What is Anabolic Fasting and Can It Turn Your Body Into a Fat-Burning Machine?

The anabolic diet was first developed by Mauro DiPasquale, a former world champion powerlifter and assistant professor at the University of Toronto. It later became popularized in the fitness industry as it promised to turn your body into a fat-burning machine. The name “anabolic diet” comes from DiPasquale’s belief that a certain method of carbohydrate cycling can mimic the effects that anabolic steroids have on the body. Anabolic fasting came along when CrossFit trainer Cory Gregory combined DiPasquale’s anabolic diet with principles of intermittent fasting to create a new protocol meant to build lean muscle while burning fat. Read on to see what this diet entails and how it holds up from a physiological and safety standpoint. What is Anabolic Fasting? In the body, anabolism refers to growth and building, whereas catabolism refers to the process of breaking food down and using it as energy by the body. Based on these terms, the proposed goal of anabolic fasting is to build up muscle through a reduced consumption of carbohydrates. The concept of fasting for muscle growth may seem counterintuitive, but it involves providing the right amount of nutrients to support anabolism while at the same time minimizing the body’s fat stores. In its essence, anabolic fasting is an eating protocol that cycles between fat-burning and muscle-building stages through two main processes: Carb-cycling: Carb-cycling involves restricting carbs on some days, and consuming a large number of carbs to replenish glycogen stores on other days. Here’s a general idea of what that may look like: 5:2 cycle: For five days straight, the goal is to consume just about no carbs (as little as 25 grams or less.) During this low-carb phase, the goal is to eat a ketogenic diet, with most daily calories coming from healthy fat (65%) and protein (35%). For the following two days, flip things around: most of your daily calories should come from carb sources. High-carb days call for 60% of calories from carbs, and only 15% from protein and 25% from healthy fats. Usually, people will choose to have their low-carb days Monday through Friday and then go high-carb on the weekend. It’s important to point out that before starting on a 5:2 cycle, the protocol is to spend 12 days consuming no carbs in your diet in order to get your body properly adjusted to using fat, not carbs, as its primary energy source. After that, there are two high-carb days to replenish your glycogen stores and then you jump into the 5:2 weekly cycle. Fasting: On top of cycling between high-carb and low-carb days, this diet also involves a fasting protocol. That means you have a relatively small window each day, where you consume all your calories, and then the rest of the day you only drink water. With the intermittent fasting aspect of the diet, most follow a 16:8 pattern where they consume all their daily calories within an 8-hour window. What You Eat / What You Don’t Eat Aside from carb restriction on certain days, there aren’t any foods you are not allowed to eat. In general, anabolic fasting calls for healthy sources of protein, such as lean meats, fish and eggs, and healthy sources of fat, such as olive oil, dairy, nuts and avocado. For the high-carb portion of the protocol, you should eat minimally processed, whole food sources such as vegetables, fruits, brown rice, whole grain pasta and oatmeal. Pros and Cons Carb restriction coupled with intermittent calorie reductions has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce body fat. Still, there are few scientific studies that evaluate the efficacy of carb-cycling on muscle growth and anabolism. There aren’t any studies that prove this method can burn fat while bulking you up; the evidence is mostly anecdotal from bodybuilders who follow Cory Gregory’s diet plans. With any diet that calls for restricting an entire macronutrient group, there are risks of nutrient deficiencies. During the carb-restriction period, intake of valuable micronutrients such as thiamine, folate, iron, iodine and magnesium may be reduced, which can lead to serious deficiencies and poor health outcomes over time. Intermittent fasting also requires you to eat fewer calories and less frequently than you normally would. If your goal is to build muscle, you may have trouble getting enough calories and protein to power you through a workout and adequately cover your energy needs. The Bottom Line: Anabolic Fasting Anabolic fasting combines two fairly difficult-to-follow eating patterns: carb-restriction and intermittent fasting. Whether you’re a bodybuilder, powerlifter, competitive athlete, casual gym-goer or anything in between, it is important to assess whether or not you can follow these protocols without compromising your health or wellness goals. For example, for someone who needs fuel before a workout, the IF portion of anabolic