We grew up with tons of advice such as “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” and “eat small, frequent meals.” However, this advice either doesn’t sound great to some people or is unsustainable for others. In contrast, intermittent fasting is gaining popularity among the health-conscious population. (Especially people with busy lives don’t want to be slaves to the constant grazing every few hours.)
Thousands of Kino Warriors have transformed their bodies and their lives by using an intermittent fasting style of eating.
If you also want to break from the frustrating status quo and get in amazing shape while eating big portions of delicious food, keep reading. This article will arm you with all the knowledge you need to use intermittent fasting like a Kino Warrior.
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern where you cycle periods of feeding and fasting.
There are various IF protocols, but the most popular and effective one is the 16:8 Leangains protocol. This style of IF has a 16-hour fasting window, followed by an eight-hour eating window. You can set your fasting and feeding windows any way you like, but the simplest way would be skipping breakfast, eating a moderate-size lunch and a big dinner.
What Can You Eat on Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a very effective tool to cut calories without giving up the enjoyment of eating… but it isn’t magic. Just because you’re following IF doesn’t mean you can stuff your face with whatever you want and still lose fat.
When it comes to fat loss (or muscle gain), calorie balance is the king. If your goal is to lose fat, you need to be in a caloric deficit. Furthermore, you need to adjust your macros to make fat loss a priority over weight loss (you don’t want to lose muscle and end up skinny fat).
If your goal is fat loss, check out the Warrior Shredding Program, which includes a nutrition guide that teaches you how to set your macros.
There is no limitation on types of foods you can eat on Intermittent Fasting, but you need to make sure you hit your calorie and macronutrient goals. That being said, the best way to break your fast is with a high-protein food, a solid amount of healthy fat and some fruit. After fasting for 16 hours, you want to resist the temptation of breaking your fast with a big, unhealthy meal.
How to Break a Fast for Effective Fat Loss
During the fasting window, the liver keeps pumping glucose into the bloodstream to keep blood glucose levels steady. Breaking the fast with some fruit will replenish the liver glycogen without giving you a huge insulin spike. This way, you won’t crash a few hours after the snack.
Fasting puts your body in a catabolic state, which is favorable for fat loss purposes. However, you don’t want to stay in this state for too long; you want to avoid muscle loss. Including at least 25-30 grams of protein in your first meal will stimulate muscle protein synthesis and put your body in an anabolic state, which is favorable for muscle building purposes.
Healthy fats are not only necessary for optimum hormonal function but also helpful for appetite control. Fats are digested slowly, so they keep you full longer. You want to include a good source of healthy fats — such as nuts, nut butter or olive oil — in your first meal.
How to Make Intermittent Fasting Enjoyable
After breaking your fast with a high-protein lunch, you won’t feel hungry for a few hours. Considering you only have two or three meals to meet your protein target, make sure your dinner is also high in protein. The ideal template for dinner is protein + veggies + carbohydrate + healthy fats.
As long as you stick to the template and include a protein source, you can have a very satisfying meal without losing your caloric deficit. You can pick steak, chicken or fish for your protein source. You can add a generous serving of vegetables. Plus, you can also throw in your favorite carbohydrates, such as potatoes or rice.
If the protein source you picked is fatty fish or steak, you don’t need to include additional fats. However, if you eat lean protein, like chicken breast, add some fats (olive oil, avocado) to your meal.
To make this style of eating sustainable and enjoyable, feel free to use the leftover calories on any dessert you like. If you have a sweet tooth, satisfy it with chocolate or ice cream. (Just make sure you don’t go over your calories!)
If you’re careful about tracking the calories of your foods and don’t binge, you don’t need to feel guilty about enjoying the so-called “junk” food. On the contrary, allowing yourself to eat these foods in moderation will help you stick to your diet for the long term.
Instead of restricting yourself needlessly and wearing down your willpower, you can lose fat effortlessly… all while eating what you enjoy!
What Can You Consume During the Fasting Window?
Fasting for 16 hours may sound difficult, especially if you are a beginner to intermittent fasting. After a few weeks, though, the body adapts to it and hunger stops being an issue. However, you can still manage hunger during the fasting window by strategically consuming some specific foods…
The rule of fasting is that you don’t consume calories. That being said, you can consume drinks — coffee and sparkling water — to suppress appetite. Upon waking, drink some sparkling water to rehydrate yourself and blunt the morning hunger. You can also drink black coffee (no sugar or cream) to give your metabolism a kick and further suppress your appetite.
To push your feeding window later in the day and avoid muscle protein breakdown, take some Kino Aminos. You can add a scoop or two in your water and sip it throughout the fasting window. (This is also helpful for muscle growth if you work out in the morning, during your fast.)
If you like working out in the morning or before you break your fast, you can also take Kino Octane pre-workout without breaking your fast.
Think you can’t have the body of your dreams if you’re older? THINK AGAIN: Working Out After 40 With Joe Manganiello’s Workout Protocol
How to Schedule Your Workouts on Intermittent Fasting
Contrary to popular belief, working out in a fasted or fed state doesn’t make a big difference in terms of fat loss or muscle building. However, you can still strategically schedule your meals to make the most of your training.
There are two main concerns when it comes to training in a fasted state:
First is the fat-burning effects of fasted training. If you train in a fasted state, your insulin levels are low. Therefore, more fat will be used as an energy source. However, at the end of the day, it all comes down to your calorie deficit. Your fat loss rate will be determined by your calorie deficit, not the timing of your training.
Second is the so-called “window of opportunity” to eat protein post-workout. After all, you break down muscle tissue during your workout. You must eat sufficient protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. This helps repair muscle damage and build muscle. Some say that unless you consume 25-30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of your training, all your efforts will be wasted.
While there’s truth to the protein window, it’s longer than gym bros believe.
As long as you hit your daily protein target, waiting a few hours to eat after your workout won’t make a difference. The only thing you need to worry about fasted training is your performance levels.
If you train in the morning in a fasted state, take some Kino Aminos and Kino Octane to keep your performance levels high. Break your fast with a regular lunch, enjoy a big dinner and finish with another meal (dessert!) before bed.
If you prefer afternoon training, break your fast with a moderate-sized lunch, eat a carbohydrate-rich meal two hours before training and enjoy a big, high-protein dinner after your workout.
An Example Day of Eating on Intermittent Fasting
Now that you’ve learned the principles of intermittent fasting, let’s bring it all together and see how a day of eating looks like:
- Wake up (7 a.m.): Sparkling water, black coffee
- Breaking the Fast (12 p.m.): One cup of Greek yogurt, an apple, a handful of nuts
- Lunch/Pre-Workout Meal (3 p.m.): Chicken breast, rice, vegetables
- Workout (5 p.m.): Kino Octane pre-workout
- Post-Workout Meal (7 p.m.): Steak, broccoli, roasted potatoes
- Dessert (8 p.m.): Toast with Nutella
- Bedtime (11 p.m.):
Feel free to swap any of the foods with the things you enjoy. So long as you stick to the eating schedule and meal templates, there are no magic or forbidden foods. Make sure you stay in your calorie target and consume enough protein. This way, you’ll burn fat day-in and day-out.
With intermittent fasting, you can burn fat, build muscle and get in great shape. You can this without carrying Tupperware around and enjoying the foods you like.
