Arnold Schwarzenegger Talks Metabolism, Fasting, and Eating Habits: “Don’t Need to Punish Yourself”

Arnold Schwarzenegger has set new standards in the fitness world and even at 76 years old, continues to give back. With his newfound love for preaching what he practices, the former seven-time Mr. Olympia has taken to giving fitness advice. In his recent newsletter Arnold’s Pump Club, he discussed diet habits, fasting, and the metabolism. 

Fasting to increase metabolism has been a popular thought process among the fitness community. While everyone may have their own take and twist on it, Schwarzenegger offered his thoughts from a scientific lens. As someone who witnessed the bodybuilding and diet world closely, the veteran’s thoughts had some weight to them.

“The idea is that the fast will offset the overeating and spike your metabolism. Schwarzenegger shared. But science suggests that fasting doesn’t give your body much of a metabolic boost.” 

Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals his bold take on fasting for metabolism

As someone who never believed in counting macros and micros, Schwarzenegger gave his take on some popular dietary strategies: 

While fasting did contribute to an increase in metabolism in one study, the 3.8% rise was considered negligible. The Austrian Oak elaborated on this:

“When people fasted for two days, researchers found that it only boosted metabolism by 3.8 percent. That means you could go 48 hours without eating, and the extra metabolic lift could be just a few calories and certainly not enough to make a difference.”

Furthermore, he spoke about how one must maintain a healthy relationship with food. While fasting occasionally wasn’t a huge problem, doing it for the sole purpose of increasing metabolism could in fact do more harm than good.

“If you enjoy fasting, that’s fine, and no need to stop. But, if you do it for a metabolic boost, you’ve been misled. More importantly, the research shows you don’t need to punish yourself when you eat a lot of food. That mindset does far more harm than good. It creates a bad relationship with food, can make you unnecessarily avoid things you love, and take drastic steps to undo the “damage” that didn’t even occur in the first place.”

Schwarzenegger’s diet practices have involved predominantly plant-based options

For being one of the best bodybuilders of all time and winning that title not once, but seven times, Schwarzenegger had a peculiar prep routine. He’s admitted to not eating before workouts and having a nutritious post-workout snack that would energize him. 

Schwarzenegger has always maintained a predominantly plant-based diet. His reduced meat intake helped him regulate his blood pressure problems. And considering how the bodybuilding veteran has had a history of heart issues, he takes his health and the pump pretty seriously.

This wasn’t Schwarzenegger’s first time talking about his dietary strategies. In early October, the bodybuilding legend discussed his favorite cutting routines, bulking methods, and his go-to post-workout meal.

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While the star may have had difficulties coming to terms with his age, he makes up for it with his never-ending enthusiasm for fitness and dietary knowledge. 

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