The short answer is that I lose muscle VOLUME during extended fasting, not muscle tissue or fibers.

I have a question for you:

Would you willingly lose 10 lbs in muscle volume next month to gain 15 lbs of upgraded muscle quality the month after?

I would. And that’s what occurs for me each time I go through this process.

You don’t lose muscle tissue when fasting any more than you lose fat tissues when you lose weight through any means. You lose muscle and fat volume. Muscle and fat cells expand or decrease in size based on how you eat and move.

People fully understand how easy it is to regain body fat after losing it but have difficulty understanding that muscle responds the same way.

Body fat does very little for overall health and function, where muscle runs our metabolism and controls all movement, and it is vital to our immediate and long-term health and survival. Not to mention our quality of life.

During my April Fasting and Resilience Learning Challenge, starting on April 1, I plan to fast for 30 days with just water and some salt, but that’s just me, and by no means is there a recommendation or requirement for the challenge. 

It’s a fasting learning and resilience practice challenge; no fasting needs to be done unless you want to.

Last April, I lost 31 lbs in 31 days in my fasting challenge, with over 10 lbs of lean tissue volume as part of that. That is true.

I also structured a muscle rebuild program immediately following, adding 16 lbs of lean body mass in 4 weeks. I’m enthusiastically planning on a similar process happening this time as well.

I will also include that muscle rebuild concept in the content of the challenge next month.

The link to join the challenge will be in the comments, and for more information, you can see my pinned post from yesterday on my wall or my website at insulinfriendlyliving.com.

I also have several older posts you can search here on my wall and my website about muscle, exercise, and more during and after fasting if you’re interested.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a muscle upgrade!

We can do better!

Dr. Don