Today's #ThursdayQandA tackles another popular diet approach: intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting means not eating for at least half of the day (some of that time will be spent sleeping), with "eating windows" usually ranging between 6-12 hours. One of the biggest benefits of this is it can help you lose weight without changing what you eat.
Fasting has been around a real long time, so it's tough to call this one a "trend" or "fad" diet, but the hype is definitely real. Now the question is: Is it a good approach for YOU?
Since most people who ask me about intermittent fasting are considering it as a weight loss solution, let's talk about why it works as one. Generally speaking, reducing the amount of hours you eat, will reduce the overall amount of calories you eat. Obviously you COULD make up for the calories you would've saved, but it is unlikely to happen naturally.
THAT'S what I find so interesting about intermittent fasting. Most people who try it for a couple of weeks find they aren't extra hungry from not eating for those extra few hours,. This seems to imply that there were times before when these people weren't actually hungry, but were eating for some other reason. (This is quite common. Check out the book Mindless Eating for further reference. Crazy stuff!)
Since the "fasting window" occurs around sleep, intermittent fasters are adding food-less hours either before bed or when they wake up. As I mentioned, they usually aren't extra hungry as a result of not eating during one or both of these times. This could imply there was some unneeded late-night snacking/desserts that got cut out. Or…
In my case, I was just eating breakfast out of habit. I was told it was the most important meal of the day my whole life and took it at face value. It made sense that I'd benefit from "fueling up" before my usual 14+ hour days. I actually ate nutritious breakfasts too, which isn't the norm for most Americans these days.
Then I decided to go 24 hours without eating. Just an experiment to see what happened.
There was definitely times I was legitimately hungry throughout that day (there were other times where I was just craving delicious food because I saw, smelled, or even thought about it), but I felt surprisingly fine throughout the first part of my day where I spend 4 hours on the gym floor training clients. Then I just kinda stopped eating breakfast. It saved me time in the morning and I felt great throughout the day. That was all the reason I needed to keep rolling with it.
I think I'm coming up on 6 or so months like this. The only reason I'm still doing it is because it works for me. I didn't set out to do it. I don't adhere to strict windows. I'm not strict about it on the weekends. I don't run around claiming magical benefits, or even call it "intermittent fasting". It's just how I eat, my own personal appoach. I utilize it because it saves time. It will also save calories, which is good IF you're trying to lose weight. Which brings me back to my initial question of if it's a good approach for you…
I honestly don't know. If it sounds like something you're interested in, you can find out if you want to. Sorry. I suck at being bossy about this stuff. It's not my place. It's not my life. It's yours!!
If you DO want to try out intermittent fasting, I would encourage you to:
- Start with a 12 hour fasting window. See how that goes for 2 weeks before going more extreme.
- HYDRATE!! It will curb hunger. Realistically if you aren't consistently hydrating already, you should focus on that before attempting ANY nutrition approach.
- Stay objective and curious. Think of it as an experiment to see what happens for 2 weeks. Notice what you're thinking and feeling, without being judgmental. If the results are good, you might want to stick with it longer-term.
Intermittent Fasting has plenty of potential benefits that vary from person-to-person. It is not a magical weight loss solution, but if it's a good fit for you, it may help with that too. If you're still reading this, you might as well run an experiment as outlined and see how it goes!
If you're curious about another popular diet, you can get my thoughts on keto here.
For years I've been helping people take control of their exercise and eating habits as a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. Down With The Fitness is here to give you simple, actionable tips that will improve your health. If you found this helpful, feel free to check out the archives for more.
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Have fun and do your best,
