Intermittent Fasting for Beginners- The Basics

Today’s post is all about the basics of intermittent fasting. If you don’t want to read about fasting, this isn’t the post for you.  Actually, don’t listen to me.  If you’re not interested in fasting it can only mean because you don’t know all the great benefits of fasting.  For sure keep reading whether you’re interested or not.

The basics of Intermittent Fasting

If you haven’t heard of intermittent fasting, basically it’s where you restrict your eating to 8-10 hours per day or less.  Most Intermittent Fasting protocols call for 16 hours of fasting with an 8 hour window of eating.   You can certainly do less but you should shoot for limiting your eating window to 10 hours with a fasting window of a minimum of 14 hours.  Dr Rhonda Patrick probably has the most brainy knowledge on the subject so If you want to know more about her take on Intermittent Fasting  you should listen to her on  The Joe Rogan Experience Episode #901

“Look Mr. Burrito, I don’t like diets,” Tammy, from Arkansas

Well Tammy, Intermittent Fasting is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.  Let me bold that and say it again for the folks in the back…

Intermittent Fasting IS NOT a diet

This is meant to be done as a part of everyday life.  This isn’t a 30-day cleanse or a quick scheme to lose some weight.  Intermittent Fasting is meant to be a way to optimize your life.  It takes a few days to get used to it but after you do you may find you prefer fasting to not fasting.

Fasting IS good for you

There are a myriad of health benefits to fasting in general.  Flying over at 30,000 feet it basically takes your liver a long ass time to work its way through all the food and drinks you consume throughout the day.  Fasting for an extended period of time gives your body time to fully recoup.

Doing a multi-day fast is great for your health but a lot of people find it too mentally difficult to fast for more than 24-hours.  Intermittent Fasting is easier because you have a window of time everyday where you’re allowed to eat. During this eating window you aren’t trying to restrict calories.  In fact you want to eat just as much during your 8-hour window and you normally would have during a typical 24-hour day.

Intermittent Fasting also helps your body get into a ketogenic state where it uses your body’s fat storage for energy instead of using glucose.  It’s good shit.  My wife and I have found a ton of benefits already from using this approach to eating.

Here are three of the main benefits to intermittent fasting:

 1. Loss of body fat- When you’re practicing intermittent fasting your body is in a state of ketosis which means it burns fat for fuel rather than stored glucose.

2. Better energy levels throughout the day- Since you aren’t eating for much of the day your energy levels stay even.  You don’t have a spike of energy followed by a crash like so many of us routinely experience right after we eat.

3. Better intestinal health- When we eat every few hours our liver never gets a chance to relax and reset.  When you limit your food intake to only 8 hours it gives the body time to flush out built up toxins and allows your intestines to rest.

Generally speaking as long as you aren’t taking in calories you won’t break your fast.

By now you’ve made up your mind to give intermittent fasting a try.  So what do you do next?

First, decide what hours you want to eat and what hours you want to fast.  You’re going to either have to give up breakfast or you’re going to have to give up that late dinner and any accompanying cocktails. I like having a drink at the end of the day and I hate going to bed hungry so I choose to fast during the night and morning.  Some people love breakfast and don’t mind having an early dinner.  Those people may choose to fast during the evening and night.

Eating Window Options

PM Strategy: 12pm-8pm-ish

My strategy for Intermittent Fasting is to wait until about 12pm to consume any calories.  Then I eat freely from 12pm until 8pm.  After 8pm I do my best to only drink water.  I drink black coffee in the mornings.  Black coffee contains zero calories so it doesn’t break my fast.  Black tea is also fine as long as you don’t sweeten it.

When I first started Intermittent Fasting I would put cream in my coffee.  I love cream in my coffee and I am not a fan of drinking my coffee black.  Knowing myself though I knew if I didn’t allow myself to have cream in my coffee I would get discouraged and I would quit.  In order to stay with it I allowed myself to cheat and drink coffee with cream while I was laying the framework of the fast.

After I grew accustomed to the fast itself I reluctantly gave up cream in my coffee.  I prefer to drink coffee with cream but the benefits of drinking my coffee black have far outweighed the negatives.

Some days I don’t eat until 1pm and some days I eat after 8pm.  Don’t beat yourself up one way or the other.  Remember, it’s a lifestyle not a crash diet.

Pros: Allows you to have drink after work and eat a late dinner

Cons: No breakfast, black coffee or tea only

AM Strategy: Wake up-8 hours after wake up Ex: 8am-4pm

The time window for this strategy will change depending on the person.  If you’re one of those people who wakes up at 4am and wants to eat breakfast your window would be from 4am-12pm.  If you’re one of those people who sleep in until 10am your window would be from 10am-6pm.

Your eating window starts as soon as you take in calories.

This strategy is best if you feel hungry in the mornings and would rather have an early dinner rather than skip breakfast.

Pros: Don’t have to skip breakfast, can doctor coffee to your liking

Cons: Early dinner, may have to go to bed hungry, no night caps

Those are the basics of intermittent fasting.  This is something I think I’ll do from now on.  I really enjoy the health benefits and they way my body feels.  I usually do intermittent fasting during the weekdays and allow myself to relax on the weekend.

Try to practice intermitting fasting for a minimum of 5 days per week

For us, so far so good.  You have to make friends with being a little hungry. This is good for most of us anyway since we (especially Americans) usually eat not when we need nourishment but when our body starts craving carbs and sugars.  That’s why so many of us are comprised mostly of fat.

Definitely test out several methods and see what works for you.  When I would try to fast too early in the evening I’d wind up being hungry well before bed and I’d end up giving in to the urge to eat.  I do much better being hungry while I’m distracted by work rather than trying to go to sleep while hungry.

Also, don’t be hard on yourself.  It takes a while to get used to it.  Some people have iron wills and will be able to do this no problem.  For the rest of us it will take practice.  If you mistime your fast and end up quitting early it’s not a big deal.  Just regroup, learn from your mistakes and try again the next day. Remember, this is a lifestyle not a diet.

One variation of the Intermittent fasting is what’s called a 5/2 split.  That’s where you eat whenever you like 5 days per week and fast for an entire 24-hour period for 2 days per week.  Many people prefer this method because you don’t have to restrict your eating every day.  But you do have to be a wizard and not eat anything for 24 hours, two times per week.

In terms of saving money by intermittent fasting you save by eating less junk.  I end up drinking less alcohol and going for the ice cream container less often because once 8pm hits, food is off the table, so to speak.  When I’m not consciously doing the intermittent fasting protocol I’ll end up wanting to make myself another cocktail or grab another beer. Intermittent fasting also has a ton of health benefits that will save you several dollars of money on health related care in the future.

Related:

A Bunch of Weird Things We’re Doing to Be Healthy

7 Things I Do Every Morning to Avoid Decision Fatigue

11 Smart Ways to Lower Your Grocery Bill and Eat Healthier

You should for sure do more research than just reading this blog.  Actually if you just watch Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s interview with Joe Rogan that I linked to that should pretty much cover your research.  Also consult a physician before doing this.  I don’t know why people always say that but they do so consult the doctor before doing anything at all.