I do intermittent fasting – I shifted from 4 meals a day to 1 or 2. BUT, the questions is, should you?
Basic Mechanism – Fire burning off of newspaper vs a big log.
Carbs function like newspaper – quick energy which can lead to quick crash
Fats function like a log – long steady energy, but not easy to access.
When you eat, the food is broken down and either immediately used as glycogen in the muscle or is stored as replacement fuel in the muscles or excess as fat (lipogenesis)
After a period of not eating, the body works through the available glucose/glycogen and then switches to a fat based fuel source. In the absence of carbs this will turn into a ketogenic state after a period that varies from individual to individual. You can eat in a way that maintains this state by sticking to a high fat diet, OR you can come out of this state by introducing carbs or high protein amounts.
IF for anti-aging and maximizing health
- Nothing but water outside of eating window to maximize benefits
- Basically you are giving your GI tract a rest, which has the same benefits as giving your muscles a rest after a hard workout. This is the main process behind the “reduction of inflammation” claim
- This gives your body a chance to filter out damaged, unnecessary, or old cells – this is called Autophagy
IF for weight loss
- Small/Minimal Calories allowed outside window – coffee/tea etc.
- IF can help you lose weight, but it is not magical
- Head to head with other diets it has the same effectiveness – It comes down to calorie consumption. 1 HUGE meal with 4000 cals is no different than 4 small meals with 1000 cals each.
- IF helps most with habit change and setting boundaries – it changes your relationship to food which is the real problem
- If you simply make the adjustment to not snacking, eating at planned times, and not drinking your calories you will see a huge improvement in your weight.
Problems with IF
- Not being patient with the transition period
- Don’t go crazy and jump to 1 meal a day right off the bat. You’ll be ok for a few days, maybe even feeling great, but you’ll be miserable before long if you don’t learn how to adjust.
- Take your time to learn the difference between the gastric emptying feeling of “let’s look for food” and actually needing to eat
- Also, understand that shifting from carbs/glycogen source to fat source will have a period of lethargy and fatigue to it.
- Thinking you’ve “Banked” calories and going crazy – there is no magic to IF, so don’t think you have free license to whatever you can fit in your mouth!
- Not getting your required nutrition by eating less total food or a higher proportion of junk food.
- You have to make the effort to get the required nutrition with a smaller selection to choose from – Sodium, magnesium, potassium, HYDRATION, vitamins/minerals.
- Trying to force your body to do it! Explosive athletes, leaner women, and those trying to gain weight will probably not benefit from this style of eating.14
