Intermittent fasting (IF) is good for your body!
Intermittent fasting (IF) means periodic fasting. This involves not eating or drinking for a certain number of hours, which can disrupt your blood sugar levels. Periodic fasting is incredibly beneficial for your body. In this article, I will explain everything about it because it’s truly fantastic what it can do for your health!
Did you know that in many cultures, it’s quite common to fast for shorter or longer periods? It’s actually considered very good and healthy for both your body and your mind.
Inhoudsopgave:
- The well-known advice about breakfast
- Lifestyle diseases due to sugar-rich diet
- Not eating but drinking
- You’re not eating less
- The benefits of IF
- How long do you have to fast?
- The most common forms of IF
- What exactly happens in your body after how many hours of fasting
- Important things to know before you start fasting
- My reason for IF
- How I got started with IF
The well-known advice about breakfast
You’ve probably grown up with the message that breakfast is necessary. Breakfast is needed because it gets everything in your body started (kick-starts the engine).
I have news for you… There is no scientific evidence that actually proves this.
Everything indicates that the breakfast advice seems to have been promoted mainly by the food industry. They naturally want as many people as possible to buy their breakfast products because they make a lot of money from them. So, what do you do if you want to sell something? You look at how you can give people a reason (or necessity) to buy your product.
An example is the text “Doing well” on cereal bars, which gives the impression that you’re doing something healthy when you eat it, right? They do this with the intention of getting you to buy their product because more and more people want to eat healthily, after all. But have you ever looked closely at the amount of sugar in one of those bars? How can that be genuinely healthy?
But isn’t it the advice of the Nutrition Center?
The Nutrition Center has had a high reputation among many people for a long time (and still does). But have you ever looked at who the main sponsors of the Nutrition Center are? They are the major producers of many unhealthy products… For example, the Nutrition Center still advises the “Wheel of Five,” which is actually the opposite of the proportions that are good for our bodies.
Or do you remember when large daily amounts of milk were recommended? This was because of a large milk surplus that existed at the time. For that reason, the government decided that people should be more encouraged to get rid of that surplus.
Lifestyle diseases due to sugar-rich diet
Many diseases that are prevalent today were virtually nonexistent in the past. An example of this is Type 2 diabetes. This is a disease that arises from improper nutrition, where the body can no longer process a large amount of sugars properly.
The reason these are called lifestyle diseases is that these diseases only really became prevalent when sugar-rich food became abundantly available to the “common people.”
In the past, such products were not affordable for everyone; they were luxury items for the wealthy. Even for prosperous people at the time, these products were considered special treats. It means that, unlike today when it’s common to have a cookie with coffee every day, back then, it was reserved for special occasions or the weekend.
Today, however, it has become the norm to snack daily. In fact, unhealthy food is often cheaper than healthy food. As a result, most people consume unhealthy products during every meal because it’s affordable, tasty, and convenient.
Although in the past, it was a luxury to be able to buy such products, the roles have now reversed. In modern times, it’s actually a challenge to find products without significant amounts of added sugars.
Not eating but drinking during IF
During fasting, it’s important to drink enough water! After all, you want to ensure that all waste products can be properly eliminated. Moreover, staying well-hydrated is an important aspect of fasting for your health.
In addition to water, green tea and black coffee also do not cause an increase in your blood sugar levels, so you can safely consume them (in addition to water). 😉
With IF, you’re not eating less, but rather eating differently distributed.
It’s important to ensure you still get all your necessary nutrients during your eating window. You don’t want to create deficiencies. In other words, you’re not eating less, you’re simply eating at different times.
What’s “wrong” with eating throughout the day?
When you eat throughout the day (and consume drinks with sugars, etc.), your body is constantly busy processing/digesting these. During fasting, however, your body has time to focus on other things such as; cell repair (cell renewal), removing damaged cells, and clearing toxins.
