Summary:
So what have we got so far? The evidence posted for any sort of food delay is... really underwhelming.
There is a lot of research going on in relation to the finer points endocrinology/neuroendocrinology in relation to the way we eat. There is plenty of evidence that people with chronic problems can sometimes alleviate or diminish these issues through diet control. An extreme example is the use of ketogenesis in controlling epilepsy of children. And that is pretty extreme.
Some better examples of studies which may actually yield some, at least not contrary findings, to your proposed methods are those which pertain to athletes who fast during Ramadan (large sample sizes available). The below studies not previously listed address the issue more closely. Some support, some show neutral benefits, others not so good.
Effects of Ramadan intermittent fasting on middle-distance running performance in well-trained runners.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21857506" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
No major benefits or hinderances.
Fasting and sport: an introduction.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20460260" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Quote: "Prolonged periods of training in the fasted state may not allow optimum adaptation of muscles and other tissues. Further research on a wide range of athletes with special nutrition needs is urgently required."
Effect of Ramadan intermittent fasting on aerobic and anaerobic performance and perception of fatigue in male elite judo athletes.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19910805" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
No major effects, lost a little weight.
Intermittent fasting does not affect whole-body glucose, lipid, or protein metabolism.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19776143" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Quote: "The decrease in resting energy expenditure after IF indicates the possibility of an increase in weight during IF when caloric intake is not adjusted."
Not so good...
Ramadan fasting and the GH/IGF-1 axis of trained men during submaximal exercise.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18617733" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Quote: "Ramadan fasting induces positive changes in body composition without disturbing glucose regulation or activity of the GH/IGF-1 system."
Lost body fat and mass - no other changes, hormones all good.
Lipid profiles of judo athletes during Ramadan.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17879887" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Quote: "In conclusion, the present results show that the combination of the change in diet pattern during Ramadan, along with intense exercise training, induced a significant decrease in body mass associated with a reduction in body fat and changes in some of the serum lipids and lipoproteins. Nevertheless, all the measured serum parameters remained within normal levels for young and active individuals. The volunteers, in this study, were able to maintain a constant training load during RIF."
Lost body fat and over mass, training load maintained. All good.
The amount of research getting close to any sort vague benefits to endurance athletes for food scheduling simply isn't there. Yet. To draw conclusions for the eating the patterns of athletes from the long list of studies is highly ludicrous endeavour. And yet people are. That leangains site is hilarious, real science there. Now, I may be proved 100% wrong on my stance but it sure as hell isn't from a single thing posted so far. In 10 years time with more comprehensive research? Hell yeah, wouldn't be the first time.
I am skeptical in the sense that I have seen all these or similar "wondrous" touted before when the Atkins diet was all the rage. The placebo effect is very awesome, not to mention self-delusion. "I am on a new diet, let me tell you how awesome it is." Additionally the more complex the diet the better people think it works. And now we have the paleo diet, raw diet, fruit only diet blah blah blah.
We have also seen the science switch from "thirst response is unreliable - drink to schedule" [thanks Gatorade] to "we evolved with a good thirst response - drink to thirst." Until there is mound of supporting conclusive evidence that we have to carefully schedule our meals eating to hunger will be my chosen path.
What we eat however...
I would not be able to link not a single study which stipulates any one person should eat X diet simply because an individual's needs and demands vary greatly. However there are some generalisations which I think most agree on. "Natural" food is good, vegetables, fruit, meats, fish, nuts, seeds, legumes etc are good. Protein highly important for the athlete, saturated fat too. Again, amounts vary from person to person.
So this whole exercise has demonstrated that:-
1) you have lousy research skills
2) there is no quantifiable benefit to delaying or rescheduling meals (plenty of anecdotes)
3) doing so is potentially impractical (for me it would be 1500 cal in one sitting, hell no) with potential to feeling hungry - for no good reason.
4) amateur athletes apparently need whey hydrosolate/casein hydrosolate, R-ALA/nutrient partitioning....
So why do any sort of IF or scheduling on rest days?
KWalker wrote:Pretty solid and scientifically substantiated concept.
Rock solid science. For all to see.
Maybe next time be more discerning with your research instead of posting a long list of pretty, but irrelevant, crap.
So much knowledge... yet you still struggle with your own training.
Ah, but I refuse to post my credentials, thus rendering the above obsolete. C'est la vie.
"Physiology is all just propaganda and lies... all waiting to be disproven by the next study."
"I'm not a real doctor; But I am a real worm; I am an actual worm." - TMBG
