Here’s a Method of Putting Intermittent Fasting on Steroids

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a very good method of losing weight while alternating eating with not eating. During the eating period, though, you can do something extra to enhance the effect of the method: protein cycling.

The new method even has its own name: intermittent fasting protein cycling (IFPC). IFPC requires you to fast for 16 hours, and do the protein cycling in the remaining eight hours.

The periods of fasting and non-fasting pushes the body into a state called autophagy. In other words, it starts to self-cannibalize. This is a good state if it is not taken to the extreme since cells have time to remove or recycle waste and eat away the surplus that is behind weight gain.

The tricky party is that as we age autophagy tends to slow down. To convince your cells to consume the waste, you’ll have to not offer them additional fuel. This is IF in a nutshell.

• Past studies have confirmed that IF can dissolve visceral fat, boost the immune system, prevent bone loss, and make your body look and feel younger.
• It also reduces the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Protein Cycling Activates Autophagy

Protein cycling (PC) is very similar to IF since it activates autophagy when the body does not receive proteins. It is worth noting that the human body cannot produce its own protein so it needs it from external source.

PC will help your body use the food you consume to build muscle mass while burning the extra fat. We do not normally deprive ourselves of protein. An average adult usually eats 70gr of protein every day.

PC can boost the effectiveness of intermittent fasting if it’s done right. Protein deprivation can activate autophagy if you starve the body of protein for three nonconsecutive days. You should fast for 16 hours (sleep time included) and trim protein intake to 25gr per day. The next day you eat as much protein as you need, which will put autophagy on sleep mode. Then you repeat. For instance, you can lower protein intake on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to eat without restrictions on the weekends.

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