The benefits of IF
- More energy
- Improved focus
- Weight loss
- Reduced cravings
- More rest for your organs
- Detoxification
- Cell renewal
- Improved hormone balance
- Stable blood sugar
- Improved insulin sensitivity
- Increased growth hormone
- Promotion of fat burning
- Reduced joint and muscle complaints
- Enhanced immunity
- Reduced risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and type 2 diabetes
- Lowered risk of cardiovascular diseases
- Anti-aging effect
- Faster muscle recovery after exercise
- Improved nervous system health
More-Energy
Because your body has to spend much less energy processing food (since you’re not consuming any food during fasting), you experience much more energy during fasting. This allows your body to allocate that energy to other processes happening within your body. All other processes in the body can function much more optimally, making you feel much more energetic.
Do you recognize the well-known “after dinner dip”?
That is purely related to your blood sugar levels. Your body has to work hard to stabilize them and then process the food. When you fast, your body doesn’t have to deal with this during fasting, resulting in more balanced energy levels.
Improved-Focuss
Many people experience much more focus (mental clarity) with IF. Most describe it as if a fog is lifting, and they experience much more mental clarity.
There are two reasons for this:
One reason is, again, the less your body has to process food, the more room there is for other processes.
The other reason is that your body goes into a state of ketosis during fasting. This means that your body starts producing ketones, which provide a much cleaner fuel for the brain. As a result, the brain can function much better, making everything sharper. Think of it like this: when you throw a ball while having muscle soreness from overexertion, do you think you can throw it as far and as accurately as when you don’t have muscle soreness?
Weight loss
The most common reason people come into contact with IF is because they want to lose weight. IF contributes to this by causing your body to tap into fat reserves during fasting, so that they can be converted into fuel.
IF in combination with keto
IF is often combined by people who follow the keto lifestyle. Since you are in a state of ketosis constantly with a ketogenic lifestyle, you will have much less trouble fasting. This is because during the keto diet, your body is already accustomed to converting fats into energy. The body does not distinguish between body fat or fat obtained from food.
Can IF also be done without keto?
Although IF is often applied in combination with keto, it does not mean that this is a must. Many people who do not follow a keto diet also practice IF and experience many benefits. However, it does make it harder for your body, as it has to constantly switch between fat burning and sugar burning.
Reduced cravings
Do you know that feeling? The feeling of insatiable hunger, the need to keep snacking, or binge-eating?
This is triggered by your blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar level fluctuates due to the food you eat, your body is constantly determining whether there is enough supply or whether you need to eat again to replenish this supply. Your body wants to have sufficient energy at all times. This means that as soon as your body notices a significant drop in blood sugar levels, it sends a signal that something is wrong.
Eating a high-carb diet
With high-carb foods, blood sugar levels are very unstable. This is because blood sugar levels shoot up after eating (a lot of) carbohydrates.
All those sugars have to go somewhere
To process all these sugars, the body starts producing insulin like crazy, which allows the sugars to be absorbed. This lowers the blood sugar level again.
How your body tricks you
Sugar is the “fuel” in a high-carb diet. So, when blood sugar levels drop rapidly, your brain receives the signal that the fuel is running out. Because what your body absolutely wants to prevent is running out of fuel.
The result is that your body starts “craving” sugar. This often ends in binge-eating, even when you don’t actually need fuel.
In summary:
During fasting, because you don’t experience significant spikes and drops in your blood sugar levels, your body is not stimulated to snack.
More rest for your organs
During fasting, the organs have the energy and peace to focus optimally on their natural processes. There is no interference from the influence of food, allowing your organs to optimize their processes in peace.
Reduced Symptoms
Apart from the health benefits this offers to all organs, it can also make a significant contribution to reducing any existing symptoms. Especially people with digestive issues often experience a great relief when they start practicing IF.
Away with those waste materials!
During fasting, you make it easier for your body to eliminate waste materials. This is because your body has more energy during fasting, allowing it to efficiently determine what needs to be cleaned up in the body. To assist your body in this process, it’s essential to drink enough water because it helps your body flush out waste materials.
