Engineering the Alpha - Intermittent Fasting - Calculator and My Experience
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Engineering the Alpha - Intermittent Fasting - Calculator and My Experience
If you don’t like to read, or can’t, then just Click Here or scroll down to watch the instructional video and download the spreadsheet. (HA! Writing “If you can’t read…” is like having brail on a drive up ATM.) And don’t forget to sign up for updates.
In this article I’m only going to be covering…
My pseudo intermittent fasting program
The intermittent fasting diet overview (from the book “Engineering the Alpha“, by John Romaniello and Adam Bornstein)
AND –>> The three intermittent fasting calculator spreadsheets, you can download at the bottom, that I created and automated, so you don’t need to do any manual calculations ever. (All calculations are based on data from Engineering the Alpha)
I do have future plans for fully implementing and testing the intermittent fasting program, and keeping a detailed blog (and possibly video blog).
Note: I do have another universal macronutrient calculator spreadsheet (that can be used with any diet) with multiple tab variations that will auto calculate everything, or if you like adjusting grams, (there’s a tab for that), or if you like adjusting percentages, (there’s a tab for that too), so it will work for any nutrition plan or… “diet”, and print out nicely if you want to have them handy while preparing meals or whatever.
Click here to see the universal macronutrient calculator instructional video and download the spreadsheet.
My pseudo intermittent fasting program that’s not a program
Except for a while back in the mid 1990’s when I was studying the glycemic index of foods and playing with spiking my insulin levels, I have, for as long as I remember, eaten pretty much meat and veggies, and fruit from time to time. And no, it is not the ‘paleo’ diet.
[Begin short paleo rant]
I guess it kinda fits the paleo criteria, but it’s freakin annoying hearing, oh you’re paleo? over and over. Nope, I’m Travis, and I follow the “what Travis’ body likes best for performance” eating plan. And, I was eating this way well before someone put a name on it and the cult got started. It’s like the crossfit of ‘diets’. haha ugh.
[End short paleo rant]
So, for a lil more back story… I think eating and sleeping kinda blow. And not in a good Las Vegas kinda way. 😉 haha. Actually, they aren’t that bad, I like both in moderation, BUT, they are both eat up so much time! (No pun intended). So my favorite meals are super simple, like steak and salad, or salad and steak, or eggs and bacon, or bacon and eggs, etc..
I found out that the intermittent fasting schedule is approximately 8 hours of feeding and 16 hours of fasting. For some reason about 8 months ago, eating breakfast got to be too much of a hassle, so I just started having a green drink powder mixed with some protein powder and water.
Then I would eat (preworkout) around 1pm or 2pm, then postworkout, then a few hours later, and have a protein drink about an hour before bed, and that was usually it. So I was sorta following the guidelines, minus the green protein drink in the morning. One thing I noticed was I was more alert, and the small preworkout meal really helped with workouts. It was typically just a small handful of granola with raisins mixed with protein powder (~35g protein) and water. (I hate milk, but that’s another story. I just don’t like it and never have and never drank it growing up and still don’t… AND I’ve never had any major broken bones or developmental issues, except maybe my brainses. ha. So if the only reason you drink milk is because “it’s good for you”, then I have 3 legged dog with one eye named Lucky that craps golden eggs I’d like to sell you).
Basically I was eating the majority of my calories post workout. My ‘meals’ were based around my wkout. No I didn’t track or weigh any of it. (I plan to try that in the future though to see what happens)
Breakfast: Green drink with protein and water
1/2pm ish: Small amount of granola with ~35g added protein from whey or whatever
4:30/5:30pm ish: Post wkout drink, then about 15 min after, a huge amount of whatever beef or bacon or meat I could find. I tried to have a salad too beforehand
7:30pm ish: More meat. and sometimes I’d have fried gizzards.
10pm ish: ~35g protein from whey or casein powder.
The intermittent fasting diet
All the info in this article is based on the book “Engineering the Alpha”, by John Romaniello and Adam Bornstein. Something else to note is that they have a very specific training program that goes along with their version of the IF diet. (I am not planning to use it because my goals are centered around powerlifting and my current training). If you are not on a specific training regime that will work with the IF program, I’d say give their workout a try.
This is going to be a fairly high level overview. I will Not being going into detailed specifics because that’s called “plagiarism” and “copyright infringement”, and I don’t want any lawyers breathing down my neck. So you’ll just have to get the book. Overall I did like it, and recommend it, and you’ll understand my calculator better if you read the book. I did learn a few things and also was forced to question some of the nutrition information I’ve followed for years.
All phases follow the 16/8 schedule. Fast 16hrs, Feed 8 hours. Timing doesn’t really matter but it’s recommended to not start your “feed” before noon.
Phase 1 (Prime)
Weeks 1-2: The foundation of this phase is to start increasing production of testosterone and GH, while reseting your insulin sensitivity by almost completely eliminating carbs. (Note: Fibrous vegetables are considered “free foods” and not counted as carbs). According to the author’s, this is the most important phase. I agree, because if you look at a typical diet today, it’s mostly carb based and contains heaps processed crap, which keep your insulin levels spiked more often than they should be.
Weeks 3-4: This is the second half of the Prime focuses on reintroducing carbs slowly.
Phase 2 (Adapt) One week
This phase is about reintroducing more carbs into your newly highly sensitive insulin receptors and centers around optimizing testosterone.
AND… In this phase the “cheat day” and “fast day” immediately following. I personally loathe that saying because it sounds like you’re doing something wrong. Why not call them “Reward Days” since you went through all that punishment sticking to the program during the week? hmmmm?
For your Reward Day, pick a day you know will work well, like Sunday if you live in America and like to watch foosball and BBQ. On this day, have fun, but don’t be a mo-ron. Again, have fun, because you’re supposed to fast the next day. (So skip a day of eating after your Reward Day).
Phase 3 (Surge) One week
According to the book, by now you should have lost a significant amount of fat. The focus of this phase is on muscle growth. Increasing GH (growth hormone) and decreasing cortisol.
Phase 4 (Complete) Four weeks & ongoing
Combine the insulin sensitivity of Phase 1, lean gains from Phase 2, and strength gains from Phase 3.
This phase also has a workout that is specifically setup for one day of fat loss training, one day of density based training, one day of muscle building, and one day of strength work.
The Intermittent Fasting Calculator Spreadsheets & Destructions (aka. Instructions) Be sure to watch this video below…
Click the Image or Button to Download the Engineering the Alpha Intermittent Fasting Macros Calculator Spreadsheets & Sign Up Below for Updates
Download IF Macros Spreadsheets (Zipped)
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