Growing up, you always hear the saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. However, as an adult, not only is breakfast the most skipped meal of the day, but waiting until noon to eat your first meal can be beneficial to your health and fitness goals.
Ancient hunter-gathers did not have quick access to food like we do today. They couldn’t simply take a trip to the grocery store or hit a drive through if they were hungry. Because of this, humans evolved to be able to survive without eating for extended periods of time.
The modern-day term for this type of eating pattern is known as “intermittent fasting”. Recent studies have shown that not only can intermittent fasting have positive effects on your body and brain, but it may even help you to live longer.
Intermittent Fasting: an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating.
Healthline.com
There are different types of intermittent fasting, but the following remain the most popular:
1. The 16/8 method involves not eating breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours (i.e. 12pm-8pm or 1pm-9pm). For the other 16 hours you do not eat anything at all and can only have liquids such as water, green tea, or coffee (plain and black).
2. Eat-Stop-Eat, which involves fasting for a complete 24 hours once or twice a week.
3. The 5:2 diet involves consuming only 500-600 calories in two non-consecutive days of the week and then eating normally the other 5 days.
Now, obviously if you eat 4 Big Macs and a tub of ice cream during the times that you are allowed to eat, you might not see the results that you are hoping for. However, if you continue to eat healthy, nutrient dense foods during the hours you can eat, you will see more significant results and will ultimately feel more alert and less bloated throughout the day.
The most popular of the methods above is the 16/8 option. This is the easiest one to maintain and is the one that I have been incorporating in my daily life. The schedule that I have chosen is eating between the hours of 12pm-8pm and then outside of that time I only drink water and green tea. I have recently found myself battling an addiction to Starbucks coffee, so as a way to combat this expensive habit, I only allow myself to have coffee on Friday and Saturday mornings.
Not only does this method help you lose weight because you are eating less meals in a day, but there are also some other cool benefits to be derived. Here are a few that I am most excited about:
- Brain Health: Intermittent fasting leads to an increase in the brain hormone BDNF and can help to grow new nerve cells. It may also protect against developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life.
- Heart Health: Fasting can help to reduce bad cholesterol, as well as lower blood sugar and insulin resistance, which are all major factors for heart disease.
- Increase in HGH (Human Growth Hormone): Your HGH levels will increase dramatically while fasting, which is a huge factor in fat loss, particularly tummy fat which is extremely hard to get rid of. HGH can also help increase muscle gain, especially if you are incorporating cardio and strength training into your daily routine.
- Cellular Repair: Your cells begin to repair themselves by digesting and removing old and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells.
The list of benefits does not end here. I have included some helpful links below that can help you learn more about this topic. I will say it is very important that you do your research before beginning your intermittent fasting journey. For me personally, the 18/6 has been the plan I have had the most success with. I am not a fan of the other two methods because they are extremely restrictive and have triggered my binge eating issues. However, you have to do what is best for you and your daily routine.
After completing your independent research, you should absolutely consult your doctor or nutritionist prior to starting an intermittent fasting regimen.
Success is a series of of small efforts repeated until they become a habit.
Helpful Links:
Harvard Health Publishing: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156
The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/17/well/eat/the-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting.html
The New England Journal of Medicine (paid subscription but is totally worth it): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmra1905136
Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/intermittent-fasting-guide
