This is How You Maximize Fat Loss When Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a great technique you can implement in your diet in order to melt some fat off. It's awesome. I thought it was magic after I started intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting alone burns a lot of fat through the release of growth hormone, epinephrine (adrenaline), and glucagon. How do you burn even more fat when fasting?

1. Anabolic Steroids

Anabolic steroids is a perfectly safe and smart method you can use in order to lose fat….I'M KIDDING. Do NOT use anabolic steroids. It is not safe or smart. I thought this would be a good joke before we get into the actual methods you can use in order to burn more fat during your fasting period.

2. Lift Some Weights/Workout

I am not even joking, this makes a huge difference in the amount of fat you burn. This makes sense. You haven't eaten anything for more than 8 hours (given that you slept for 8 hours). So, your glycogen stores have been getting used with a little bit of your fat. Then, when you workout, you need a ton of energy (ATP) to do that, especially if you are lifting heavy weights. You need ATP to contract your muscles. How are you going to get that ATP if you haven't eaten anything? Mostly from your fat stores! Breaking down fat can lead to making so much ATP. When you workout during your fast, the increase in growth hormone, epinephrine, and glucagon can break down your fat into usable constituents like glycerol and fatty acids. Fatty acids can undergo a process called beta-oxidation, where fatty acids are ultimately broken down in order to eventually make ATP. The glycerol can be used to make glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. Think about all those extra calories of pure fat (mostly pure fat and a little glycogen - this depends on when during your fast you are working out) you can burn everyday if you workout during your fasting period.

3. Caffeine

Drinking coffee is great during a fast (not too much obviously). The general theory behind this is that caffeine increases your metabolic rate. This means you will be burning more glucose in a given amount of time. The only way your body can get that glucose is from your fat cells and little bit from glycogen if you are fasting. You also may feel a little hotter since one of the by-products of metabolism is heat. Coffee is a perfect addition to get that extra fat to leave the house.

4. Drink Water

Now I know some of you may have heard of dry fasting where you don't drink any water during the time you fast because it burns way more fat than a regular water fast. Water is vital. This is why I think dry fasting for a long period time can be dangerous, especially for your heart and kidneys. In addition, if you learn the science of how fats are broken down in order to make ATP, you will see that you actually need water to break down fat. Literally, water is needed in the step where a compound called Enoyl-CoA is converted into another compound called Beta-Hydroxy Acyl-CoA (with the help of a hydratase enzyme). This is an integral step in fatty acid oxidation (breakdown of fat for energy).

These are the three main methods I use in order to burn off even more fat when I intermittent fast and it has been working great so far. I have even seen more gains at the gym (this is always good!). Of course, you also need sleep as general everyday thing. You have to sleep enough. Without enough sleep, you won't see much progress. Let me know if you have more techniques to burn more fat during a fast.

Note: Make sure to consult your doctor or healthcare provider before making any changes in your diet or lifestyle (like intermittent fasting). I am not a doctor, just a person who loves science and medicine.

Disclaimer: The original version of this article can be found here: https://medium.com/in-fitness-and-in-health/this-is-how-you-maximize-fat-loss-when-intermittent-fasting-455b331f6d74