fasting may result in some morning workouts while fasting that cause negative side effects (dizziness, fatigue, weakness and headaches.) The carb-restriction period may also come with symptoms similar to those that some people experience while starting the ketogenic diet, such as brain fog, nausea, headaches, fatigue and irritability. All-in-all, the best diet for muscle gain is one that promotes muscle repair and replenishes the glycogen stores lost during intense exercise. You can do this by eating consistently and incorporating all macronutrients—proteins, fats and carbohydrates—into your diet. If you plan on giving anabolic fasting a try, make sure to focus on minimizing bad carbs such as pasta and cereals and focusing on whole grains, veggies, fruit and legumes to meet your body’s carbohydrate needs during the carb-loading period. (Image: Shutterstock)

What Women Over 50 Should Know About Intermittent Fasting

For women over 50, weight loss can seem like a struggle for a variety of reasons—most of them related to a shift in hormonal balance. It’s no wonder that intermittent fasting has become so popular for women over 50 with its promise of amping up metabolism, reversing cellular damage (and its signs of aging), and improving mental clarity.  Let’s take a look at what happens to women’s hormones as we approach and enter menopause, and what the science says about whether intermittent fasting can help counter some of these imbalances.  Hormones and Women Over 50 During perimenopause and menopause, estrogen fluctuates and becomes unpredictable before falling to very low levels. This decline in estrogen comes with shifts in other hormones like cortisol, thyroid hormones, serotonin, and sex hormones. These hormonal shifts are what lead to some of the symptoms of menopause.  You may become less sensitive to insulin during menopause, leading to difficulties processing sugar and refined carbohydrates. This is known as insulin resistance, which might make you more susceptible to gaining weight around your midsection. Muscle mass may also diminish as fat increases, leading to less metabolically active tissue and difficulty maintaining a healthy weight.  RELATED: Thyroid Disease and Diet: Managing Thyroid Health With the Right Nutrients Cue intermittent fasting. With this unorthodox way of eating touting benefits for healthy aging, there’s no wonder that IF has been popular with perimenopausal and menopausal women. But does the research hold up?  What is intermittent fasting?  In short, intermittent fasting involves eating within a specific time window. The most popular version involves fitting all of your daily food consumption into an eight-hour window, followed by 16 hours of fasting. For example, you could eat between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day and fast between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. (including the hours you’re asleep).  There’s also the 5:2 diet in which you split your week into five days of eating whenever you want and two days where you seriously restrict your calories—500 for women, 600 for men.  While fasting may seem extreme for some, proponents of this dietary pattern claim that fasting causes your body to use stored fat as fuel.  RELATED: The Truth About Intermittent Fasting: Is It Good for Weight Loss and Overall Health? How does intermittent fasting work? What’s the evidence? The research on the health benefits of intermittent fasting is pretty interesting, with the latest findings adding a bit of inconsistency compared to previous results.  A study comparing two groups—a calorie-restriction-only group and a calorie-restricted and time-restricted eating group—followed subjects over the course of one year and found no effect on body weight, body fat, or metabolic risk factors. People who only ate from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. didn’t lose significantly more weight than those who ate any time throughout the day. Any weight loss was attributed to overall caloric restriction rather than time-restricted eating regimens.  Other findings, however, have shown benefits for weight loss, insulin resistance, mental health outcomes, and brain cell activity. Let’s take a look at a few of those.  Weight loss Studies have found that intermittent fasting can help with fat loss by reducing body mass and improving metabolic health. They also show fasting can affect hormones, increasing production of beneficial ones like HGH (for muscle gain and fat loss). Still, these effects appear broadly comparable to standard daily calorie restriction.  In a study that compared the weight loss efficacy of alternate-day fasting (ADF) among pre- and post-menopausal women, body weight significantly decreased from baseline in both groups. This suggests that intermittent fasting may be effective in weight loss regardless of menopausal status.  