Cell renewal
Bring on those renewed and improved cells! Everything is interconnected. By clearing out dysfunctional cells, your body generates new cells. By applying IF, you provide your body with the space to eliminate bad and damaged cells and, in their place, create new and healthier cells. In essence, you’re giving your cells a boost for an upgrade during fasting.
Improved hormone balance
Hormones determine so much in your health and quality of life. It goes far beyond what most people think.
Chances are when you hear the word “hormones,” you probably immediately think of mood swings in a woman during her monthly period or a teenager dealing with acne. While hormones do influence these aspects, their impact extends much further!
So, what are hormones exactly?
Hormones are substances your body produces naturally and use the bloodstream to control various bodily functions. They regulate long-term processes like body growth, puberty, menopause, and more. They also control short-term processes such as anxiety responses, blood pressure, emotions, waste elimination, and more.
With this knowledge, you can imagine the range of “symptoms” that can result from an imbalance in your hormone system.
Give your hormone balance a break.
You can achieve this by giving your body rest—rest to optimize all processes, evaluate and enhance all cells. Another critical factor is that fasting, for a certain period, avoids sending harmful influences into your body.
Here, too, fasting helps to run your body as optimally as possible. So, periodic fasting is immensely beneficial for your hormone balance when it comes to providing your body with the rest it needs.
Stable blood sugar
We briefly mentioned it earlier, blood sugar levels. During fasting, blood sugar levels remain stable because there are no spikes caused by food.
It’s crucial for your blood sugar levels to be in good shape. Too high or too low blood sugar can have serious health consequences, which is why diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) are severe conditions. These diseases are closely related to blood sugar levels.
Too High Blood Sugar:
Only people with diabetes can have high blood sugar. This condition occurs because people with diabetes have issues with insulin production and absorption. Insulin is the hormone responsible for sugar absorption into the bloodstream. Overeating sugary foods can lead to high blood sugar.
A high blood sugar can result in a state known as hyperglycemia, which can be very dangerous. Symptoms of hyperglycemia include thirst, fatigue, frequent urination, and sometimes itching. In severe cases, hyperglycemia can disrupt metabolism, leading to severe consequences such as dehydration, acidosis, low blood pressure, nausea, and vomiting. In extreme cases, people can even die from hyperglycemia.
Too Low Blood Sugar:
Low blood sugar can occur in anyone, even those without diabetes. This is especially common in people who typically consume a carbohydrate-rich diet and whose bodies rely on sugar as fuel. Symptoms of low blood sugar include hunger, sweating, trembling, dizziness, palpitations, yawning, and headaches.
However, in people with diabetes, this can take on more severe forms and can lead to confusion, restlessness, tingling sensations, blurred vision, or mood swings. This condition is referred to as a “hypoglycemic episode” or “hypo.”
A Stable Blood Sugar Level:
Fasting helps keep your blood sugar level stable, meaning there are no significant spikes or drops in blood sugar levels.
Please note that if you have diabetes, it is not advisable to fast without consulting your healthcare provider for the reasons mentioned above. When you have diabetes, any changes to your diet should be made in consultation with your healthcare provider.
Improved insulin sensitivity
Insulin is responsible for effectively opening the cells, allowing glucose to enter and be converted into energy within the cell. When you continually supply too much glucose (sugar) to the cells, they become overworked. The result of this is . insulin resistance.
By fasting, you put less strain on your body, as it doesn’t need to produce insulin as drastically. This can make a significant difference in your body’s sensitivity to insulin production, leading to positive effects on your overall health.
Fasting increases the secretion of growth hormone.
You’re probably thinking, “But I’m an adult, I’m no longer growing, right?” However, this is a hormone that you should definitely want to produce as effectively as possible. HGH stands for human growth hormone. Naturally, this hormone is present in every body, but it can also be administered extra (by injection).
Growth hormone is responsible for repairing cells and tissues, thus promoting muscle growth and playing a major role in fat burning.
This hormone is not produced evenly but in short bursts.
