Intermittent fasting is something that many fitness enthusiasts have taken to in recent times. However, many continue to debate the right way to engage in the process. Now this debate has reached the seven-time Mr. Olympia and the face of the Golden Era of bodybuilding, Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the latest edition of Arnie’s newsletter, The Arnold’s Pump Club, he shared his take on intermittent fasting. 

The Austrian Oak mentioned intermittent fasting (IF) as “another tool” in one’s dietary strategies. Arnie said he read enough stories about the impressive claims of intermittent fasting and wrote, “It starts to sound like magic, with benefits beyond weight loss.” He even recalled the moment when he wrote the best-selling book on IF and said, “I can confidently say I got A LOT of things wrong.”

The Austrian Oak talks about the two types of IF

The GOAT of bodybuilding started by explaining the basic concept of IF. He says that at the “most basic level,” IF is something almost every human does. The break between your last meal of the day and the first meal of the day. IF is nothing but extending the break you take between two meals, intentionally making your feeding window smaller. Building on the same, Arnie shared two approaches to IF.

The first is the Lean Gains approach, which advocates a sixteen-hour fast. Under this approach, your eating window will be from eight in the morning to four in the evening, and the rest is your fast. The second approach is the Warrior’s Diet, which suggests a twenty-hour fast with a four-hour eating window. This approach also follows the eat and stop protocol, “which incorporates one full 24-hour break from eating at least one day per week.”

But does IF actually work? 

The practicality of following IF

The Austrian Oak made a simple point and highlighted that if you want to try out IF like others for the fat loss benefits, “then the answer is yes, intermittent fasting might help with fat loss.” He broke down the fasting protocols and shed light on the fact that people lose fat following them. “They eat fewer calories than they burn throughout the day because the “eating windows” or weekly fast makes it harder to overeat,” explains Arnie.

IF schedules create an energy deficit through the restricted eating windows that lead to weight and fat loss. But the seven-time Mr. Olympia made a revealing discovery and wrote, “Many people will have you believe intermittent fasting is better for fast loss, but now dozens of studies have found that intermittent fasting (also known as time-restricted eating) is not superior for fat loss.” Keeping this result in mind, let’s take a look at how IF affects males and females.

IF targets males and females differently

The effectiveness of IF can vary from person to person. Arnie shared eight-week research done on young males who had previous experience with resistance training. The scientist found that those “who ate only during an eight-hour window lost 16.4 percent of their fat mass, compared to just under 3 percent for a group who ate the same calories over a longer period.”

However, when it comes to women, IF has a completely different behavior. Fasting messes up women’s hormonal environment. Women may witness “a reduction in thyroid output, a decrease in estrogen, and other adverse hormonal effects.” The Austrian Oak highlighted that IF works “as any diet that results in a calorie deficit.” Let’s take a look at the other benefits of IF other than losing fat.

Does intermittent fasting help with autophagy?

A study from 2016 found that IF prevents neuron damage in the brain, and many other studies found a correlation between fasting and reduced symptoms of arthritis. But all of this is due to the factor of autophagy. In this phenomenon, the human body kills old, defective, or incomplete cells. This happens because of the catecholamines released by the body after fasting. 

However, IF may not really help with autophagy. The Austrian Oak explained, “There is no evidence that intermittent fasting increases autophagy more than cutting calories or other methods. Because autophagy is not exclusive to fasting, Exercise increases autophagy as well.” According to Schwarzenegger, this doesn’t mean IF is bad; it is just that one of the bold claims is “not substantiated.” Now, after all this information, a question might pop into your head: What should be the ideal time to follow IF? Arnie has an answer for this as well.

A tip from the GOAT if you want to follow IF in ideal situations

IF helps tune your body according to your needs and might be helpful for you when you know you’ll end up eating more than you thought. In situations like these, you can follow IF and restrict your eating window to a minimum to avoid overeating. The Terminator shared a few tips for this.

The tip is to pick a protein- and veggie-rich breakfast to promote satiety. The former Governor of California mentioned being careful with this approach. He wants his village to use this approach occasionally and not make a habit of it. Following it frequently might lead to a “bad relationship with food,” says Arnie.

Intermittent fasting is a subjective choice to follow. The results vary from person to person; for some, it’s very effective, but others might not find it beneficial. As Arnie reveals, it’s up to you to try it out and find what suits you the best.