What is Intermittent Fasting?
It is a caloric restriction strategy, aiming to reduce caloric intake. Intermittent fasting (IF) is the most popular way to get the caloric restriction without starving yourself. It encompasses many kids of fasting, for example; time-restricted feeding, alternate-day fasting, eat-stop-eat, fasting-mimicking diet, feast-famine cycling and warrior diet.
Why is Fasting Good for You?
Research shows that that short-term fast, such as daily, overnight 12-16 hour fasts will increase the metabolic rate and increase hormones that signal fat cells to break down
Reduces inflammation which is the most influential factor in losing fat (yes, more important than excess calories, gluten, refined carbs or saturated fat). Because inflammation can make fat cells resistant to dying. Inflammation results from exposure to the environment that is full of toxins, consumption of heated and rancid vegetable oils, stressful lifestyle, sleep deprivation.
When body enters a fasted state, the process of autophagy is triggered, which is a cellular response that results in cell turnover and recycling. The result is clearing out old neurons to make way for the growth of new ones. What you can get is an improved cognition and muscle function
Improves post workout recovery while maintaining lean muscle mass and performance.
Allows the gut to heal if consuming gluten, gliadin, or other gut irritants
Longevity-related benefits like slowed aging and reduced risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer (reach peak effectiveness after 16 hours of fasting)
***the intermittent fasting strategy should be combined with periods of time when you provide your body plenty of calories and nutrients.
How To Get Started (2 Ways):
An intermittent, daily overnight fast of 12-16 hours, with an 8-12 daily compressed eating window
A weekly or biweekly 24 hour fast, from dinnertime to dinnertime
When Should You Be Cautious?
If you’re extremely lean with low body fat
if prone to eating disorders
If you’re a woman who is dealing with adrenal or hormonal imbalances
Recommended Further Read/Information:
The Complete Guide to Fasting (book) by Dr. Jason Fung
Check out Martin Berkhan’s blog at LeanGains.com
Get a free fasting guide and a collection of expert videos from: https://getkion.com/pages/fasting-kion
Listen to ‘The complete guide to fasting’ podcast with Ben Greenfield and Dr. Fung: https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2017/06/the-complete-guide-to-fasting-how-to-heal-your-body-through-intermittent-alternate-day-and-extended-fasting
Resources:
Greenfield, B. (2020). Boundless, Upgrade your brain, optimize your body & defy aging. Las Vegas: Victory Belt Publishing Inc.
Stephen D. Anton et al., “Flipping the Metabolic Switch: Understanding and Applying the Health Benefits of Fasting,” Obesity 26, no. 2 (February 2018): 254–268, https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22065