Intermittent Fasting is my favorite weight loss tool. It is a fantastic way to lose weight while still keeping your lean muscle.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
It is effectively the use of fasting for periods of between 24 and 48 hours. Doing this has the following benefits:
1) Intermittent Fasting does not slow down the metabolism, infact research has shown that during the period of your fast and for upto 24 hours after your metabolism will actually be working faster than normal not slower.
Your metabolism will only start to slow down when you have been fasting for 3 days straight (which you should not be doing). This is when your body will enter starvation mode and your metabolism slows to preserve energy.
2) Intermittent fasting does not cause muscle loss. Research undertaken examining the effects of intermittent fasting and resistance training showed that when subjects combined the two there was no correlation between fasting and muscle loss.
Full results and details of this research can be found in the EatStopEat program
How Long Should A Fast Last?
Generally the best results for a fast will come between 24 and 36 hours. Any less than this and you will not get the full effects. Any longer than this and the results will start to taper off.
Brad Pilon (appearing in a video later) author of the EatStopEat program recommends to fast for a 24 hour period once or twice a week.
Top 3 Reasons Why Intermittent Fasting Is So Effective
1) It Reduces Your Calorie Input
It is recommended to perform 1-2 24 hour fasts a week. Based on a 2000 calorie/day diet this means instead of eating 14,000 calories in a week you will only eat 10,000. This is without changing your diet whatsoever.
2) It Is Easy to Stick To
Fasting is effective because when performed correctly it is incredibly easy to stick to. It allows a lot more freedom than with other diets because instead of eating boring stuff you are cutting your calories by not eating. This means that every now and again you can treat yourself with some goodies and still have a calorie defecit!
3) Intermittent Fasts are Natural
From a purely evolutionary point of view it can be said that as humans we are expected to go periods of time without eating. Our ancestors had no way of storing food so only ate when they were successful at hunting or forraging. This indicates that it is actually very possible that our bodies are designed to fast regularly. There are actually a number of physical benefits that are bodies show that would suggest that fasting is natural, such as:
- Lower insulin levels in those who regularly fast
- Reduces oxidative stress
- Slows down the effects of aging
- Maintains lean muscle mass
- Increased energy levels
- Increased levels of growth hormone
Intermittent Fasting for Fat Loss is Similar To Intense Exercise
Imagine being able to mimic the effects of exercise without the actual hassle of…you know…working out.
Well fasting twice a week has near enough the same HGH boosting and fat loss effects as 2 intense workout sessions.
Brad Pilon gives a great run down of why Intermittent Fasting is as good as intense exercise when it comes to fat loss in this video…just click play…
So What Does Exercise and Fasting Have in Common?
1. Both Increase Fat Burning
2. Both Release Free Fatty Acids
3. Both Increase the Release of Growth Hormone
4. Both Cause A Reduction in Insulin Levels
Fasting and exercise are nearly identical metabolic states. However there is one massive difference…
The fat burning effects from exercise will only last for the hours preceding the workout whereas an Eat Stop Eat style fast will have you in the fat burning zone for the full fast and upto 12 hours after you have eaten.
For me it’s always an easy decision to recommend the Eat Stop Eat style of dieting to my new clients.
It really is one of the best ways of getting lean. At the end of the day there are only so many workout sessions you can perform in a week before you run the risk of overtraining.
Click Here To see The Eat Stop Eat Fasting Program – The Smart Way of Burning Fat Without Killing Yourself In The Gym
Think someone you know could benefit from reading this post; use the buttons on the left to share or like this post. Do you have experience with Intermittent Fasting? Feel free to share in the comments section below…
Leave A Reply (14 comments So Far)
Sharon S.
Fasting can have a good effect on our spiritual side too. So all I can say is its still a win win situation.
Sharon S. recently posted..Best way to win the lottery
Srdjan - Bloom to Fit
An excellent overview of intermittent fasting. Just out of curiosity, would you recommend this sort of diet for long term?
Elizabeth Philip
It really is one of the best ways of getting lean. At the end of the day there are only so many workout sessions you can perform in a week before you run the risk of overtraining, thanks for the post, keep up the good work.
Elizabeth Philip recently posted..Start forex trading
Lance
@Srdjan It would depend entirely on how extreme I was being with it. Performing 4 or 5 sessions a week is sustainable in the short term but I would advise against doing it over the course of a few months. 1 or 2 sessions a week is ok and can be done long term.
Faster
I fast all the time and it allows me to just pig out on the weekend without gaining any weight. two thumbs up for intermittent fasting
kristeen
Fasting has worked out perfectly for me. With this fast tactic I didn’t lose any strenght in my muscles, but I did go from 16% to 10% fat mass. Lovely, and thanks a million!
Jon Coppock
Sorry but I heard that if you dont eat for a day then your body goes into starvation mode and then you no longer lose weight as fast as normal
Mellie
Jon, that only becomes true when you have not eaten for a number of days! As much as the diet companies would like us to keep buying their tiny little meals, we just dont need them, intermittent fasting is the natural way to lose weight!
tRaiquila
Jon my friend, you need to read what was written in the article, the author clearly says that Intermittent Fasting actually speeds up the metabolism in the short term!
Sierra Smith vogan
Gotta agree with the natural aspect of Intermittent Fasting. Back when we used to be cavemen there were no refrigerators to keep everything cool. You had to fill up, move on and not know where your next meal was coming from.
Luke eviden
Men can control their weight more quickly than women as their body is leaner and have better metabolism when compared to that of women.
Jon Coppock
Can I retract my previous comment? I just bought EatStopEat as recommended and I have to say I am convinced by the sheer weight of evidence supporting Fasting.
I’m deffo going to give it a go!
Sandra Seaborne
Luke; I dont think that is true at all. Men and Women have different body types, men require more calories in a day but if we women just eat what are bodies allow for then we lose just weight just as quickly as men do.
Ren
I tried intermittent fasting for a while but i found i really didnt have the willpower for it, I found that instead of skipping meals just eating healthier during my normal meals was much more helpful for me