I want to share with you a very powerful technique for reducing body fat while improving your health and longevity. But I need to warn you that this nutritional strategy goes against the advice you’ll probably receive from the mainstream fitness industry. If you’ve read my other posts you know I’m not one for following the trends, and I like to keep an open mind to unorthodox methods for improving our bodies, as long as they are based on evidence. I encourage you to be open-minded as well and to read through this entire article before making any judgement calls. Also be sure to check out the additional information / resources I’ve included with the links below.

The fat loss strategy I want to introduce you to is called “Intermittent Fasting” (IF). Basically, IF relates to extending the length of time you have an empty stomach, by fasting for a specific number of hours.  This concept was hard for me to accept at first, because for years I have been recommending frequent meals, about 4 hours apart spread throughout the day. I had also been espousing the virtues of a big breakfast.  I.F. proponents, however, claim to achieve greater fat loss and health by skipping meals and often going an entire day without food!

Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting:

Of course I was skeptical when I first heard about I.F., but there was enough research and anecdotal evidence in favor of it to catch my interest. So I decided the best way to judge it was to try it myself. I’ve been using it on and off for almost a year now and I finally feel comfortable recommending it to others based on it’s numerous merits. It may not be for everyone, but in my experience it certainly does work. It does what it promises (helps you lose fat faster while maintaining muscle), and its other benefits include:

REDUCED

  • cholesterol
  • blood pressure
  • markers of inflammation
  • oxidative stress

INCREASED

  • cellular repair
  • fat burning
  • growth hormone release
  • metabolic rate

IMPROVED

  • appetite control
  • blood sugar control
  • insulin control
  • cardiovascular function
  • brain health
  • lifespan

Here’s a quick overview of these benefits and my own experience with Intermittent Fasting:

So What Exactly IS Intermittent Fasting?

I don’t consider I.F. to be a diet per se. It’s really just an eating schedule. I still recommend tracking your total calories and macronutrients using an online app like www.myfitnesspal.com.  As I mentioned earlier, I.F. basically refers to planning longer periods of time without eating. Keep in mind, we all already use a form of intermittent fasting on a daily basis… only we call it “sleeping”.  While you are asleep you have an empty stomach for the duration of your sleep, which is when your growth hormone levels also tend to be the highest and cellular repair and recovery takes place. Then in the morning most of us would break this fast by eating “break-fast”.

 My “Gym Chat” Interview on Intermittent Fasting & Hormonal Optimization

Choose Your IF Protocol

One popular form of I.F. that I ended up using regularly involves skipping breakfast and eating your first meal around noon (ideally after a workout). Then your “feeding window” would last about 8 hours and you’d stop eating at 8PM and maintain an empty stomach until 12 noon the next day (16 hour fast).

Another form of I.F. I found effective and easy to implement involved fasting for one full day each week. Usually I would have my Refeed or “cheat day” on Saturdays and follow that with my “fast day” on Sundays. I called this my “Feast-Fast” protocol. On this Fast day I would also perform high intensity interval training (HIIT) to further increase my natural growth hormone production and take advantage of the low insulin levels to target stubborn fat stores.

One more terrific IF protocol I recommend and use is the 5:2 Fat-Loss Diet for Lifters, where for 2 non-consecutive, non-training days per week you would restrict your caloric intake to only 700-800 calories divided between just two meals, 12 hours apart. You can lose fat while maintaining or even gaining muscle on this method! => https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/5-2-fat-loss-diet-for-lifters

I understand that this nutrition strategy may seem extreme or unconventional based on everything you’ve likely heard in the mainstream fitness industry (which tends to be very SLOW in catching up with the latest advancements in fitness research). I also understand that this eating schedule may not suit everyone (keep in mind that I still eat breakfast most days of the week and use I.F. about 3 days weekly). However, I strongly encourage you to do some research into intermittent fasting and review the science and evidence behind it yourself. Once you understand it I recommend you choose a form of I.F. that you feel most comfortable with and give it a try for a few months. My colleague Kane Sumabat and myself both use it regularly now with fantastic results.

                        

 All About Intermittent Fasting:

Here are some links to other great resources about I.F. (click below to learn more).

You can download this Free PDF from Precision Nutrition which explains different forms of I.F. and takes you through a first hand account of the author testing these various methods:

=>Experiments with Intermittent Fasting (Free PDF)

Dr. Mercola explains why I.F. is becoming more recognized by more conventional nutrition and fitness experts:

Fasted exercise can activate your “fat-burning” genes:

=> Intermittent Fasting for Fat Loss (without losing muscle)

Neuroscientist explains how Intermittent Fasting benefits brain health:

=> What Does Fasting do to Your Brain?

 

Books about Intermittent Fasting:

It’s time to Get Lean the FAST way!

Stay fit,

Josh