Maybe body builders lose lean body mass when they fast, but it does not seem to hold true for the average human.
You need an expensive Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan in order to precisely tell the body mass composition.
My anecdotal experience: I lost weight via alternate day fasting and did indeed shell out the 120 euro that two scans cost me. I lost mainly fat, my lean body mass after 6 months was down 4 pct, within error range I'd assume. I worked out normally through the entire period and even did things like a 200km bike trip during a 72hr fast. (I did a few of those to compensate for not fasting on holidays). Great experience, never felt better tbh.
One thing I think I learned was the exact threshold of power that allowed me to keep burning fat. Its hard to describe the feeling but after doing this for months (over a year by now) I think I know exactly when I can still push and continue on fat, and when I need to slow down to prevent lbm loss. Doing sprints, short intervals etc. would likely cause me to break proteins in the body and indeed be counterproductive - but here more research is probably needed, and individuals will likely have different thresholds.
The new equation [%BFNew = 6.083 + (0.143 × SSnew) - (12.058 × sex) - (0.150 × age) - (0.233 × body mass index) + (0.256 × waist) + (0.162 × sex × age)] explained a significant proportion of variance in %BF5C (R2 = 0.775, SEE = 4.0%). Predictors included sum of skinfolds (SSnew, midaxillary, triceps, and thigh) and waist circumference. The new equation cross-validated well against %BF5C when compared with other existing equations, producing a large intraclass correlation coefficient (0.90), small mean bias and limits of agreement (0.4% ± 8.6%), and small measures of error (SEE = 2.5%).
Generalized Equations for Predicting Percent Body Fat from Anthropometric Measures Using a Criterion Five-Compartment Model Zackary S Cicone, Brett S Nickerson 1, Youn-Jeng Choi 2, Clifton J Holmes 3, Bjoern Hornikel 4, Michael V Fedewa 4, Michael R Esco 4 Affiliations expand PMID: 34310492 PMCID: PMC8785250 (available on 2022-12-01) DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002754
This is delusional.
And bodybuilders DON'T lose fat when they fast because they take supraphysiological doses of hormones (steroids) that prevent the body losing muscle - and usually eat protein throughout their fast too. So not a good example.
Aren't these contradictory? If you eat (protein or otherwise) you're not fasting.