Fasting stimulates the production of growth hormone, which has very positive effects.
Promotion of fat burning
Earlier, we mentioned that fasting puts your body into fat-burning mode. Due to the lack of sugars, your body will start using fat for energy during fasting since there’s no food-derived fuel available.
As you deplete your energy reserves during fasting, your body is compelled to seek energy elsewhere. Hooray! This is your body fat!
Your body will tap into its fat reserves to provide itself with energy. However, this effect will only be visible if you don’t immediately replenish it when you start eating again. So, eat what you need during your eating window, but don’t overindulge. Otherwise, your body fat stores will be replenished. 😉
Reduce muscle and joint complaints
When you have pain in your muscles and/or joints, it can have a significant impact on your quality of life. It’s something you often feel throughout the day, which can limit your daily activities. IF can also provide relief in this regard.
Sugars can be the cause
Many muscle and joint complaints are caused by sugars. The intake of sugars can lead to inflammation in the body. These inflammations often result in pain in the muscles and joints, which is a consequence of internal damage.
IF can help in this regard not only because various healing processes occur during fasting but also because no additional sugars are introduced during fasting. Think of it as starving the culprits. If the culprits (sugar) don’t have fuel, they can’t work efficiently and cause less damage.
To maintain this effect, it’s important to fast regularly. Because as soon as you start consuming a lot of sugars again, you’re feeding the culprits. Ketogenic eating is strongly recommended in this context because it involves consuming fewer sugars during your eating window.
Boost your immune system!
Your body has more energy to create new cell divisions, resulting in healthier cells that are better able to resist bacteria and diseases. A true boost for the immune system!
During fasting, your body eliminates damaged cells, including those that were fighting against viruses, bacteria, and pathogens. In place of the damaged cells, healthy and new immune cells emerge, ready for battle. This means the immune system becomes increasingly stronger as a result.”
Reduce the risk of cancer/Alzheimer’s/type 2 diabetes.
An increasing number of medical studies show that conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and type 2 diabetes are all caused by sugars, among other factors. It’s therefore only logical that intermittent fasting can make a real difference in these cases as well.
If the research is accurate and sugars are indeed the main culprits behind these diseases, then this process is put on ‘pause’ during fasting. This is because the instigator (sugar) is not consumed during fasting, preventing it from causing further damage during this period.
Reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases!
Everything in your body is interconnected. Many of the previously mentioned points have an impact on your heart and blood vessels and their health. The most important factor in this is blood sugar levels and the effect of sugars on blood pressure. So, once again, keeping those two stable will be greatly appreciated by your body! Fasting is one of the ways to contribute to this.
The anti-aging effect of fasting
And by this, we don’t just mean skin aging (such as wrinkles)!
As you’ve read earlier in this article, intermittent fasting contributes significantly to cell repair and the creation of new (thus, young) cells. By fasting regularly, you are helping your body to stay younger! Woohoo!
Fasting helps your muscles recover faster.
Muscle damage can have multiple causes. This can be due to (prolonged) incorrect posture, but also exercise can cause muscle damage.
Muscle pain from exercise
The primary reason for exercising is to train your muscles, to make them stronger. However, the process involves small tears in the muscles. As these tears heal, the muscles increase in volume, leading to greater strength.
Since one of the many benefits of IF is that damaged cells repair themselves, periodic fasting can indeed contribute to faster muscle recovery.
Muscle pain due to incorrect posture
With muscle pain caused by incorrect posture, you often feel that the area where the muscle pain is located feels warmer. This is because your body literally sends more energy to those muscles to initiate healing. Fasting contributes to having more energy available in your body for this recovery.
Extend and strengthen the power of your nervous system
The nervous system is a network of cells that can receive, process, and transmit information. This network connects everything in your body.
The less interference there is in the nervous system, the better it can perform its functions. When the nervous system is constantly overloaded, it starts to filter the amount of information it transmits. This can also lead to incorrect information being transmitted because everything gets mixed up.
