What is Leangains protocol?
The Leangains protocol consists of two phases: A fasting phase and a feeding phase and depending on the gender the timing varies.
For Men: 16 hours of fasting, followed by 8 hours of feeding
For Women: 14 hours of fasting, followed by 10 hours of feeding
During feeding period, three meals are usually eaten. Depending on the day, the composition of those meals varies. on workout days, carbs are prioritized before fat, while on rest days fat intake is higher. Protein remains fairly high on all days. That’s a very basic and general description of the protocol.
What seperates Leangains from other IF patterns?
Leangains is specifically tailored to fitness and strength training, and for those wanting to get as lean and strong as possible. In comparison to other intermittent fasting based diets much more emphasis is put on proper pre- and post-workout nutrition.
What are the different protocols in Leangains?
Depending on the user’s convenience there are several protocols like No pre-workout meal, one pre-workout meal, two pre-workout meal, etc.
You can easily calculate you meal timings using the IF Calculator.
Just go the page by click the above link, select the “No. of Meals”, “No. of Pre-workout Meals”, “Fasting Start Date & Time” and everything including Training timings, Pre-workout meal timings, Post-workout meal timings and even the BCAA Intake timings will be laid out perfectly for you.
Are there any guidelines to follow Leangains protocol?
Here are a few guidelines that is considered as success factors for performance, fat loss and excellent diet compliance.
- On workout days, break the fast with meat, veggies and a fruit. If you’re planning to train shortly after this meal, add a few carbs in the form of a starch source – potatoes or whole grain bread, for example. Make it a fairly medium sized meal but don’t force yourself. Train within 3 hrs of having eaten this meal and have a much larger meal after your workout.
- Eat less calories on rest days than on workout days – do this by cutting down on carb intake, and make meat, fibrous veggies and fruits as the foundation of your diet for this day. The first meal of the day should be the largest, in contrast to workout days where the post-workout meal is the largest. Largest doesn’t necessarily mean largest in terms of volume; I suggest getting at least 40% of your calorie intake in this meal, and the dominant macronutrient should be protein.
- In the last meal of the day, include a slow digesting protein source; preferably egg protein (or any other source of casein based protein). Meat or fish is also ok if you add veggies or supplement with fiber. This meal will keep you full during the fast and exert an anti-catabolic effect on muscle protein stores by ensuring that your body has an ample supply of amino acids until the next meal.