Protein Fasting: The Upgrade to Intermittent Fasting for Sustainable Fat Loss
Optimal Protein Podcast with Vanessa Spina
Vanessa Spina
4.6 • 795 Ratings
🗓️ 20 February 2026
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Is fasting really the best way to lose fat — or is there a smarter, more strategic approach?
In this masterclass episode, Vanessa introduces a powerful new concept: Protein Fasting — a structured approach using PSMF (Protein-Sparing Modified Fast) days to optimize fat loss, suppress appetite naturally, protect muscle, and potentially tap into fasting-like cellular signaling.
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You'll learn:
• Why alternate day fasting isn't superior for fat loss
• How ketones directly suppress hunger hormones
• Why protein is the most powerful appetite-regulating macronutrient
• The optimal protein intake range for protecting muscle during fat loss
• What a new human autophagy study actually reveals
• Why 1–3 strategic PSMF days per week may outperform traditional fasting
If you've ever struggled with hunger while dieting — this episode will change how you think about strategenic fat loss periods without dealing with hunger adn cravings.
This episode also serves as a scientific primer for Vanessa's structured PSMF Library. Sign up HERE to be the first to know when the new PSMF Library has been released!
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Vanessa discusses how using the Tone Device is a proxy for fat loss and autophay on Protein Sparing Modified Fasting (PSMF) days! 👉 Use code VANESSA for 20% off HERE
Get my free NEW high-protein keto guide: The Keto Reset eBook
Free high-protein keto guide: The Keto Reset eBook
👤 Connect with Vanessa:
• Instagram: @ketogenicgirl
📱 Follow @ketogenicgirl for the latest studies and strategies on fat loss and protein optimization
📸 Follow @optimalproteinpodcast for episode visuals and updates
💬 Join the Facebook group: Optimal Protein Podcast Community
🎙 The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only and not nutritional or medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making major dietary or lifestyle changes.
As always: prioritize protein.
📚 SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES
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Trepanowski JF, et al. (2017). Effect of Alternate-Day Fasting vs Daily Calorie Restriction on Weight Loss and Cardioprotection. JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Stubbs BJ, et al. (2018). On the metabolism of exogenous ketones and their effects on appetite. Obesity.
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Sumithran P, et al. (2013). Ketosis and appetite-mediating nutrients after weight loss. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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Arciero PJ, et al. (2016). Protein pacing caloric restriction improves body composition and metabolic parameters. Nutrients.
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Hector AJ & Phillips SM. (2018). Protein recommendations for weight loss in athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.
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Jäger R, et al. (2017). ISSN Position Stand: Protein and Exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
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Burns L, et al. (2025). Effects of low- vs higher-protein fasting-mimicking diets on autophagy and body composition. Clinical Nutrition.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Optimal Protein Podcast. I'm Vanessa Spina. |
| 0:04.7 | Hello, my friends. Happy Friday and welcome back to the podcast. I'm your host Vanessa and I am |
| 0:11.6 | on the edge of my seat today, y'all, because today we are doing an episode that I have been |
| 0:18.0 | working towards for a very long time because I believe that we need |
| 0:24.5 | a new category in metabolic health. Not fasting, not dieting, not caloric restriction, but something |
| 0:34.1 | more strategic than all of that. |
| 0:41.9 | Now today I'm introducing what I call protein fasting. |
| 0:48.5 | And this episode is going to be a master class in what protein fasting is. So we are going to cover why traditional fasting often fails for fat loss, why appetite rebounds so |
| 0:57.6 | aggressively for most people after they're done a diet, how protein directly works on |
| 1:05.7 | suppressing appetite via hormones, how ketones directly suppress hunger hormones. The latest research on the optimal |
| 1:14.6 | protein intake for muscle protection, as well as the newest human autophagy data is showing us, |
| 1:22.6 | and why strategic protein-saring modified fasting days may give you the biology of fasting, sort of like |
| 1:31.1 | fasting mimicking, but without the muscle loss. And yes, this episode is also a primer for something |
| 1:38.9 | that I have been quietly building for you all, my structured protein sparing modified |
| 1:43.9 | fasting library. But first, |
| 1:46.2 | we need to understand the physiology and why all the latest science in the last several years |
| 1:52.8 | has been culminating up to this point. And I am so excited for today's episode because I have |
| 1:59.8 | been researching this for so long. because I have been researching this for so long and I have |
| 2:03.1 | been planning this episode in my head for so long. And today I get to share with you all |
| 2:09.4 | what the latest cutting edge science really seems to be pointing to and how I've been connecting |
| 2:16.3 | the dots to create a new paradigm, a new approach |
| 2:21.7 | to improving our metabolic health, optimizing our wellness, our body composition, burning fat, |
... |
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