Intermittent fasting has transformed the way I view my approach to eating, exercise, and even life in general.
For those of you who have never heard of intermittent fasting, it is when you go through a period of fasting throughout the day (including your sleep time), and then you give yourself a shorter window of time for your daily eating.
Think of it as saving up to spend more later.
Popular Approaches
IF has been popularized by programs such as Martin Berkhan's Lean Gains where you fast for 16 hours and shorten your eating window to 8 hours. (aka the 16/8 method) This approach focuses on higher protein, and more strict training.
The Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler focuses on eating very small portions earlier in the day, and then having bigger feasts later in the day to model the eating practices of our ancestors. This diet focuses on food combinations and finding the ideal foods for optimal health.
Other IF protocols include Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat in which you do two 24 hour fasts per week. For instance, if you stop eating at 8pm the night before, you would not eat until 8pm the next day. Generally, the Eat Stop Eat method lends itself to eating less calories throughout the day on those 2 specific fasting days, enhancing your weekly calorie deficit. In addition, this fasting period allows your body to perform its other functions, and your digestive system is given a well-deserved break. Eating every 2-3 hours is not kind to your digestive system.
Some other IF protocols can incorporate longer periods of fasting (up to 36 hours), though I do not find those methods to be sustainable in the long run, as they involve way too much willpower. Making things harder than they need to be will ultimately lead to long-term non-compliance.
Putting into Practice
During the fasting period, you do not consume any calories and only drink non-calorie beverages such as water, black coffee and/or tea. Some people will use non-calorie sweeteners such as Stevia, Sweet n’ Low, or have energy drinks like Rockstars, etc…, but some research has shown that the body may still experience insulin spikes due to these alternate sweeteners, so it is best to stick to black coffee or tea if possible for optimal fasting benefits.
Essentially the IF approach comes down to skipping breakfast, although you can experiment with your eating window to have a shorter or longer window based on your preferences. (In other words, a 16/8 fast to feed ratio, or 18/6, 20/4, etc... to whatever adds up to 24 hours)
If you like eating gigantic meals, then maybe a shorter window would fit you better. Ultimately, everyone is different so you need to experiment to find out what method works best for you.
You might say, "I've always been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Isn't my metabolism going to slow down if I don't eat every 3 hours?!" The simple answer is that there is no conclusive research to prove that eating every 3 hours increases your metabolism more than eating 1 or 2 big meals at the same amount of calories.
The overall daily caloric intake is the main thing that matters in regards to the metabolization of energy. Whether you eat twenty 100 calorie meals or two 1,000 calorie meals, you will still end up with the same result, so why not find the most enjoyable way to get to that calorie mark.
If you're still skeptical, think about your hunter/gather ancestors and how they ended up finding food. They didn't have the luxury of eating before they went out to find their meal for the day. They were in a fasted state, and once they found their food, they would have their feast. Our bodies are primed to function in a fasted state, and you’d be surprised at how much energy and alertness you will have not eating. Think about how tired you get after your lunch or after a big meal. (Think post Thanksgiving meal)
Once our bodies are fed, we experience an insulin spike that puts us in a more relaxed and sleepier state. Therefore, we can eat minutes before bedtime, and so long as your body is in a calorie deficit, you will experience fat loss. Don't be fooled by all of the diet myths (i.e. breakfast is the most important meal, you should eat 3 hours before bedtime, calories don't matter, etc…).
Calories do ultimately matter in regards to fat oxidation, and your intake is going to be indicative of meeting your goals whether that goal is losing weight, gaining weight or maintaining your current weight. (the Law of thermodynamics does not lie)
IF has been shown to decrease the hormone leptin, which basically tells our brain that enough fat is stored. When this hormone is decreased, human growth hormone levels are increased. Therefore, our strength levels are not diminished and we can actually get some good strength gains in a fasted state. It really comes down to personal preference on how to get the work done with your diet and exercise routine.
The hunger hormone ghrelin, which is the hormone that alerts the body when it’s hungry, also stimulates the hippo-campus, which is the region of the brain that affects memory, focus, alertness and memory. Everything seems to work synergistic-ally in these wacky bodies of ours.
How to Implement Intermittent Fasting
Self-experimentation to see what works best for the individual is an important thing to consider...but Intermittent Fasting is another tool in the arsenal that has been proven to work time and time again.
In summary, why IF works:
1) By skipping breakfast, you get to eat more later in the day (making for more satisfying meals). Also, this frees up more time in the morning to just drink some water, and head right out the door or right to work. Simplifying your life in any way possible is so invaluable.
2) While your digestive system gets a well needed break, your body taps into your fat stores for fuel instead of muscle. Fasting also has been proven to increase human growth hormone levels. For these reasons, you can still increase strength gains on a cutting (fat loss) program.
3) Fasting makes it easier to be in a calorie deficit which is what causes fat loss (aka the law of thermodynamics)
4) Fasting helps to keep you aware of what you are eating, and can make you appreciate food more, by waiting longer for it
5) Fasting creates a sustainable eating lifestyle in the long term. You only want to lose that weight once!
Rah Rah, Shiska-bob
Try Something New For Once in Your Life ;)
Give it a try if what you're doing isn't currently working out for you. If you don't like it after a couple weeks, then go back to your normal habits. You've got nothing to lose, except maybe some pesky pounds that have been hanging around without the invitation.
I think it's an approach that is worth the experimentation.
Here's my results thusfar if you don't believe me....
