Protocols / BODY COMPOSITION

Fasting Protocol

Fast safely, from 16:8 to a full 48 hours.

Fasting works when it helps you eat less, and the best trials show it isn't magic beyond that. This protocol helps you pick a schedule you can keep, protect your muscle with training and protein, handle electrolytes, and break a fast safely, with longer fasts kept for the experienced.

€7 · one-time payment · instant PDF · by Anthony Falcone

What's included

  • Fasting schedules from 14:10 to 20:4
  • What weight-loss trials actually show
  • Training and protein while fasting
  • Longer fasts: who should and shouldn't
  • Electrolytes and refeeding
  • 9 peer-reviewed references

Built for

Lose Fat · More Energy

Inside the PDF: 6 chapters

  1. Intermittent Fasting (IF): IF isn't a diet — it's a meal timing strategy. By compressing your eating window, you give your body longer stretches in fat-burning mode, and many people find it an easy way to eat a bit less.
  2. Extended Fasting (24-72h): Longer fasts are popular for their effects on metabolism and cellular recycling. Most of the dramatic claims come from animal research, and the risks rise with length, so they need preparation and, beyond 48 hours, medical supervision.
  3. Electrolyte Management: A common reason people struggle with longer fasts is low electrolytes, not just hunger. Headaches, dizziness and cramps on a fast often improve with salt and fluids.
  4. Refeeding Strategy: How you break a fast is as important as the fast itself. Breaking a long fast with a huge meal often causes stomach upset, and after very long fasts it can be medically risky.
  5. What the Trials Show: Fasting is often sold as a metabolic shortcut. The best randomised trials say something simpler: it works when it helps you eat less, and not better than other ways of doing that.
  6. Training and Protein While Fasting: You can fast and still train hard. The two things that protect your muscle are the same as always: lifting and enough protein inside your eating window.

Safety notes

  • Extended fasts (48h+) are NOT for beginners. Build a strong IF foundation first (3+ months of 16:8). Do NOT fast if you're under 18, underweight, pregnant or breastfeeding, have a history of eating disorders, have type 1 diabetes, kidney disease or a heart rhythm problem, or take medication for diabetes or blood pressure, unless your doctor supervises it.
  • After fasts longer than 48 hours, do NOT eat a large meal immediately. This causes severe digestive distress (cramping, diarrhea) and can pose medical risks. Start with bone broth, then small portions, and gradually increase over 12-24 hours.

References (9)

  1. Longo, V.D. & Mattson, M.P. (2014). Fasting: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications. Cell Metabolism, 19(2), 181-192. doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2013.12.008
  2. Cheng, C.W. et al. (2014). Prolonged Fasting Reduces IGF-1/PKA to Promote Hematopoietic-Stem-Cell-Based Regeneration and Reverse Immunosuppression. Cell Stem Cell, 14(6), 810-823. doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2014.04.014
  3. Anton, S.D. et al. (2017). Flipping the Metabolic Switch: Understanding and Applying the Health Benefits of Fasting. Obesity, 26(2), 254-268. doi.org/10.1002/oby.22065
  4. Patterson, R.E. & Sears, D.D. (2017). Metabolic Effects of Intermittent Fasting. Annual Review of Nutrition, 37(1), 371-393. doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-071816-064634
  5. de Cabo, R. & Mattson, M.P. (2019). Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 381(26), 2541-2551. doi.org/10.1056/nejmra1905136
  6. Lowe, D.A. et al. (2020). Effects of Time-Restricted Eating on Weight Loss and Other Metabolic Parameters in Women and Men With Overweight and Obesity: The TREAT Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 180(11), 1491-1499. doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.4153
  7. Liu, D. et al. (2022). Calorie Restriction with or without Time-Restricted Eating in Weight Loss. New England Journal of Medicine, 386(16), 1495-1504. doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2114833
  8. Moro, T. et al. (2016). Effects of eight weeks of time-restricted feeding (16/8) on basal metabolism, maximal strength, body composition, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk factors in resistance-trained males. Journal of Translational Medicine, 14(1), 290. doi.org/10.1186/s12967-016-1044-0
  9. Morton, R.W. et al. (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(6), 376-384. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608

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General education, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, take medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your doctor before you start.