[MollyR]

Maybe a larger percentage of men are more competitive than women and are constantly trying to get a cutting edge, and are willing to even avoid eating to get a competitive advantage. I know I'm not. I like eating food, and taking a lunch break.

[freehunter]

Back in college I was a weight lifter, and protein-sparing modified fasts weren't uncommon in the group I was in. Basically drink 1400 calories of protein and eat nothing else. Not low-carb, zero carb. You would do that until you cut your fat down enough to bulk again. It worked, and you lost weight quick. Let's not talk about the potential damage to your kidneys though...

I did know some women in the group who would do that as well, so I can't say it's exclusively men, but women were definitely a minority when it came to power lifting. Not sure if that's what's going on here or not. Maybe it's that mostly people who follow tech news know about the product, and the tech industry does tend to lean more towards men. Who knows?

[Evgeny]

Actually, there is very little evidence of kidney damage from high protein intake in healthy individuals. This, for example

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1262767/

Although excessive protein intake remains a health concern in individuals with pre-existing renal disease, the literature lacks significant research demonstrating a link between protein intake and the initiation or progression of renal disease in healthy individuals.

or this

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10722779

To conclude, it appears that protein intake under 2. 8 g.kg does not impair renal function in well-trained athletes as indicated by the measures of renal function used in this study

[MollyR]

Fascinating. Does this mean your 1400 calories of protein came from 7-8 protein drinks a day ? Where could I get more information on this that isn't "bro science" ?

[freehunter]

Even more than just a PSMF, what we went with was called the Velocity Diet. A PSMF can be chicken or beef or anything else with lots of protein, the Velocity Diet is 100% protein shakes. It was thought up by T-Nation, but you don't need to use their products specifically. The forums at bodybuilding.com have a lot of people who have done it and reported back on their findings. It's really hard to stick to and you will get sick of shakes real fast, but what it all boils down to is that this is a heavily calorie-restricted liquid diet. Normally you would lose some muscle mass doing that, but this diet is supposed to keep most of your new muscle as long as you keep lifting throughout.

I haven't done it in a very long time, and the thought of drinking even a single shake makes me feel ill now. But it's possible to lose 20lbs in one month.

[Evgeny]

Just search for Protein Sparing Modified Fast. Certainly not just bro science - there were some studies done.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/711361