I'm just now (in the last year) discovering the benefits of intermittent fasting (IF). The real fact of the matter is that almost everything we--our generation--were taught about nutrition is utter nonsense. It was completely plucked out of thin air by a few doctors, scientists, psuedo-scientists, and the various food industries. The 3 meals/day, breakfast is the most important meal, fruits are "good for you," and eat lots of dairy products model was almost entirely incorrect and had very little scientific basis.
That gave away to fat-o-phobes, which in turn gave away to carb-o-phobes, which turned to "small meal 'grazing' all day instead of 3 large meals" supposedly to
"kick-start and keep your metabolism going!"
When I started IF, I figured I would "give it a shot" because I had tried
everything else and nothing worked for me. In the first month of IF, I lost 16 lbs and had to start breaking out the old clothes (thank God I didn't toss them when I got the mid-life chub-around beginnings of a "Dad Bod"). I'm still trimming down and staying healthy. I started making strength gains after years of stagnation.
There were unexpected benefits that I didn't foresee:
1. My sleep
dramatically improved. I used to have to take quite a bit of sleep medication, but that is gone now.
2. I started saving time and money. Food preparation is simple now and I'm not constantly cooking and washing dishes. Just once per day.
3. All of my labs greatly improved. My blood work came back after a doctor visit and the doc was
floored.. Everything had improved across the board.
4. My mental focus and clarity improved. This is most likely related to the improved sleep patterns which began when I started IF.
5. My energy went through the roof. I thought I'd be hungry and sluggish, constantly thinking of food. That's not the case. The first 4 days are a bit uncomfortable because you are so used to eating all the time. But, if you're familiar with fasting, you know this is only temporary. I now eat one meal a day and I do not have those pangs of hunger.
6. Morning wood became even more frequent and my libido increased.
It's quite simple and effective. I shared the concept (and specifically my variation) of it with forum member Godfather Dust who had asked for help this summer in the following thread (
thread-68678.html). He followed my advice and has lost more than 50 lbs and his health has improved. It literally changed his life as it has mine. Most of the assistance I offered him is in that thread, but there was a lot of auxiliary bits and pieces we hashed out through PM's.
I recently summarized the concept in another thread where someone was seeking advice on cutting and weight loss. If you're interested, here it is:
Intermittent Fasting with a 4-hour eating window.
Do not consume a single calorie outside that window. Keep the window the same each day, it can be any 4 hours you choose. Some people like eating at night, some like daytime. Doesn't matter at all. Make it work with your schedule.
Only things outside that window: water, black coffee, black tea (no herbal teas), substitute sweeteners are allowed if you want.
Avoid sugar at all costs. Even fruit! Fruit is largely nothing but sugar and fiber. Get your fiber elsewhere. Sugar is poison. Alcohol is poison (and full of sugar). Both should be avoided at all costs.
No junk food or typical snack food. No frozen dinner bullshit. You should eat clean and fresh food. This is pretty easy to do since you are really only going to prepare food once per day.
Eat as much as you want, but only in that 4-hour window.
No need to count calories--you, likely, won't be able to overeat in 4 hours if you're eating healthy food because you'll get stuffed.
Limit your carbs but don't ELIMINATE them.
Raise your protein and eat lots of vegetables (variety of colors). Get your fiber from lots of vegetables and cereal.
Take a multivitamin and drink a TON of water: your body is gonna need the water to process all the crap out of your fat stores. That stuff comes out in poop, piss and, sweat, so water is clutch. You can use flavored water (even the fizzy kind) if you want, so long as it has 0 calories. You can have diet sodas, if you drink that unhealthy junk, as long as 0 calories. I'd avoid diet sodas because of several other reasons, but one here and there isn't going to hurt you if you feel you must.
The zero calorie thing is most important--not because you're limiting your caloric intake!!! It's so your liver doesn't detect that you've consumed food and start producing insulin. That's what makes you drop the pounds.
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If you want to try it and have any questions, feel free to PM me.
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