As you can imagine, a dysfunctional nervous system can have a wide range of consequences, from minor inconveniences to critical issues. Fasting helps prevent your nervous system from becoming overloaded. This is not only because more energy is available for the nervous system but also because there are fewer damages for the nervous system to deal with.
How long do you have to fast to experience the benefits?
To reap the benefits of IF, it is recommended to fast for a minimum of 16 hours without eating or drinking (except for water, plain green tea, and black coffee).
After 12 hours of fasting, your glycogen stores are depleted, and your body shifts to using fat as fuel.
The longer you fast, the more you can benefit from it (up to a maximum, of course).
People often worry about going into starvation mode if they don’t eat for an extended period. However, this typically doesn’t happen until at least 60 hours of fasting. Before your body enters starvation mode, your metabolism may even increase. After 36 hours of fasting, your metabolism is boosted by 10%, and after 48 hours, it increases to 14%.
The most common forms of IF
– 16/8 (fast for 16 hours, eat during an 8-hour window)
– 18/6 (fast for 18 hours, eat during a 6-hour window)
– OMAD (one meal a day)
Make IF a lifestyle
In addition to the forms mentioned above, there are many other variations. For example, some people fast for 48 hours (2 days) a week and eat normally on the other 5 days, or they choose a schedule that falls somewhere in between. Some individuals follow one of the fasting patterns mentioned above and occasionally engage in longer fasts of 3 to 5 days every few months.
You can also switch between different fasting forms. What works best for you and fits into your life is entirely up to you. That’s the beauty of IF—you don’t have to adhere to a strict schedule.
What exactly happens in your body after how many hours of fasting
There are several phases that your body goes through during IF. To determine how long you want to fast, it can be helpful to understand these phases, what exactly happens in each phase, and how long you need to fast for.
In total, there are 11 phases that you go through during fasting.
The Start of the Fast
The first few phases do count towards the fasting time, but you won’t notice anything significant during this period.
0-2 hours of fasting:
The glucose (sugars) in your food enters your bloodstream directly after eating, causing your blood sugar levels to rise. In response, the pancreas releases insulin to break down glucose. As glucose breaks down, it releases energy, and any excess glucose is stored for later use. During this phase, your body is focused on producing insulin.
You won’t notice anything unusual during this phase because you typically have several hours between meals, and your body is going through the same process as usual.
2-5 hours of fasting:
To store glucose in your body, as mentioned earlier, insulin is produced. Insulin acts as a key to allow glucose to enter cells. With the help of insulin, glucose is absorbed into cells, causing blood sugar levels to return to a normal range.
5-8 hours of fasting:
During this phase, your glycogen reserves begin to decrease. Glycogen is a branched polymer of glucose. This reduction in glycogen levels triggers feelings of hunger as your stomach reminds you that it’s time to eat. Your body is clever in that it sends signals as soon as the sugars that haven’t been stored as body fat start to deplete. It’s easier for your body to use energy directly from food. Naturally, your body wants to avoid tapping into reserves, which were essential during times of scarcity (from the time of our ancestors when food wasn’t always readily available).
Meanwhile, your body continues to process your last meal and starts to use stored glucose.
8-10 hours of fasting:
Your liver is now depleting the very last glucose reserves, and your body enters a phase called gluconeogenesis. This means your body has transitioned to fasting.
Since there’s no new energy supply in the form of food during fasting, your body starts to extract glucose from stored body fat instead of carbohydrates. This results in burning more calories.
Note: If you follow a ketogenic diet, your body is naturally in this state.
The in-between phase
From this point on, you might consciously notice that you’re fasting. These hours typically represent the time between dinner and breakfast, the period when your body is accustomed to receiving food.
10-12 hours of fasting:
Your glycogen reserves begin to deplete. This can make you feel moody or irritable, a phenomenon often referred to as “hangry,” like in the Snickers commercials.