Another study looked at time-restricted feeding and found similar results. Both pre- and post-menopausal women lost weight and showed metabolic improvements.  Insulin resistance Intermittent fasting’s effect on insulin sensitivity has been a hot topic in recent years. Researchers hypothesize that this is achieved by flipping a metabolic switch. Fasting leads to lower levels of glucose (i.e. blood sugar) and in response, the body uses fat instead of glucose as a source of energy.  Fasting can also lead to improvements in pancreatic B-cell function and the regulation of the circadian rhythm, which promotes better glucose tolerance. In a randomized controlled study of more than 100 overweight or obese women, six months of intermittent fasting reduced insulin levels by 29% and insulin resistance by 19%. Reductions in fasting insulin and insulin resistance were modest in both the intermittent fasting and continuous energy restriction groups, but greater in the intermittent fasting subjects. Another study on non-obese subjects also found that fasting decreased insulin levels and increased fat oxidation—the process that breaks down fat during energy restriction or exercise.  In one study, researchers looked at the effects of intermittent fasting versus continuous calorie restriction on HbA1c (a measure of average blood sugar levels over the past 3 months) in diabetics over the age of 50. They found that a two-day intermittent calorie restriction diet was comparable to a continuous calorie restriction diet for improvements in blood sugar control. Mental health changes  Menopause can cause anxiety, depression, fatigue, brain fog, mood swings, and psychological stress. Studies have found that fasting can improve depression and stress levels, and encourage overall positive psychological shifts. It is important to note that both of these studies were conducted in age ranges below 50 years old.  Brain fog Studies in animals have found that fasting can have positive effects on brain cells, by encouraging better stress responses and clearing out damaged cells in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells. Fasting has also been shown to increase BDNF expression in rats, a protein that serves as a sort of fertilizer or “miracle-grow” for the brain. There are no studies on how fasting affects the human brain yet, but one of the most common things people report while fasting is increased mental clarity.   Bottom Line: Intermittent Fasting for Women Over 50  While intermittent fasting shows promise, we don’t have solid evidence about the benefits or how fasting might affect

From the Mayr Method to the Ayurvedic Diet: 5 Biohacking Diets to Optimize Your Health

If the end of the year has you taking stock of your wellness and conjuring ways to improve it, you’ve come to the right place. For those of you specifically looking for ways to enhance your energy, lose weight, or say buh bye to bloat, we bring you Nutritious Life’s Diets Decoded series. The series takes a look at many of today’s popular healthy diets—from paleo to Mediterranean and vegetarian—and breaks them down for you. We explain the facts about each one and then provide quick, actionable tips on how to follow each diet as part of a Nutritious Life. “For each individual, the healthiest diet is an approach to eating that fuels your body and mind and fits into your lifestyle,” says Nutritious Life founder Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN. “Eating empowered, one of the eight pillars of a Nutritious Life, means listening to your body and focusing on the diverse, delicious, healthy foods you can have rather than what a hard-to-follow diet says you can’t have.” In this roundup of today’s popular diets, we take a look at five eating plans that use food as biohacks. In other words, changing eating habits in order to achieve optimal health and well-being. All of these diets—from ancient principles to modern fads—tackle the idea of hacking our food intake to become healthier and happier versions of ourselves, a concept that never gets old. 5 Biohacking Diets—And Whether They’re Right For You The Mayr Method When actress Rebel Wilson declared 2020 the year of health on Instagram, she credited the Mayr Method for kickstarting her impressive weight loss journey. Which led many people to scramble to their nearest Internet search engine to ask, “what is the Mayr Method??” Like everyone else, you may be hearing of this eating plan for the first time. But the Mayr Method is actually based on the 100-year-old Mayr Cure. It was created by Austrian physician Dr. Franz Xaver Mayr, who believed that people are poisoning their guts with the foods they eat. Today, this diet is typically practiced by staying at the luxury wellness clinic VivaMayr resort in Austria or by taking the less expensive route and following the principles and plan provided in The Viva Mayr Diet book. The main premise of the diet is that good health starts with a healthy gut, so the Mayr Method seeks to improve