Hi all,
I’ve been workout out a lot these last few months, making good progress in muscle growth and development. However, I need to lose some fat. Will doing IF everyday cause me to lose muscle? I consume around 150+ grams of protein everyday. Thanks!
My understanding is as long as you’re using the muscles, getting proper protein, and losing less than .5-1% body weight a week then the loss of muscle mass is minimal. The r/leangains sub is more specifically tailored to lifting and IF thus might have better insight.
Doing IF alone, you will lose fat before losing muscles. By the time one reaches 50 yo, one will lose 1% in muscle mass per year. Best to continue doing some strength exercise to maintain against muscle loss as one ages.
When it comes to muscle maintenance and growth, not all protein is created equal. We often just focus on crude protein number (eg 150g) but there are a bunch of different amino acids that make up “protein” and some are better for muscle development than others AND if you don’t have enough of any one of the 9 essential amino acids, that affects your ability to absorb and use the other amino acids that you may be consuming. Ensuring that you are consuming most of your protein from animal sources will ensure you are getting “complete” proteins, meaning that they have all 9 essential amino acids in high enough amounts so your body can actually utilise all of that protein effective. I had knee surgery last year and struggled to build my muscle back up on my leg after the surgery initially because i was eating a much more plant-based diet (that’s what we’re told is healthy after all). After some research, I switch to a high animal-based diet and it was 100% a huge difference. I was able to build muscle (not just maintain it) while also fasting. It’s all about the quality of your protein, not just the quantity.