Intermittent Fasting or IF has been a recent health protocol that has gained popularity in the fitness industry via the work of Martin Berkham of Lean Gains.
[The Leangains Guide | Intermittent fasting diet for fat loss, muscle gain and health](http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html)
Fasting is something humans have been doing for hundreds of thousands of years. Initially, prior to the Agricultural Revolution, fasting was common, although involuntary when food was scarce. Later voluntary fasting became common in religious traditions, still to this day. Jews, Christian, Muslims, have recommendations to fasts in their religious texts. You also find it many other religions. You don't have to be religious to fast as there are amazing health benefits outside of a spiritual discipline.
Recently, there has been some research on the benefits of fasting beyond just body composition, including the retardation of tumorous cancers. Most of these are animal models. New research is obviously needed. There are way more observed benefits in animal models. See resource links below.
I've been doing IF for a few years now. I find it incredibly convenient. My "breakfast" is usually coffee, without sugar or cream.
Types of fasting program.
16 hour fast/8 hour eating window daily.
You can have fluids, but they must not have any calories. Water of all kinds, coffee, tea, etc. Fasting here refers to liquid only (non caloric) consumption.
Your daily sleep is included in the fasting time, so it's not as bad it sounds. A daily fasting schedule can look like this.
Skip Breakfast—Black coffee or plain tea is fine. No caloric sweeteners or dairy or plant milks added.
Lunch at 12PM
Dinner at 6-8PM.
Sleep at 10PM
So counting sleep and missing breakfast, that's 16 hours. It would be 18 if you eat dinner at 6. I wanted to keep Dinner flexible. You can snack in between Lunch and Dinner. The key is to constrain your eating to an 8-hour eating window,
One or Two Full Day Fasts. 24 hour fast
You can do water fasts for one or two days. Two is pretty hardcore. Never got to that, but one day is rather easy. Here's how I would do it.
Have breakfast on Saturday at 10 AM. Do not eat until Sunday at 10 AM.
Simple.
If that would kill your social life, just modify it. Have Dinner on Friday. This could be nice dinner with friends, family, coworkers, SO, etc. Don't eat again until Saturday night. Full 24 hours.
There is also a fasting mimicking diet created by Valter Longo one of the big researchers in the field of fasting and its benefits.
https://prolonfmd.com/fasting-mimicking-diet/
This apparently mimics the benefits of fasting without the long times between meal times.
What about fat loss?
Calories still matter here. However, I did find myself easier to adhere to lower calories while fasting. Why? I don't know, but it seems that fasting helps with appetite regulation. This has been observed.
Right now I mostly fast out of convenience and the long term health benefits observed. Moreover, I still consume the same amount of calories, but it's nice having a bigger meal instead of splitting my caloric load across three meals. I only split it around two meals and some snacks. I also do 3 day water fasts seasonally
Fun fact: The longest human water only fast recorded was 382 days. The patient in question was monitored daily and received IV fluids with vitamins. He lost over 300 pounds.
Resources:
Interview with Dr. Longo:
[Valter Longo, Ph.D. on Fasting-Mimicking Diet & Fasting for Longevity, Cancer & Multiple Sclerosis - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PyyatqJSE)
There's an App for that! This is what I use:
[Zero - Fasting Tracker on the App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zero-fasting-tracker/id1168348542?mt=8)
There's an Android app called Vora. I haven't used so I can't comment on it, but it has a high rating in the Google Play Store.
Dr. Jason Fung
Dr. Jason Fung is an MD who uses fasting in his practice. He's written various books on the topic and has tons of YT content on fasting. He's one of the more notable MDs prescribing fasting both for fat loss and health.
*Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor if you are interested in starting a fasting protocol. This is not medical advice. Don't implement such a huge change without consulting professional medical advice.
[The Leangains Guide | Intermittent fasting diet for fat loss, muscle gain and health](http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html)
Fasting is something humans have been doing for hundreds of thousands of years. Initially, prior to the Agricultural Revolution, fasting was common, although involuntary when food was scarce. Later voluntary fasting became common in religious traditions, still to this day. Jews, Christian, Muslims, have recommendations to fasts in their religious texts. You also find it many other religions. You don't have to be religious to fast as there are amazing health benefits outside of a spiritual discipline.
Recently, there has been some research on the benefits of fasting beyond just body composition, including the retardation of tumorous cancers. Most of these are animal models. New research is obviously needed. There are way more observed benefits in animal models. See resource links below.
I've been doing IF for a few years now. I find it incredibly convenient. My "breakfast" is usually coffee, without sugar or cream.
Types of fasting program.
16 hour fast/8 hour eating window daily.
You can have fluids, but they must not have any calories. Water of all kinds, coffee, tea, etc. Fasting here refers to liquid only (non caloric) consumption.
Your daily sleep is included in the fasting time, so it's not as bad it sounds. A daily fasting schedule can look like this.
Skip Breakfast—Black coffee or plain tea is fine. No caloric sweeteners or dairy or plant milks added.
Lunch at 12PM
Dinner at 6-8PM.
Sleep at 10PM
So counting sleep and missing breakfast, that's 16 hours. It would be 18 if you eat dinner at 6. I wanted to keep Dinner flexible. You can snack in between Lunch and Dinner. The key is to constrain your eating to an 8-hour eating window,
One or Two Full Day Fasts. 24 hour fast
You can do water fasts for one or two days. Two is pretty hardcore. Never got to that, but one day is rather easy. Here's how I would do it.
Have breakfast on Saturday at 10 AM. Do not eat until Sunday at 10 AM.
Simple.
If that would kill your social life, just modify it. Have Dinner on Friday. This could be nice dinner with friends, family, coworkers, SO, etc. Don't eat again until Saturday night. Full 24 hours.
There is also a fasting mimicking diet created by Valter Longo one of the big researchers in the field of fasting and its benefits.
https://prolonfmd.com/fasting-mimicking-diet/
This apparently mimics the benefits of fasting without the long times between meal times.
What about fat loss?
Calories still matter here. However, I did find myself easier to adhere to lower calories while fasting. Why? I don't know, but it seems that fasting helps with appetite regulation. This has been observed.
Right now I mostly fast out of convenience and the long term health benefits observed. Moreover, I still consume the same amount of calories, but it's nice having a bigger meal instead of splitting my caloric load across three meals. I only split it around two meals and some snacks. I also do 3 day water fasts seasonally
Fun fact: The longest human water only fast recorded was 382 days. The patient in question was monitored daily and received IV fluids with vitamins. He lost over 300 pounds.
Resources:
Interview with Dr. Longo:
[Valter Longo, Ph.D. on Fasting-Mimicking Diet & Fasting for Longevity, Cancer & Multiple Sclerosis - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PyyatqJSE)
There's an App for that! This is what I use:
[Zero - Fasting Tracker on the App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zero-fasting-tracker/id1168348542?mt=8)
There's an Android app called Vora. I haven't used so I can't comment on it, but it has a high rating in the Google Play Store.
Dr. Jason Fung
Dr. Jason Fung is an MD who uses fasting in his practice. He's written various books on the topic and has tons of YT content on fasting. He's one of the more notable MDs prescribing fasting both for fat loss and health.
*Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor if you are interested in starting a fasting protocol. This is not medical advice. Don't implement such a huge change without consulting professional medical advice.
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