digestion through alkaline foods, mindful eating and other behavior changes. Learn more about this diet and if it might be the eating plan you’re looking for in your next Google search. THE MAYR METHOD DIET The Raw Food Diet Raw food had a moment about a decade ago and its popularity has ebbed and flowed over the years. Raw food devotees are generally vegans who believe that plant foods should be consumed in their most natural form—uncooked and unprocessed—because natural enzymes in “living” food make it best for the body. Raw means nothing heated above 115 F. Since you can’t use heat, raw foodies do a lot of juicing, blending, dehydrating, and sprouting to increase meal options and variety. Read on to discover the pros and cons and whether this diet is sustainable for you. THE RAW FOOD DIET The Vertical Diet Eat more but fewer foods is the premise behind this diet designed to enhance athletic performance, build muscle, shed weight, and optimize health. Instead of eating evenly across a wide variety of food groups (otherwise known as eating “horizontally” by vertical-eating fans), you’re encouraged to consume a limited number of easily digestible foods in large quantities, or, in other words, eat “vertically.” According to Stan Efferding, professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, and diet founder, eating vertically enhances metabolism, improves gut health, and helps the body become more efficient at digesting food and absorbing nutrients. Find out if this diet has any scientific merits and get the nitty-gritty on what you can and can’t eat on the Vertical Diet. THE VERTICAL DIET The Macrobiotic Diet The Macrobiotic Diet comes from Japan and emphasizes a mindful, seasonal approach to food. Drawing on the concepts of yin and yang, each plate is balanced: For example, food from the sea should be served alongside food from the land. While that sounds heady, it ends up meaning you basically eat lots of bowls of fresh vegetables and whole grains, with some fish, beans, and seaweed thrown in. While it may be associated with an old-school, hippie vibe, that Instagram-worthy “grain bowl” fad is basically a filtered version of classic macro bowls. Read on to discover how this diet has withstood the test of time and whether incorporating its basic tenets is right for you. THE MACROBIOTIC DIET The Ayurvedic Diet More than just a diet, Ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old medical practice and lifestyle based on the idea that the body is made of three energy systems. Vata (wind), Pitta (fire), and Kapha (earth), otherwise known as the doshas, are the elements that we have within us (similar to chakras). While everyone has some of each, one tends to be dominant. According to Ayurveda, your dominant dosha helps determine the healthiest lifestyle choices and diet for your unique body. By eating foods that cater to your dosha, you can nourish and heal your body, strengthen your digestive power (known as Agni), and create balance among your internal energies. Sound intriguing? We think so. But is this the right diet for you? Read on to find out. (Images: Shutterstock) THE AYURVEDIC DIET

What Is Dry Fasting—And Is It Safe?

It seems like nearly everyone has either heard about intermittent fasting—or perhaps even tried it themselves. But what about the newest buzz in this eating strategy that follows the clock: dry fasting? With intermittent fasting, you eat during a set window (typically 8 hours per day), then abstain from food during the other hours.  Dry fasting takes things a step further by not allowing any liquids to be consumed during the fasting window. While intermittent fasting does have some scientifically-proven health benefits, we’ve been pretty clear about the fact that there are only certain populations who should even consider trying it. And all of those benefits only last for as long as you can stick with it, which is often difficult to do for the long haul. (Ahem, no bedtime snacks … ever? No thanks.) Dry fasting, though currently rising in popularity, may be even harder to stick with. So what is dry fasting all about? Why are people so jazzed about it and, most importantly, is it safe? Read on for all those answers and more, as we dish about the science of dry fasting. What Is Dry Fasting, Exactly? Dry fasting is a form of intermittent fasting in which no liquid is consumed during the fasting window. Dry fasting is modeled after certain religious fasts. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk for 30 days. For Yom Kippur, Jews dry fast from sundown to one hour after sunset on the High Holy Day. Dry fasting can be partnered with any of the common intermittent fasting methods below. So think of dry fasting as a subgroup of intermittent fasting. Similar to those aforementioned religious fasts, during the abstention times, those who dry fast don’t consume any fluids during the fasting window. (Generally, non-calorie beverages such as water, coffee and tea are allowed during the fasting window on regular intermittent fasts.) Time-restricted fasting: Eat normally for 8 hours of the day, such as between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., then abstain from all food and drink for the other 16 hours. 