See this as a positive sign 😉. It means your body is burning fat! Since there’s very little glycogen left, fat cells will release fat to be converted into energy. And guess what!! This is your body fat! Even more reason to turn that potential frown upside down!
Let the benefits roll in!
The phase of measurable benefits begins!
From this point on, you’re in the IF phase where you can start reaping the initial health benefits. For many, this is also the daily ending phase of their fast, as the most commonly used form of IF is 18/6 (18 hours of fasting, 6 hours of eating).
12-18 hours of fasting:
Your metabolism now switches to a state of ketosis (unless you’re already following a ketogenic diet, in which case you’re already there). As a result, your body gets energy from the stored body fat.
Fat reserves are easily released and used. Your body also starts producing ketones to sustain the essential functions of your organs. In a state of ketosis, your body produces fewer inflammatory byproducts (which cause inflammation), offering health benefits for your heart, brain, and metabolism.
Prolong the benefits phase
If you’re already accustomed to fasting for at least 16 hours daily, it’s less challenging to extend it slightly. This prolongs the benefits you’ve already gained and enhances fat burning even further.
18-24 hours of fasting:
The longer you fast, the deeper your body goes into a state of ketosis. After 18 hours, your body has fully shifted to burning fat for fuel.
Here’s what exactly happens:
The number of ketones your body produces and stores increases. Your body manufactures these ketones itself, using energy from your fat cells. So, aside from using fat for functions like breathing, thinking, moving, etc., your body taps into extra fat stores to produce ketones. Your body is also better equipped to handle stress and less susceptible to inflammation in this phase.
Initiate autophagy
This is a phase where you’ll reap significant health benefits.
From this point during fasting, you’ll delve deeper into the health benefits. You enter the phase of autophagy, which can be truly fantastic for your health!
24-48 hours of fasting:
After 24 hours of fasting, your body enters the autophagy phase, which translates literally to “self-eating.”
Cells start cleaning themselves up, meaning damaged or unnecessary cells are removed. During this process, cells that are no longer needed are broken down, and the cell parts that your body can still use are recycled.
During this process, viruses and bacteria are broken down, and your body gains more energy to create new cell components. Cells are renewed, leaving you with more young cells, which has significant benefits for your health because these younger cells are healthier and have no damage.
Boost time for growth hormones
What growth hormones do:
Growth hormones help increase dry muscle mass, but they also play a significant role in cardiovascular health (heart and blood vessels).
48-56 hours of fasting:
During this phase, the levels of growth hormones are significantly higher than before you started fasting. This promotes the production of ketones and also helps suppress the hunger hormone during fasting. Your body gets the signal that there is sufficient energy stored because it sees body fat as the energy source at this point.
This phase has many advantages, both for weight loss and your overall health.
Insulin at its lowest level
Lowering your insulin level has many health benefits, including reducing inflammation and supporting the autophagy process.
56-72 hours of fasting:
At this point, your insulin level is at its lowest since you started fasting. This is especially beneficial if you have an increased risk of developing diabetes.
The very last phase
You are in the phase of the highest achievable benefits of IF.
This is the very last phase that your body can reach during fasting. Of course, this doesn’t mean that fasting beyond this point has no benefits. The longer you stay in this phase, the more you will benefit from it. Up to a certain maximum, of course, as you cannot fast indefinitely.
72 hours of fasting:
Your body recycles immune cells that have been damaged while fighting bacteria, viruses, and pathogens. Your body rapidly regenerates new immune cells. This strengthens the immune system, making you more resilient to illnesses and diseases.
Important things to know before you start fasting
Fasting is a healthy lifestyle but should be done under healthy physical conditions. If in doubt, consult your (family) doctor. In some diseases and with certain medications, it is not advisable to undergo prolonged fasting. For diabetes type 1 & 2 and for other medication usage, it is always advised not to apply IF (or other dietary adjustments) without consulting your treating physician.
Make sure to drink enough at all times and ensure that you get enough nutrients during the periods when you do eat!
