The Hungry Man’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting…

So, let’s talk about intermittent fasting.

I’m sure you’ve heard all about it. You may be even experimenting with it already.
So the world seems to love things that have got technical sounding titles, especially when it comes to health, fitness and weight loss.

High Intensity Interval Training?

We could just call that sprints.

But it doesn’t sound as good. 😉
Intermittent fasting- sounds ten times better than skipping breakfast doesn’t it?

Plus, breakfast as we all know, is THE most important meal of the day.

#sarcasm

If you’ve read any of my stuff before, you wont be surprised to hear me talk about the disparity with the type of things we were eating, 20, 50 or 100 years ago compared to the plethora of calorific delights at our disposal these days.

Let alone the difference in lifestyle: transport, jobs, exercise, and recreation.

Walking to work, doing a physical job all day, walking home, playing football with your kids / friends, reading a book before bed.

How many of us could put our hand up and say that’s what our day looks like?

Nope, me neither.

My point is this:

A day in the fields, working your ass off, coming home to a meagre portion of meat and potatoes before bed is very different to how we live our lives today.

Back then, maybe breakfast really was the most important meal of the day.
I’m not even going to go down the route of whether Mr Kellog invented that ‘most important meal of the day’ phrase as a marketing slogan and got the whole world hooked on (cheaply produced) carbs for breakfast. But it’s definitely a possibility.
So, breakfast…

Breaking your fast.

If you don’t believe in fasting, you’re already doing it every time you go to bed.
Ah Bed – that’s where the magic happens.

We recover from the day’s grind, the day’s workout. We soak up all the calories and nutrients we’ve absorbed from our food. Cells repair. We grow a little bit. We get older. We burn fat too, because after a while, all the calories we’ve eaten have been assigned to different storage areas – muscle, liver, fat stores because that’s what the body does.

So we wake up and we’re burning fat.

Cool. I’m pretty sure most of us would be happy with that

Step into my Delorian for a moment. . .

The 90s and noughties saw different Muscle and Fitness magazines convince young men that were into their training, that any time they weren’t eating ‘high quality protein’, their bodies were cannibalising themselves and all their hard work at the gym was being flushed down the toilet.

A very smart move if you’re in the business of selling protein bars.

There was also this phrase “stoking the metabolic fire” implying that you need to eat to increase the rate at which your metabolism burns calories. Well- yes and no.

I’m not saying that you don’t need calories to build muscle, I’m just saying that I’m sure it’s not essential to wake up and neck a protein shake in the middle of the night.
I’m sure I thought otherwise as a 23 year-old gym junkie though.

Back to the present, Marty . . .

Fasting.

We do it every day.

Good things happen when we fast

The fact that we live twice as long now as we did 100 years ago is nothing to do with Alpen, Skyr or Cinammon Lattes. It’s mainly because we’re better at keeping ourselves alive for longer through medicine.

Not necessarily because we’re better at living. But what if we could be?
Intermittent fasting to me, refers to nothing more than the practice of not eating for a little bit longer than usual. Maybe a lot longer, but still, that’s it really.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking it. In fact, I’m all over it.

I eat dinner at 8pm. I go to bed by 10pm. I’m up at 6am. I don’t eat till 12.
I’ve been rocking this look for 2 years now. It’s great.

It’s easy. It saves time. It keeps my weight in check. It keeps my hunger in check.
Am I ripped like a pro boxer? I’ll be honest- No.

Why?

I still have the occasional treat, which if I didn’t have, would mean I consumed less calories and would therefore burn more fat. Whether you fast or not, you still need to eat less to lose weight.

But would I still have had that cheat/treat if I’d broken my fast at a more traditional hour?

You bet your man-sized hunger I would.

So am I leaner than I would be if I ate breakfast as well as everything else I eat in day?

For sure.

It’s not ALL about weight loss though is it?

I have more energy. I’m not constantly craving food or worrying about where I can get some protein.

I’m not a slave to the Kellog’s brainwashing or the Starbucks lifestyle.

I know I can survive with a slight hunger pang in my belly.

Which is a good thing. It teaches me not to obsess over first world problems.

“Grrrrr, someone’s going to get smashed if I don’t get my Pain au Chocolat by 9:30!!”

Said the Hulk – never.

So why did I preface this blog with a different perspective on 21st Century life?

To lay your concerns to rest about experimenting with what is probably the easiest method of reducing your daily calories and feeling better throughout the day.

Wake up.

No breakfast.

Black coffee or black tea is fine.
Plenty of water.

Your lunch is when you’ll ‘break your fast’.

Try it tomorrow.

By the day after tomorrow, you’ll be wondering why you were ever worried about it.

And if it’s really not for you, then you can walk away, no worse off than you were yesterday. No pills, potions, supplements or subscriptions “invested” in.

If you’ve got any questions at all, just drop me a message and I’ll get right back to you.

So, what have you got to lose?

If you want to know more, then drop me a line.

If you want a copy of the diet which I give to clients that both kills hunger and drops the pounds then send me your email address and I’ll sent it straight through to you.

Damon is the poster boy for this one, I’ll be honest.

Following the plan to the letter for four months saw him lose 4 stone.

There’s a photo on my website in case you‘re in doubt.

On that bombshell though dude,

I’m out.
Alex “a little hunger goes a long way” Backhouse