5:2 fasting: Eat normally for 5 days per week, then fast (by consuming 500 calories or less per day) for 2 days per week.  Alternate-day fasting: Eat normally one day, then abstain from all food and drink on the next day OR consume 500 calories or less the next day. RELATED: 5 Super Nutritious Foods You Really Should Be Eating (But Probably Aren’t)  The Reported Benefits of Dry Fasting The majority of studies about the benefits of dry fasting have focused on individuals participating in Ramadan. That means these people eat and hydrate normally for 11 months of the year, so long-term benefits of dry fasting are difficult to pin down. For religious populations, dry fasting is meant to create deeper faith, more community (since the collective group is in it together) and a heightened sense of gratitude. For the rest of the population who participates in dry fasting as part of their intermittent fasting, they’re generally seeking weight loss.  As you study up on the research about dry fasting benefits, know that most studies are fairly short-term and small in size. Weight Loss Intermittent dry fasting may lead to short-term weight loss, according to one study in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Take this with a grain of salt, however, as the weight loss is likely almost all water weight. Improved Immune Function and Skin Autophagy is the cellular anti-aging process that intermittent fasters are trying to take advantage of. The body uses the fasting window to clean out damaged and old cells to allow space to regenerate newer and healthier cells. This may enhance immune system defenses and potentially slow aging. (Take note that drinking enough water is one of the most essential habits for healthy, glowing skin over the lifespan.) Less Inflammation During the third week or so of a dry fast, participants in a small study published in the journal Nutrition Research began to experience less chronic inflammation. Long-term inflammation is a contributor to many common diseases in the U.S, including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and allergies. Chances are this reduction in inflammation had much more to do with the change in eating habits rather than skipping water. RELATED: 5 Scary Things Inflammation Does to Your Body  The Risks and Side Effects of Dry Fasting As with intermittent fasting, those who dry fast often feel hungry. Dry fasters also may feel thirsty, irritable and tired, and may experience headaches, nausea, sleep troubles, dry mouth and eyes, dizziness and dark and/or infrequent urination. In addition, here are some other very real medical risks of dry fasting. Dehydration About 60% to 70%p of the human body is made up of water, and every part of that body requires water to function well. Potential complications of serious dehydration include seizures, heat exhaustion or heat stroke, brain swelling, kidney failure, shock caused by low blood volume, coma and even death. Mental Fog In a study designed to determine how dehydration impacts mood, scientists discovered that male college students in China who didn’t drink water for 36 hours experienced not only shorter attention spans, but also delayed reaction time, short-term memory loss and fatigue. Kidney Stones Kidney stones form more easily within the body when you are dehydrated. Drinking plenty of water helps prevent crystals in the kidneys from clumping together into a painful mass or stone. Urinary tract infections Water is crucial for flushing out the germs that hang out in the urinary tract. While intermittent fasting can work for some people who crave structure (with the caveat that he or she can fill all their nutrient needs within the eating window), dry fasting is a risky prospect. Instead, we recommend listening to your gut—literally.  Eat when you’re hungry, not when the clock says you can.  Fuel up with fruits, vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats and whole grains. Aim to pack each plate with a variety of colors.  Wash it all down

How NFL Star Brendon Ayanbadejo Overcame Hurdles in Quarantine

