IF reaches beyond conventional diets and changes WHEN we eat, not WHAT we eat. Let’s learn how to start this simple and healthy lifestyle. Please be reminded to check with a medical provider who is aware of your unique history prior to changing your diet or exercise processes.
Let’s get started by learning the types of intermittent fasting.
Time Restricted Eating involved choosing a fasting period, and an eating period (we call that an eating “window”).
5:2 Method involves fasting on 2 nonconsecutive days each week. Fasting days can include 500 calories or can be food-free. Black coffee, plain water, and black tea is allowed.
Extended Fasting involves no food intake (only water, black coffee, and plain tea) for extended periods of time. Any fasts 72 hours and greater must always be medically supervised. I am not a fan of extended fasts and will not mention them any further.
Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) is eating one day (as many as two full meals and snacks), and fasting the next day.
One Meal A Day (OMAD) is eating one true meal each day. This is my favorite approach to IF. OMAD can include a snack, a true meal, and a dessert over several hours.
Why on earth would anyone want to do IF?
Levels of the hormone insulin drop, allowing us to burn our own body fat for fuel. Eureka! That sounds valuable to me.
Human Growth Hormone spikes and allows us to build lean muscle mass.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) spikes by 4-14% by the release of the hormone noradrenaline. This prevents the dreaded “starvation mode.”
Fasting stimulates the recycling of cellular garbage in a process called Autophagy.
There are NUMEROUS health benefits to IF. Please refer to Chapter Six, Intermittent Fasting, in A Timekeeper’s Guide To Weight Loss, Living An Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle.