As a bodybuilder/powerlifter turned nutrition coach, Stan Efferding is determined to help others live a healthier lifestyle. In an interview with Chris Williamson, Efferding shares his thoughts on the effectiveness of intermittent fasting.
Stan Efferding is a successful powerlifter and bodybuilder who earned the title of Mr. Olympia World’s Strongest Bodybuilder in 2010. In light of his accomplishments in the sport throughout the years, Efferding has familiarized himself with diets and the proper nutrition required to achieve desirable physiques. Stan Efferding even developed The Vertical Diet designed specifically for people with high-caloric diets.
As of late, intermittent fasting has been a popular choice for losing weight. Intermittent fasting is not eating for a predetermined period of time, and then eating normally for a designated period of time.
There are several different styles of intermittent fasting such as the 12/12 for beginners which is fasting for 12 hours and eating for 12 hours. Additionally, the 16/8 involves fasting for 16 hours and eating normally for eight hours.
A more intensive option — the 19/5 — requires you to have nutrient-rich meals within the eating hours to properly burn calories. Overall, the objective of intermittent fasting is to maintain a calorie deficit required to lose weight.
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Stan Efferding Reveals His Thoughts On Intermittent Fasting Compared To Other Diet Options
As a nutrition coach, Stan Efferding helps others achieve their fitness goals while continuing his passion for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Efferding recently elaborated on whether or not intermittent fasting has the ability to help people lose weight more effectively than other diets.
“There’s been a lot of things claimed about intermittent fasting having some special autophagy benefit or some special reduction in mTOR signaling or some satiety benefit which isn’t consistent across the population. You see it’s very individualistic. We don’t see any extra benefits above the calorie restriction itself and we see in the research itself that continuous calorie restriction and intermittent fasting perform very much the same in terms of weight loss and health benefits long term” Stan Efferding shares.
Though there are dozens upon dozens of studies completed on intermittent fasting, Efferding confesses that despite the volume of information, the research holds little weight.
“That’s the problem with research there is peer-reviewed published research to support just about any position on any nutrient or diet. There is a different quality of information. Some people will go off the rails and cherry pick, is the word we use, a particular study that acted to their benefit.”
Stan Efferding believes diets are personalized and stressed that individuals will have a different outcome even with consistent variables.
“Over and over again when you look at the body of evidenc, randomized control trials, in humans in particular, and the systematic reviews of those you don’t see any difference. You see that the trends are very individualist and even within a particular study when you show some sort of measurable result you get a lot of interindividual variation. You got people who didn’t have any result or people that lost a lot of weight you got people that gained a lot of weight. What the average is might not appeal or apply to you as an individual. “
Above all else, Stan Efferding emphasizes that he wants the individual who is dieting to have as “many options as possible.”
“I like that the individual now knows they have options. There isn’t a best diet and they aren’t required to go keto if they want to get results. It’s unnecessary even if they have type 2 diabetes the weight loss itself is the driver of insulin sensitivity, not the fact that they eliminated carbs we’ve had studies done where people with type 2 diabetes did a high-carb and low-carb diet and had equivalent outcomes. I want people to have as many options as possible.”
Efferding is a nutrition coach who can tailor a plan for each person based on their individual needs. He can help them eat healthier and lose weight by asking them questions about their goals and preferences.
“I come in with very specific recommendations and now I’ve gotta get feedback and make those adjustments. So I give them a very specific diet plan. I tell them exactly what to eat, how many ounces of this based on the feedback they give me from my questionnaire and now we have to tune in and listen. How do you feel? Do you feel satiated?”
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Though dieting is never a one-size-fits-all solution, Efferding maintains that there are still variables that have been proven to work consistently across many different groups of people. This includes increasing activity and movement, eating breakfast, and weighing frequently.
“There is a weight control registry that has tracked successful dieters, over 10,000 dieters, going back a couple of decades who have lost over 66 pounds and maintained the weight loss for over 5 years and there were some key things, some common things.
We saw that 98% of these people went on a diet, they had a plan. It doesn’t matter what diet, these people went on many different diets. It’s their personal preference. 98% went on a diet and had a plan so that is important. 95% of them increased their activity level, walking being the number one activity level. And we can get into how important and effective that is. 78% of them ate breakfast every morning, not to say that you have to eat breakfast but that’s not to say that intermittent fasting, skipping breakfast is required to lose weight when the vast majority of people in the largest, longest, most successful study demonstrates that 78% ate breakfast.
75% of people weigh themselves regularly, again that which gets measured gets improved. I’ve come across clients that say they have an uncomfortable relationship with the scale and that’s generally because they let the daily fluctuations influence their mood when you should be adding up the week. Weigh in every day add up the seven days and divide it by seven to get a weekly average and then compare that weekly average to the other weekly averages throughout the month. That’s a better way to manage the scale.”
Reflecting on diets and intermittent fasting, Efferding says the most successful people are the ones who can stick to a sustainable plan over a long period of time.
I said that I coined a term some years ago compliance is the science. The best diet is the one you’ll follow so I try to create a diet program that people comply with. Something that is simple sensible and sustainable. Something that becomes part of the lifestyle.
One of the things that research shows us is that meal prep, prepping meals whether I prep or you prep, we see this in the bodybuilding, figure, physique, bikini industry going back decades as long as that industry has been in existence. Meal prepping is one of the number one behaviors that leads to long-term success. If you prep your meals whether twice a week or every morning for the day and you know exactly and it’s measured exactly what you are supposed to eat, even Weight Watchers very successful as long as you adhere to it and consistently eat the meals that they recommend. Any meal prep provides a greater opportunity for success because then you’re not randomly opening the refrigerator when you are hungry and grabbing what you’re hungry for.
Increasing protein intake, increasing fiber intake eating more whole foods and fewer ultra-processed foods drinking more fluids with meals which is where diet soda and iced tea can come in very handy as well as water helps fill the stomach and sends the signal that you are full and that satiety feeling is very desirable in a meal whether it’s acquired through a massive amount of calories or a large volume of food that may not yield as many calories including fluids. Mindful eating, you know not sitting there in front of a TV or an iPhone and shoveling in food until all of a sudden the plate is gone. Eating more protein and eating protein first in the meal tends to help with satiety. That’s kinda our toolbox
As soon as you get hungry you are going to start losing that battle. Willpower is not a good strategy to overcome hunger you’ll lose that battle every time.
Even though Efferding doesn’t think that intermittent fasting is more successful than other dieting options, many people, including Terry Crews have praised the practice. In fact, Crews has followed a 16/8 fasting window for 10 years and claims it’s been his “fountain of youth.”
Whether it is intermittent fasting, keto, paleo, ‘The vertical Diet’, or some other nutritional option, all variations can be successful when followed consistently. With dedication and a well-detailed plan, Efferding is confident anyone can lose weight if they take on the right mindset and commitments.
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