When Brendon Ayanbadejo looks back at his life, one thing’s for sure: Fitness has always been a part of it. After a successful NFL football career, one that involved a legendary Super Bowl win with the Baltimore Ravens, Ayanbadejo took his talents right from the field to the studio. In 2014, he launched West Coast Fitness, a leading franchise of Orangetheory Fitness, the renowned high intensity (HIIT) group workout. Today, there are over 35 studios all over the world. While he inspires people through fitness every day, the three-time NFL Pro-Bowler is also incredibly involved in supporting marriage equality, using his star power to fight for others to have the freedoms they deserve. From linebacker to entrepreneur to LGBT rights advocate, the limitless Ayanbadejo proves that boundaries is a word best left in the dictionary. Ayanbadejo opens up to Nutritious Life about the calming effect of self-reflection and breaks down his fitness philosophy, including how to make your workouts easily fit into your daily life.  How have things changed for you since COVID-19 hit? What has been your biggest challenge, and how have you worked to overcome it? Since COVID has hit, my regular routine isn’t happening. I still work out just as frequently, but I’m not running around coaching Orangetheory classes or going to my kids’ practices. So, being sedentary isn’t helping me burn as many calories—and that caused me to gain about 15 pounds. But I’ve re-focused and I’ve dialed it in. I’ve gotten a little stricter on my intermittent fasting, cut down on my caloric intake (a little bit), and I’ve started being a little more active. What causes you stress? What’s your go-to tool for managing stress? Everything can cause stress. It’s a very stressful environment out there right now. You have to worry about your health and your family. I live in a fire zone, there’s always bills to be paid, the market is going up and down, my business isn’t operating, so there are so many different things. I look at what I have and not what I don’t have to manage my stress. “What position are other people in?” “What are they facing?”  I’m probably in the top 99.9 percentile of people in the world, so I calm down very easily when I think about my childhood and the way we grew up, and what we did not have—I just reflect a lot on my past and where other people are and what they could be going through, so it helps me to calm down very quickly. What are some of your tips to stay focused? Especially now. Well, it’s hard to stay focused because you don’t necessarily have a schedule. I like to plan out my week on Sunday. Of course, my schedule builds and populates as we go through the week, but I like to plan and schedule my workouts regardless of how I feel, how much motivation I have or don’t have that day. I stick to it and get it done.  How do you express and spread love? I express love vocally, I try to be an example, whether it’s through the way I parent, which isn’t perfect, but I do the best that I can. I try to show people that I’m a present and loving father, but also a strict one. I just try to bring positive energy anywhere that I go. I want everyone to feel safe and comfortable. So, if I can open a door for someone, regardless of their gender, regardless of their age or ethnicity, I will help people out when I can. I’ve pulled over for strangers and helped them change tires. I’ve seen people get in accidents and I’ve pulled them out of wrecked cars. I try to be a type of person that treats strangers as if they are family. Just caring about your neighbor and doing your part so that in the event that your own family needed help, someone would hopefully pay it forward. And  I won’t let bullying happen, either. What is your fitness philosophy? I would say that my fitness philosophy is functional movement, strength, and then cardio. My preference when it comes to cardio is more anaerobic cardio, so quick bursts, but I also love to run a 5k. Really, the stuff that you don’t want to do is probably the best stuff for you. Sometimes it’s not enough just to lift a weight up and down. You need to add some different planes of motion and some functionality to your fitness regimen so that it is actually applicable in real life. How often do you exercise, and what’s your workout of choice? Well, I think it’s wise to be active every day. Now in terms of exercise frequency, I believe intensity trumps frequency. I believe it is more important to work out more vigorously 3 times a week than it is to cruise through 5 or 6 workouts throughout the week.   How do you motivate yourself (and your clients!) to work out?  For me, motivation is fleeting.  You’re not always going to have motivation, but how do you get work done even when you’re not motivated? We can work out as hard as we want, but when we go home and eat late-night, fatty meals, that’s not going to help. I like to motivate through education. I like to educate my clients while we’re training and then they can apply that education when they leave a session.  If you had to name your healthy diet, what would you call it? Why? The best diet for me already has a name. It’s the Zone diet by Barry Sears. It’s a balanced diet. It is not overly protein-centric or overly fat-centric. In fact, the bulk of the food is complex carbohydrates, so there’s different ways to base it. Just imagine if 45-50% of your intake is carbohydrates, 30-35% is protein, and 15-20% is healthy fats. It’s a balanced diet built around carbohydrates. I’m not really