Rapid fat loss, keep the muscle— has the optimal combo of diet and exercise been found?
Combining intermittent fasting days with cardio = Double the fat loss, retain muscle mass, improve cholesterol…
A study that compared the effects of intermittent fasting by itself, cardio by itself, or the combination of both may have found the optimal setup for rapid fat loss whilst maintaining muscle mass (and as a bonus, had the best improvement in LDL cholesterol levels).
Losing fat while not losing muscle is hard to do, so this study may have found an optimal combination for those interested in losing fat and improving their physiques.
Let’s review the study itself and breakout the results, and then discuss implementation details if you are interested it trying it out yourself.
Study details:
Researchers at the University of Illinois divided participants into four groups:
* a control group that made no lifestyle changes,
* an exercise group that did endurance cardio 3x week,
* an alternate day fasting group that fasted (a single meal per day), 3x week,
* and a combination group that did both alternate day fasting, and cardio *on the fasting days* 3x week.
