7/15/2016
Intermittent Fasting
I found this idea through an unusual way. I was scrolling through YouTube and an advertisement came up with this uber ripped guy talking about how he skips breakfast for more energy, focus, fat burning and caloric control. The video was very well done so I clicked the link to find out more about this guy and the idea of intermittent fasting. This guy, Greg O’Gallagher, has a decent following on YouTube and a lot of online material focused on losing weight and achieving the body type you desire. I began following his work and reading some of his client testimonials.
His results, and the results of his clients, are very impressive.
I started doing more research on intermittent fasting and learned this guy isn’t the only one who practices it. I thought more about it and wanted to give it a try. So – naturally – I designed a test.
Let me walk you through how I did this:
I created a plan around Greg’s suggestions.
- Water first when you wake up
- Enjoy some coffee after you have been awake for a while. Try and push this back a few hours if you can as it will maximize the energy you get from coffee when it’s consumed.
- Drink sparkling water to help curb your appetite
- Make your first meal be fruit (apple) then eat a few hours later.
The reason I liked this idea was because he said to push your meal back later in the day, and work to make your first meal around lunch time. Now I have fasted in the past for doctor appointments and spiritual reasons and I generally didn’t like it. However, his plan was different and very specific so I figured I would try it out.
My goal:
- Save time
- Gain more energy
- Gain mental focus
- Control my calories
- Lose body fat
Save time? Really? Breakfast takes 2 seconds.
But it didn’t for me, and likely doesn’t for you.
Making breakfast takes a while and if I have to clean up afterwards, that’s even more time. It’s also brain power to think, “What do I want to eat”. Lastly, if I make a poor breakfast choice, I pay for it with 3 minutes of deliciousness, but sleepiness within 30 minutes.
Jumping in
I use to make fun of my wife when she bought sparkling water. I’m like, “Why? That was $2.00 and it’s just water with air?!” So when I brought home a bunch of sparkling water, it was my turn to hear the jokes.
I woke up my first day, (5am) and drank 8oz of water. I then went to do some homework required for my MBA. About 30min in, I started to realize I’m tired, so I drank some coffee. (2 cups). Slowly, I started to wake up. All of the sudden, 1.5 hours went by and the kids started to wake up. I couldn’t believe how fast the time went and how much work I got done! It was refreshing not thinking about breakfast and not having to make/clean up breakfast.
I got ready, drinking more coffee (I’m a coffee guy, get over it) and arrive at work around 9 and open my sparkling water. Literally, the first time I got out of my seat at work was 11:30. WOW – I can’t believe this. I’m not really hungry and I just accomplished more than I normally do and it’s not even lunch! I ate my apple at 12 and it tasted amazing. I love a crisp Gala apple. I ate lunch at 1:30 and it tasted amazing too! Because I had fasted, the food was much more satisfying than normal. The best part, I was halfway through my day and I only had consumed 800 calories! And, I was full!
A few hours later, I had 1/4 cup of almonds and a protein shake and I was good until Dinner time. I ate dinner (whatever my lovely wife makes) and called it a day. My goal was to stay below 2000 calories with exercise. I used MyFitnessPal to track all my food and exercises.
This goes on for two weeks without my wife even knowing. Since I wake up before her, she assumes I’m eating at 5. I didn’t want to tell her this idea because I wanted to try it on my own and figured she would think I’m crazy. My wife thinking I’m crazy isn’t a new thing. 🙂
What did I find out from my test?
Intermittent fasting, or simply skipping breakfast, is something I will be doing most days.
1. I thought it would affect my athletic performance when training but I notice no affect. (On long training days, greater than one hour, I might have a protein shake or an apple)
2. I also thought it would be a bit harder to skip breakfast and not freak out with hunger, however, I felt that it was relatively simple. It was even simpler after a few days and I noticed some amazing benefits.
- Time Saving – no longer have to think about breakfast or deal with the “breakfast crash”
- Energy boost and mental focus – since I’m not using my energy to digest a large breakfast and the dinner from the night before, I have more energy to devote to the tasks on hand
- Still working off the dinner from the night before – we burn 600-800 calories from sleeping. So if I consume a 1000 calorie dinner, I still have energy to use when I wake up in the morning. Why not wait until later in the day to eat. Especially since I have excess body fat that my body consumes as an energy source.
- Appetite control – I use to eat a large lunch at work and then crash. With IF (intermittent fasting), I eat less, feel full, and don’t crash! Especially when you eat Paleo (pug for other test)
- Calorie control – when you eliminate 500 calories from your diet, it creates some flexibility for me when I really struggle (night time). So I can afford a glass of wine (120 calories), some cashews (200 calories), or dark chocolate (200 calories). Then – sleep well my friend.
There are arguably many benefits for intermittent fasting. I’m not going to reinvent the wheel so please do your research to see if this is something that could work for you. I recommend the following resources:
Marks daily apple – http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-intermittent-fasting/#axzz4EGS6Ckmy
Greg O’Gallagher – https://kinobody.com/intermittent-fasting-guide/
Here are some more that a friend recently sent me:
http://jamesclear.com/the-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting
https://authoritynutrition.com/intermittent-fasting-guide/
Google it and find your own resources
Are you interested in trying IF? Send me a note on the contact form and consider this plan (similar to what I did)
Plan
- Do research and present the idea to a doctor
- Understand and write out some of the benefits you desire. Include why they are important to you.
- Create a plan so you can succeed. For me, this meant having cold sparkling water and fresh coffee with me at home and at work. I also planned my meals/snacks so eating was easy.
- Keep a log or jot down notes of how you feel.
- Try it for 2 weeks
Review your notes and see if there are improvements and if you achieved the benefits you desire.
The hardest part of doing something new is taking the first step. So take the first step now and create a plan and do your research.
Then – do step one!
Stay tuned to hear how I added one item to my morning routine that changed everything.
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