Fasting for prolonged periods can be a scary fast FAT LOSS tool, but what about if you’re concerned about MUSCLE LOSS? In this video the science will tell us if intermittent long term fasting can work for you also!
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In recent years the popularity of intermittent fasting for fat loss has led people to push the limits to longer term, extended fasts. This raises concerns about maintaining muscle mass, we all know that dietary protein is important to build muscle, but what about maintaining it? Over a 1 day or 2 day fast, what will happen to your muscles which were so painstaking to build.
Well thanks to the some incredible biological and hormonal processes involving Growth Hormone and IGF-1, the impact may not be as bad as you might think. In this video we dive in, to see exactly what is going on here. Uncovering some of the science behind what is happening, why its happening, and how we can use it to our best advantage, to build the best body!
First let’s be clear, all weight loss diets can be boiled down to one simple concept. You are reducing your calorie intake, thereby eating less calories than you burn, this forces your body to tap into fat to make up the difference. Converting this fat into energy reduces your fat mass while making up the additional energy you need.
In order to evaluate fasting as a way to lose fat for people interested in still preserving muscle, we need something to compare it against.
Since the goal here is fat loss with a consideration for maintaining muscle, it only makes sense to compare fasting against another similarly effective method of weight loss...
A typical cutting diet; which has participants eating less calories than they consume daily , meaning they schedule their macros so their deficit shows up at the end of each day.
The story of growth hormone release starts with the interactions of two other hormones. This is detailed in a fantastic study from 1992 published in the journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.
The first of these hormones is responsible for triggering the release of growth hormone, and is aptly named growth hormone releasing hormone.
the other is called Somatostatin or also sometimes called growth hormone-inhibiting hormone
Throughout the day and night, there are periodic releases of GHRH which should trigger the pituitary gland to release little blips of Growth Hormone. However sometimes this doesn’t work, while sometimes a secretion of GHRH triggers a burst of GH release, if GHIH is being secreted at the same time it cancels out the effects of the GHRH and GH isn’t released.
The result is small blips of growth hormone being released throughout the day into the bloodstream. What makes it even more difficult to study is is once released, growth hormone doesn’t stick around very long, the half life is quite short, in this study the average half life of GH in the blood was just 18 minutes.
During fasting mean levels of GH in the blood increased by 3 fold.
After a closer look they found the pituitary gland had kicked into overdrive, not only did the number of blips of GH release double, the average size of each blip increased as well.
as far as why it’s happening, science isn’t entirely sure, but the mechanism is hypothesized to be a result of an increase in that growth hormone release stimulating hormone, and a simultaneous decrease in the Somostatin which suppresses release as we talked about.
As far as benefits go,
It actually turns out, evidence for growth hormone itself impacting muscle growth and maintenance is mixed. The 1988 study I referenced suggested that GH may indirectly protect muscles by helping the body mobilize fat for fuel, and also support the liver in generating small amounts of necessary glucose.
While some studies have found GH increased muscle protein synthesis, others found no real effect on it…
So what is happening?
Well remember how I mentioned that GH doesn’t stick around very long once it enters the bloodstream, one reason for this is because when it reaches the liver it is transformed into ANOTHER hormone, known as IGF-1.
Unlike Growth Hormone, IGF-1 has a robust backing of scientific evidence supporting its important role in building and maintain muscle, to the point where injectable IGF-1 is a controlled substance under anti doping laws.
There are several well studied pathways which allow for muscle growth and maintenance, IGF-1 is deeply rooted in them.
