So one cool thing about fasting is you can do it with hardly any person noticing, it’s not like other diets where people are always asking ooh why are you eating that, why don’t you just eat something normal for once? Those diets can make you want to hurt someone which isn’t a positive attitude, but with fasting you can practice it privately or just tell people you’re diabetic, because it really takes a jerk to make fun of someone for being diabetic. For example, you just say, sorry I’m not eating right now, its actually a blood sugar issue, if I’m being honest (which you’re obviously not). Unlikely somebody will say, haha that’s hilarious look at this person with their discredited pancreas — I mean, say what you will about my missing teeth but at least I can make my own insulin! So that’s at least one reason to fast. People are less likely to be jerks about it.
Another reason to fast is because “the science” (here, here, here, here, here, and here) suggests it (fasting) can be a safe and effective means for improving health and losing weight and there is also evidence to suggest it may be better in some aspects than other, more “traditional” forms of dieting. For example, there is evidence (little bit, anyway) that fasting may have more of a muscle sparing effect which is most interesting, since people when they talk about weight loss really mean fat loss. Not a lot of people care about losing muscle. Just think about it. When was the last time you heard someone say, boy am I disgusted with myself. Just look at all this ripped muscle I have. Almost never! So the truth is most people care about losing fat and probably want to retain muscle and for that reason fasting may be a really fine option, really fine, indeed.
Of course there are other benefits of fasting which include something called autophagy which is like a sort of cellular recycling process where disgusting stuff is removed and new healthy cells are born, which, I get it, sounds totally adorable. (Trust me, it is.) But mostly fasting is good because it teaches you that being hungry isn’t the absolute worth thing and you can actually be productive when you’re hungry and learn to control yourself. Most people when they hungry also get exceptionally weird — not like sexually weird, that’s another thing, when people dress up in costumes with holes and stuff — but, you know, weird, in other ways. Often they really pissy and snappy. That’s not cool and people don’t like being around people like that. But what fasting can do is make a person temperate and in better control of their emotions when it comes to food and this is affected (effected?) through a process known as exposure which is pretty common in cognitive therapies; essentially if someone has an issue with something (like a phobia of pinecones) you find ways to gradually expose them and that alleviates the issue, hopefully. Well, same with hunger. You get better at being hungry by being hungry, just like the person who is afraid of pinecones. You literally become the pinecone. Or something like that.
All this is to say that fasting is probably worth your while if you’re interested in it — at least there is no good reason to avoid it, if you are interested in it. And, perhaps one of the best ways to begin is just by skipping breakfast a few days a week or if you want to be a tough guy you could try a “Black Fast” where you essentially don’t eat until after sundown. Tough guys do that almost daily. Now I’m only somewhat tough so I do that just a couple days per week.
OK, so here’s a few ways you could get started with intermittent fasting.
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Complete Beginner
Two days per week, skip breakfast, eat a light “soup or salad” lunch, then a “normal, healthy” dinner. This approach is known as the 5/2 approach, which is covered in my For Dummies book, along with 16/8 and some others. The lunch by the way should be light but filling which is why soups or salads are a lovely option. THEY’RE JUST LOVELY, OK?! Also, I typically recommend you perform the fasting days not back to back but on, like, Tuesday and Friday, or something.
If you do nothing else I am willing to bet you will see positive results from this approach.
OK, now here’s a more advanced option which you can experiment with also.
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Little More Advanced…
Monday – Protein shake, soup and/or salad lunch, dinner.
Tuesday – Only dinner. (Tip: Have a protein shake 30 minutes before if you’re “ravenous”).
Wednesday – Breakfast, no lunch, dinner.
Thursday – Protein shake, soup and/or salad lunch, dinner.
Friday – Only dinner.
Saturday – Eat at maintenance (Just eat normally, but healthily. Eating at maintenance means to get in your baseline need of calories to keep your weight the same. You could still fast in the morning if you wanted but do try to bump your calories a little.)
Sunday – Eat at maintenance
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The other things to keep in mind are the “fundamentals”, so eat a good amount of protein (like, .5 – 1g per pound of bodyweight, daily) and plenty of nice vegetables. Protein and vegetables are really important when it comes to dieting success, which is why I recommend incorporating (big word) protein shakes into the fasting regiment since they do a lot to control hunger and are pretty low in calories so long as you’re not getting fancy with them by adding wild and unnecessary substances. In fact the best thing to do if you get super hungry is add another protein shake and just wait and see. Chances are your hungry will drop significantly in the next thirty minutes and you’ll be right back on track. So there you go, that’s my beginner’s guide to intermittent fasting.
– Pat
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Additional Resources
First, you should get on my email list because I have a powerful collection of 101 FREE kettlebell workouts to give you if you do: 101kettlebellworkouts.com
Next, I have podcasts on different fasting strategies which people tell me are pretty good. (They could be lying.)
Also, this weird video I shot a few years back…
OK last thing, if you’d like a simple and straightforward fasting plan which also includes some high-intensity kettlebell complexes, combos, and chains, then please acquire for yourself a copy of my somewhat recommended Fast 15 program HERE. Please be assured that all proceeds go to my direct financial benefit.