A Guest post by ForeverAlpha blog
Intermittent Fasting is the main area I talk about, as it’s what transformed me from being overweight to being 10% body fat year-round. It works incredibly well, especially when you do it properly.
But over the past couple of years I’ve received thousands of comments and DM’s on Twitter, and I get the impression that most people think it’s a ‘life hack’, or a ‘magic trick’. It’s not. It won’t make up for eating junk food or not training.
What it DOES do though, is increase your rate of fat loss (assuming you eat good foods), especially over the long-term, and allow you to maintain a far lower body fat year-round for any given level of effort.
The average person who works a 9-5 and ‘just wants to lose a little weight’ may only be able to maintain 15-17% year round on a ‘normal diet’. But with Intermittent Fasting, this number may well come down to 11-13% without trying any harder.
And what about the guy who takes his diet, training, testosterone and sleep really seriously?
Well HE might be capable of 11-12% with a normal diet, but under an Intermittent Fasting diet, he may be looking at 8-10% year-round, again, without trying any harder at all.
(Side note: the difference between 8 & 12% might not sound that much, but in reality you’re walking around with 33% LESS body fat. Huge difference.)
How?
Glad you asked. Let’s get into three big ways the Intermittent Fasting diet does this.
1) It Lowers Your Appetite
Now, a lower appetite doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be walking around at 5.6% body fat. But it certainly makes getting leaner much easier, and much more likely.
This really is the key to LONG-term fat loss – you have to WANT to eat less calories to maintain it.
The traditional way of eating is to have three meals per day, with your calories more or less split out across those three (with some snacking in between as well). In a calorie deficit, the reality is that you’re just not getting that many calories in per meal, so you’re never really that satisfied compared to an Intermittent Fasting diet. Plus, the food is just spaced out over ~16 hours and you’re never really full at any given hour.
Contrast this to two large feasts per day, all within a four, six or eight hour window. HUGE difference. You’re going to be so full you won’t want to eat again. And what’s more, is that it’s all within a calorie deficit, so you’re still burning fat.
Now of course if you’re eating burgers and fries, you’re not exactly going to be blasting the fat off, or at least not easily.
But if you’re doing what I suggest and sticking to ‘the Caveman Foods’ like meats, fish, veggies, fruits and eggs, then you’ll be in for the easiest fat loss phase you’ve ever known.
So here’s the overall point. Combine:
- Two large feasts (with no snacking)
- Very high protein & micronutrient-dense meals
- All inside a narrow eating window of eight hours or less (or a 16 hour fast, an 18 hour fast or a 20 hour fast)
And your appetite will go WAY down, and it will stay there.
Your body fat levels tend to follow suit.
2) It Lowers Your Day-To Day Insulin Levels
Chronically high insulin levels are the main cause of disease in the modern era (in combination with smoking and never exercising). And to top it all off, it makes it next to impossible to lose fat.
Insulin = storage.
And when you’re in ‘storage mode’ 24/7, you’re not going to be in ‘fat burning mode’ anywhere near enough to be in a net fat loss state per 24 hour period. But if you’re following an Intermittent Fasting schedule, it FORCES you to have lower insulin levels, at least for a while.
So if you’re fasting while you’re asleep and then you’re not eating breakfast either, that’s a 16 hour fast with lower insulin levels.
Where it gets really powerful, is when you combine all this with a protein-packed, low carb meal #1 at 12pm or 1pm. You get all your protein and micronutrient needs met, but you’re still at pretty low insulin levels and you’re still in ‘fat burning mode’.
Nice.
If you can do this, you’re not only going to be healthier long-term and avoid diseases like obesity, diabetes or CVD, but you’ll also burn more fat with FAR less effort and look like a Greek God in no time.
3) Intermittent Fasting More Enjoyable Than Other Diets
This is especially true if you’re very active and focused on your mission during your fasting period, and you’re drinking black coffee or green tea.
If you do these things, you barely even notice the fact that you aren’t eating, and if anything, your energy levels go up and you feel amazing.
If you can really nail down your Intermittent Fasting schedule and make it as enjoyable as possible, then you WILL develop it as a fat loss lifestyle, and therefore stay lean year-round. Potentially fitness-model-lean if you take it really seriously and refuse to make excuses for yourself.
And you can do all this while eating large feasts in the evening as part of your social life, or with your girlfriend or family, and people will genuinely have no idea that you’re on a ‘diet’.
All of this means you’ll face less objections from other people, and your fat loss journey will simply be more effortless.
Summary
If you’re interesting in losing more body fat and maintaining a lean and chiselled appearance for the rest of your life, make sure you read my brand new Intermittent Fasting Ultimate Guide.
You’ll learn everything you could ever want to know about the topic, plus I delve into detail into areas like 16/8 fasting, OMAD (one meal a day), extended fasting, 24 four hour fasting etc.
Here’s the link:
