Growth Hormone is a commonly abused drug in the bodybuilding culture.
Although it’s name might make you think it is primarily responsible for muscle growth, it is actually used to help with recovery and above all, fat burning.
In order to burn fat your body needs to have high growth hormone levels and low insulin levels. BOTH of these criteria have to be fulfilled…it doesn’t work if you have high insulin levels and just inject growth hormone to compensate.
The easy way out is to inject growth hormone. However this is dangerous and I’m sure you don’t want to be buying drugs on the black market.
Surely there must be an easier way.
Well there is, and its part of the natural way you’re designed.
After you finish a whole meal of food <–(say it like will ferrel from old school…so funny) your insulin levels will go up and you’re growth hormone levels will go down. In this state you cannot burn body fat. This is called the post prandial state (or post meal).
The length of time your body spends in this non-fat burning state depends on how large the meal was that you just ate. For example, after thanksgiving dinner you’re going to be in a post prandial state for hours…but after eating an apple or a cup of yogurt you may only be in a post prandial state for a few minutes.
In order to get back into a body fat burning state you must allow enough time after you eat for your insulin levels to drop again and your growth hormone levels to rise.
There are two ways to do this.
1) Eat small meals so your ‘post prandial’ state is shortened. <–This is how the concept of eating 4-6 small meals per day works.
2) Take extended breaks between meals to allow insulin to drop and growth hormone to rise. <– this is how intermittent fasting works.
In the second case the longer you avoid food the lower your insulin levels will drop and the higher your growth hormone levels will rise. In fact your growth hormone levels can rise almost 10 times by the end of a 24 hour fast!
This effect on growth hormone is one of the primary advantages of following an intermittent fasting style of diet.
For more information on growth hormone check out this article written by Brad Pilon –> Growth Hormone
John
