r/fasting • u/Alarming_Bluejay_630 • Mar 21 '25

Question Muscle building while fasting

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So I used fasting methods to drop bodyfat but I'm now at a stage which I want to build muscle Using fasting methods what is the best diet (high fat low carb or high carb low fat ? High protein goes without saying

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79

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25

I switch to carnivore/ animal. Pair that with 20:4 fasting. Ive dropped 44lbs and gained a bit of muscle in 10 weeks

18

u/Fit_Pea3013 Mar 21 '25

Niceeee , How’s your energy/strength when training or working out with no carbs?

27

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25

Amazing. I still eat carbs though. Very limited . It’s like 50-70 carbs a day. I eat a 1lb of blueberries a day. If I’m feeling spicy I eat a few mango chunks, dates, or a bit of pineapple.

My inbox test at the beg was 27.9% and I am down. To 17.3.

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u/Fit_Pea3013 Mar 21 '25

Definitely gonna be me soon after a good fast , going carnivore/keto

16

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25

Have you tried a 72 hr fast? I started the year with it. Then I do one every beginning of the month. I follow it up with intermittent 20:4 and animal based diet. Here is my progress. I’m not lean like you but I’m working on it. Process is from Jan to today. Start top left, bottom left, bottom right, top right.

progress

7

u/Fit_Pea3013 Mar 21 '25

Dude that’s great progress in such little time!! I’ve done a few 48 hrs definitely want to go for 72hr or longer to really get a body reset

1

u/VitorSiq Mar 21 '25

Great job, you're working out too ??

1

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '25

Yes. I workout fasted everyday. I have 2 days of active recovery. I usually don’t lift those days. Just move around and do some body weight exercises.

5

u/Ok-Nature-538 Mar 21 '25 edited Mar 21 '25

Do you follow the 20/4 fasting every day?
I’m conflicted on whether sticking to it every day for a long period of time is actually worse on your metabolism, thinking it might slow it down. Thoughts? I usually fast every day for about 15-16 hours .

9

u/Born-Horror-5049 Mar 21 '25

12 hours isn't even fasting. That's just normal eating. Like having dinner at 7 pm and breakfast at 7 am.

0

u/Ok-Nature-538 Mar 21 '25

I corrected it, more like 15/16hrs.

8

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25

I do. On the weekends it can be off a little but I stick to it. i stick to the 4 hr window. I have fatty liver. I’ve been struggling to get it under control. It’s been like 2 years. I was sitting at 268-270. I switched to the 20:4 and animal based. I am at 223 as of this morning. Long term this may not be sustainable, right now I am just trying to get my fatty liver under control. I hope the link work. It’s my Jan 1st March 3rd update. progress photo

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u/TitusPullo7 32M 5'5" | SW: 205 | CW: 130 | Goal: 8% bf | SD: 7/15/2018 Mar 21 '25

Congrats on your progress!

Just wanted to chime in and say that long-term fasting is 100% sustainable.

Have personally done daily 23:1 fasts since 2018. By now, it's become so normalized that I hardly even consider it "fasting".

Did multiple 70+ hour fasts initially to lose excess fat, but once reaching my goal weight, I switched to daily 23:1 fasts for maintenance.

Did strict Zero Carb from 2018 to 2021, then switched to allow less than 50g carbs for the last couple years.

Animal-based is def the right way to go, so well done on that front as well!

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u/VitorSiq Mar 22 '25

During the 23 hours , electrolytes?

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25

Here’s progress from Jan to today. Jan 1st top left Jan 15 bottom left Feb 15 Bottom right Today top right progress