of anything. Tons of people are doing adf and have lost weight and had major health success while those who are trying to restrict calories daily are still fat and feel like nothing works. This study is chalked and was doomed from the start. That's the comment I wrote on this video. Daily bmr of adf ppl were reduced? No shit. The body uses a lot of energy digesting food. That's why those who fast tend to have more energy and a clearer thinking. This study is straight garbage.

[@1mobetter99]

It's a useless study done on lean people. They aren't the ones who need to lose fat.

[@theinvisiblewoman5709]

From the graph he showed it looks like ADF with 200% increase had the least lean mass loss so that sounds like a higher potential for retaining muscle mass not a lower. But he said lower for that group.

[@RichKaySSC]

Wow. What a great study debrief! Illuminating. Thanks and much appreciated Doc. One ?, so to retain lean muscle on ADF, would it be beneficial to drink a protein only shake on the fasting day to fill the wood shed of amino acids? Thanks in advance for your sage advice.

[@kevk3853]

Great video/analysis. And great paper. I did ADF for a month and definitely noticed decreased NEAT towards the end of the month. I maintained strength and lost most of the fat around my waist, which was great. I think you have to keep in mind that the people enrolled in this trial were already lean and didn't have excessive adipose tissue prior to starting ADF. That probably can explain some of the muscle mass they lost vs CR people. I think ADF works well for fat loss for select people with excessive adiposity and - I may be wrong - but I don't think obese people would experience as much muscle loss.

[@ddddaniel6888]

Would love to see a debate between you and Mike Mutsel from High Intensity Health. Both of you guys are extremely knowledgeable and my go to guys... BUT BOY do you guys differ in ideas

[@chingonbass]

debates are lame, but a conversation between the two would be great

[@jessiel7694]

I would also like to see that

[@islandboy4445]

There are studies that show that one that does longterm fasting but does not exercise during the fast will lose muscle mass (example, forced hospital fasting), but if there is exercise during that time, they tend to maintain muscle mass. So, considering that they suspect that participants unintentionally exerted less energy to exercise on fasting days, I would be interested to see this study repeated with participants instructed to do some sort of intended exercise, especially even light lifting. I do have to wonder if this has anything to do with the results, because it is a very well constructed study.

[@Ironclad6661]

ADF works well what I do is 2000 calories on Feast days and 500-750 calories high protein on off days. Minimize muscle loss but I'm not going 3000 calories on FEAST days ......better distribution of protein to preserve lean mass. Lost 50 pounds so far. Going strong I have a lot more to lose like 100+ 50 pounds in only 3 months.

[@dbb7286]

I can tell you one thing it does do and that is it can correct your blood sugar if you’re prediabetic like I was. That’s a huge bonus to alternate day fasting. I corrected my prediabetes doing this.

[@Thetaquo]

I did about a year of 16/8 for 6 days, and 24-hour fast 1 day a week, and I saw EXACTLY the same result from this study. Lost >10% of my weight, but half of it was lean mass, and my energy was going down. Wish I saw this before that!!

[@matthewgerman1618]

they didn't mention the training they did on fasted days? if participants worked their muscles to failure, i don't think they would have lost lean muscle tissue.

[@tatjanakane503]

This is not truly correct, at least not for me, because the study didn’t account for the metabolic adaptation in humans . I was on 1600cal for months, lost 8kg, and then the weight loss stopped and didn’t move for 5 months. I started alternating day fasting, where I was, on average, still taking 1600 calories daily, just 600 one day and 2600cal the other, and I have so far lost 2kg in the first month. I’ll see how it continues, but so far the alternative day fasting has initiated the further weight loss and “restored” my metabolism. By the way, I count calories well and I’m sure about those numbers. When I was going through metabolic adaptations, my feet and hands were cold all the time, and I felt sluggish but I’m normal temperature now and feel normal (slightly less active on the afternoons when I fast, which is normal). Thanks for your video, good analysis and the conclusion of caloric restrictions being extremely important in a weight loss is a good one.

[@koyamogodztv14]

Any study that only does it for a month is just insanely inaccurate. U didn't gain your weight in one month neither will it make sense to lose any significant amount of it in a month. Calorie restriction just makes u hungrier compared to just straight up fasting. That's one of the biggest difference. Also...studies are done with average healthy people. Anything will or won't work on them. Obese people are where the testings should be. They're the ones who need it most.

[@Robert1546_Sea]

This is one group eating 500 calories a day. This is not fasting, this is much harder. This video is not being completely transparent in how it's explained.