Over the past year, the concept of intermittent fasting has become widely popular. Everywhere I turn, I hear someone talking about the benefits they have seen from utilizing this kind of diet plan. Being the researcher that I am, I decided to take a deeper dive into it and create an easy to follow intermittent fasting plan. There is so much information out there, some of which is very confusing, so my hope is that this post will serve as a guide to help answer your intermittent fasting questions.
Understanding Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is intended to utilize the fat burners that already exist in your body. What this means is that intermittent fasting helps to jumpstart your internal systems such as your metabolism and hormones. Most diets focus on how many calories you eat, while intermittent fasting focuses on when you eat.
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a food strategy where all meals are eaten within a certain window of time. The most common/popular is fasting for 16 hours and eating within an 8 hour window. Nope, you cannot eat for 8 hours straight, but during this window of time is when you would consume your meals.
An important thing to note is that intermittent fasting is not meant to be a calorie restrictive plan. Although you will not be counting calories on the IF diet, you will need to maintain a healthy balance of what you are eating. So basically, you cannot spend the 8 hours eating pizza, chips, and ice cream if you want to see results. You will need balanced meals that consist of protein and veggies.
How Do I Do Intermittent Fasting?
There are many different ways to do Intermittent Fasting. The most common is the 16/8 fast. What this means is that you fast for 16 hours (it’s not as scary as you think) and you eat during the 8-hour time frame. Some people start off by doing this a little differently to allow their bodies time to adjust. You can start off by doing 14 hours of fast and a 10-hour window to eat, but you want to get your body to the point where you can follow the 16/8 method to see the best results.
To help put things in perspective more. Use the breakdown below as a guideline to help you with your intermittent fasting plan.
IF Chart
If you start eating at 8 am, start fasting (stop eating) at 4 pm
If you start eating at 10 am, start fasting (stop eating) at 6 pm
If you start eating at 12 noon, start fasting (stop eating) at 8 pm
If you start eating at 5 pm, start fasting (stop eating) at 1 am
How Does Intermittent Fasting Benefit Me?
When we eat our bodies spend a few hours processing what we just ate and burning what it can. The biggest benefit of IF is that your body has easy to burn energy, and your body will choose to use the food you ate as energy. The benefit here is that instead of storing the food you ate as fat, your body will burn it off quicker. During the fasted state, your body is more likely to pull from the fat that it has stored in the past since there is no new food to burn. So, this means that your body is literally burning fat!
I like to work out in a fasted state when I first wake up in the mornings. One of the many benefits of working out fasted is that it forces your body to pull from (burn) previously stored fat because there is no new food for it to burn. The biggest benefit here is that my post workout meal gets stored more efficiently.
Intermittent fasting is also beneficial because it can be used as a way to help teach your body to use the food it consumes in a more efficient way, and also how to burn previously stored fat.
Additional benefits of Intermittent Fasting
- Decreased inflammation
- Increased energy
- Decreased skin breakouts
- Decreased bloating
How Often Should I Use Intermittent Fasting?
The more often you use Intermittent Fasting, the more results you will see. Some people do it every single day of the week, while others only do it for certain days each week. It is important to keep in mind that the more you put into IF, the better the results you will see. However, if you notice that you are unable to maintain the IF diet every single day, it is ok to do what feels right for your body. The key is to make sure you observe the IF diet more often than not in a way that feels good for you.
Can I Consume Anything During The Fasted State?
One of the most common questions is what should I eat during my feasting period? Some things to keep in mind. While you are in the fasting period (16-hour window), you can have a cup of coffee, but it has to be Keto Coffee (see below for recipe) or black coffee. The reason for this is that the fat in keto coffee will not stimulate insulin production. One of the goals of IF is to reduce your response to insulin which decreases inflammation and boosts energy levels. Therefore, you want to avoid carbs and protein during your fasting period because both boost insulin production.
Keto Coffee:
1 cup of coffee
1 tbsp grass-fed or ghee butter
1 tbsp organic coconut oil
You want to be mindful of what you eat when you are ready to come out of your fasted state. Breaking fast with a high sugar high carb meal is not recommended. Doing this will cause your body to start producing an increased amount of insulin and then you will notice sugar cravings throughout the day which we do not want.
What Do I Eat On An Intermittent Fasting Diet?
So, by now, you are probably wondering, what the heck can I eat? The great thing about IF is that there are no restrictions or specifications. In other words, it is not one of those plans where you can only eat 1 piece of lettuce once a day. However, as I mentioned above, it is important to keep a well-balanced diet. If you are looking to lose weight, you will want to focus on nutrient dense foods like beans, seeds, veggies, lean proteins, and fruits.
Water is your friend. You will want to make sure that you keep your body as hydrated as possible. Become very friendly with avocado. Although it is very high in fat, it is the good kind of fat, and remember what I said above about foods with good fat while on the IF diet.
Make sure you keep a diet full of high fiber foods like cauliflower and broccoli. Fiber helps you to feel full, and it also prevents constipation. Potatoes (not fries) are another good thing to keep as part of your diet. A simple baked potato with a bit of sea salt and pepper, as well as beans, legumes, and eggs (preferably hard boiled).
Your Questions About Intermittent Fasting Answered
What if I’m always hungry?
One of the biggest concerns about IF is feeling hungry all the time. Our bodies are adaptable, and we able to form habits with time. If your body is used to eating at the same time each day, it will begin to prepare itself for food by producing more insulin. The key here is to keep in mind how adaptable our bodies are and understand that while you may feel hungrier up front, your body will adjust to the fasting.
Will I be exhausted when I workout?
If you are wondering if you will feel exhausted during your workouts, don’t worry because this is also a common concern. When you work out in a fasted state your body can get better at burning fat for energy when it does not have a bank of carbs to pull from.
How much should I eat?
When you start intermittent fasting begin by eating your normal sized meals and keep track of your progress. If you see the desired results, this method works for you, so keep it up. If you do not see the results you want, you may be eating too much which means you will need to take a step back and reduce your food intake.
If your goal is to lose weight, you will need to consume fewer calories than you burn each day. If you are looking to gain muscle weight, you will need to consume more calories than you burn each day.
Key Takeaways
Try not to overthink this process. Make sure that you listen to your body. If you feel like your body needs something on a day, it is not the end of the world. If you are starving and you eat an orange, you will not have thrown your progress down the drain.
Always keep an eye on your progress and how you feel. If you ever feel lightheaded or dizzy during working out stop what you are doing and get some water. Know that no one is perfect, and in the beginning, there will be some days that are much easier than others. The key is to take the time to help your body to adapt to this new way of living and to learn what works best for you. Intermittent fasting is not a quick change; it is a lifestyle change that has many amazing benefits. Just remember, you’ve got this!
