Intermittent Fasting — Can you really build muscle and lose weight?

Many people (mostly males) are petrified of Intermittent fasting because they might lose all that hard-earned muscle mass and, of course, strength. People are afraid that fasting will cause them to make less effort when training; therefore, they believe it’s not worth trying. They may continue with the five meal a day, bodybuilder mentality that’s been around for more years than I have been born!

I was one of those people as well. Initially, when I started my bodybuilding journey, I was encouraged to “eat more” to get lean. I had to split my meals up 5–6 times per day and make sure I had the right amount of protein for each dinner. It was exhausting for me to cook, prepare, and carry around a huge esky filled with glass containers. People at work used to laugh at me, and some would be fascinated with my journey. Thankfully I had many want to be fans who loved seeing the transformation I made with nutrition and exercise.

Later on down the track, I noticed this strategy stopped working for me when that was all over for me. I had developed the worst gut and stomach issues that eating was hard. I was tracking my macros and experiencing bloating, discomfort and also putting on weight. How was this the case? I was following the tried and tested bodybuilder diet — how can it not work now, after all those years?