Preamble
I was recently asked what I thought about Intermittent Fasting. My response was “I do it and that’s a great question for a blog post. I’ll let you know when I have it written.” The information in this article is for males only. There has been recent research showing that Intermittent Fasting affects men and women differently. For the sake of simplicity and brevity, I am focusing on myself and other males here.
If you’re a female, please feel free to read for information, but you can find more specific details for your gender by visiting www.MarksDailyApple.com and searching for “Intermittent Fasting for Women”. The article I am referring to is called “Intermittent Fasting For Women: What We Know Now”. Or if you want my particular take on it, please contact me and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.
What is Intermittent Fasting
In its simplest form, Intermittent Fasting is an extended time between meals.
The health benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent Fasting seems to offer a myriad of health benefits. Improved physical performance, increased longevity, autophagy, increased insulin sensitivity, and improved mental clarity are a few of the many benefits of Intermittent Fasting.
Types of Intermittent Fasting
Skipping a meal – Skip a normal meal and you may already be Intermittent Fasting. If you add extra snacks, then you’re not fasting. I’m going to draw the line and say if you are snacking, you’re not ready for fasting. First, get control of the snacking and only eat at meal time. I typically skip breakfast and “let this happen” for the rest of the day. For instance, if I’m not hungry at mealtime or I’m working or playing and not feeling any urge to eat. I honor my hunger and suggest you do as well.
Condensing eating time during the day – Having a specific eating window during the day. I would suggest starting with your normal eating window and then slowly condense it. For example, I usually eat between noon and 6 PM, giving me a 6 hour eating windows and 18 hours of Intermittent Fasting most days. If you are extremely hungry or get light headed outside of your eating window, please honor your hunger. Chances are your blood sugar is tanking and your body isn’t ready to do this.
Morning meal and evening meal – Balancing your nutritional input evenly between 2 meals in one day. You should be able to skip a meal several times already per above before trying this. As always, PLEASE honor your hunger and eat something if this becomes uncomfortable in any way for you.
Single 24 hour fast – Not eating for 24 hours. I ONLY suggest this if you are fat adapted. That means you are fully capable of burning body fat and fat from food for energy instead of carbohydrates. Failure to be fat adapted can vary your experience from uncomfortable to lethal. Please make sure you check with your doctor, have been able to skip meals regularly, and can do a compressed eating window of 4-8 hours for at least 7 continuous days before attempting a 24 hour fast.
Every other day – Fast for 24 hours, eat normally for 24 hours, repeat as desired. This is an extension of the single 24 hour fast and comes with all caveats as stated above. While I do this with great results, I am not here to tell you that it’s ok for you to do. Please check with your physician and the final decision needs to be your own.
My personal experience with Intermittent Fasting
I have had excellent results using Intermittent Fasting for physical performance. I’ve stopped eating at noon the day before and had some outstanding runs and workouts the next morning or afternoon without food. I have experienced greatly improved mental clarity in the mornings after not eating after 6 PM the night before and skipping breakfast. I also use 24 hour fasts or every other day fasts along with my usual movement, play, and meditation to speed up physical and/or mental recovery as required.
That’s it! Thank you for reading! If you’re looking for more help in optimizing your own life and would like to engage my services, or have an idea for a blog post, feel free to contact me.
Wishing you happiness, health, and success!
-Gregg
