Yes Lean Gains is what I am referring too. Hoffmekler's isn't really a fasting period so much as a caloric deprivation period from what I have read and what you explain above. Although they are similar in many ways. Hofmekler allows for 4 hour overfeeding window, and is kind of an eat until your body tells you to stop eating deal. Lean Gains depending on the goal does have some caloric guidelines to follow, and allows you 8 hours to get the needed amount in, and is designed more with body building in mind. Hofmekler's is not about actually gaining muscle for people in body building. It really works well at maintaining it during weight loss or will increase it for many lay persons. I plan on testing it out at a later date perhaps. However right now the Lean Gains approach is working amazingly for me. I am putting on LBM and stripping off fat.
I dont know if it is addressed in the warrior diet book but in maximum muscle minimum fat he has a chapter on gaining muscle.
I am searching the LeanGains site for that 50 calorie think now. I am real interested in his reasoning behind that
Anyway back to your amino intake I really doubt aminos will break a fasted state, I dont know what his goals are for the IF version but for warrior diet it is to activate cAMP during the fasted period and I dont think BCAAs will inhibit this.
In regards to the calorie content of BCAAs, yes they do contain calories but it isn't in the same sense as food, re 50kcals from whey isn't the same as 50kcals from aminos. Remember a calorie is a unit of energy and not necessarily a measurement of food.
So while BCAAs do hold an energy value (calories) which is similar to protein (4kcal/g) they are metabolized within muscles. This is different then if aminos are being produced by the liver which would make the energy available to the whole body. When you are taking BCAAs they go straight to your muscles and then if your body needs energy it will go through the steps of either getting it from your muscle or from you stored body fat.
By fasting you are activating cAMP which will in turn activate enzymes that are responsible for protein synthesis and energy production, this results in the break down of glycogen reserves in the liver and induces lipolysis in fat cells
So BCAAs will go straight to your muscles when consumed and then your body will have a choice of muscle or fat for energy but through fasting you activated cAMP which activated lipolysis for its energy production so most likely the BCAAs will stay in your muscle and your energy will come from the fat stores IMO
At least this is my understanding of it :dunno: either way shoot Eric a PM I am sure he will get that info to ya bud