Be mindful of your salt intake
During fasting, it’s important that you feel completely well and fit. If you start to feel unwell, it could be due to three reasons. The most common reason is that your electrolytes are too low. You can remedy this by dissolving a teaspoon of salt in water and drinking it; this won’t break your fast, and there’s a very good chance you’ll feel completely fine again after about 15 minutes. Read more about the importance of salt in this article.
The second reason could be that you are actually thirsty. If you haven’t consumed enough (water), you can also start feeling really unwell. So make sure you drink enough during fasting.
The third reason might be that your body really needs food. First, try taking some salt to make sure that’s not the issue. Wait for about half an hour, and if you still don’t feel better, consider breaking your fast.
My reason for IF
The reason to start IF varies for everyone, but the points mentioned above have given me enough reason to make this a part of my lifestyle.
My personal experience is that I genuinely feel much better because of it! I experience many of the points mentioned in this article, including much more energy, increased mental clarity, no more snack cravings, and significantly less discomfort in my muscles and joints. Going back to having a standard breakfast every day is something I definitely don’t want to do anymore!
During the week, I usually do OMAD (one meal a day). On weekends, I fast for a minimum of 16 hours, as this fits better with my social life (which I try to have on weekends 😜).
How I got started with IF
I couldn’t have imagined in the past that I could go without food for such a long time, let alone that I would genuinely want to.
I Was Already Amazed by the Effect of Nutrition
I had been eating keto for about a year when I first came across IF. Nutrition was already very important to me because I had experienced keto and what it can do to your body. When I stumbled upon an article about IF by chance, I immediately thought, “I want to know more about this!”
My breakfast moment was something I really looked forward to! I couldn’t imagine consciously enjoying it if I chose to eliminate that moment… So, I started reading medical studies, watching documentaries, and reading a lot of articles. To be honest, I was skeptical… I simply couldn’t imagine that consciously not eating for so long would be easy to sustain. Yet, that’s what all the articles and documentaries claimed, which piqued my curiosity even more!
But I Decided to Give It a Try…
I decided to set aside my skeptical bias and just give it a try. After all, I could always decide to eat at any time! To keep the barrier low, I started by gradually pushing back my breakfast time.
On the first day, I did this by just one hour. It felt strange and different from my normal routine… But surprisingly, I didn’t have too much trouble with it. Okay… It was only one hour, but still, it was a start! My plan was to try to push back my breakfast by one hour each day. After a week, I was on the commonly used 16-8 schedule (fasting for 16 hours, eating for 8 hours). I liked this!
A Whole New World Opened Up for Me!
I went through the fasting periods with ease; I was genuinely surprised! Because it was all so easy, I wanted to see what my personal limit would be. OMAD sounded interesting!
One meal a day, that’s what OMAD stands for. This means you only have one meal a day (usually in about 1 hour), during which you have to (want to) eat everything your body needs for an entire day. I was already fasting for an average of 20 hours a day, so 23 hours of fasting didn’t sound so “scary” anymore.
On one hand, I expected to have a lot of trouble eating so much in that one hour… But on the other hand, indulging without guilt sounded quite appealing 😂.
I loved it!
In the beginning, it was a bit challenging to eat so much in one sitting. I gradually built up to it by starting with a 2-hour eating window. In the days that followed, I shortened it until I was averaging 1 hour of eating. It felt truly fantastic!
Throughout the day, I had so much more energy, no ups and downs in my energy levels, and I felt fit. I also had a lot more mental peace when it came to eating; after all, I only had to think about it once a day. That was a breath of fresh air!
The Impact on My Social Life
In our society, it has become so “normal” to associate socializing with eating. You’ve probably experienced it before, getting together for a drink with a meal or snacks. I often hear comments like, “Come on, join in the fun!” My response is actually quite simple: “I’m more fun without food in my mouth 😜; that way, I talk more!” The reaction to that is often a big laugh, followed by, “Well, you have a point there!”
Of course, I also enjoy going out for a meal with people, but it doesn’t have to compromise my way of life. I often adjust my eating time based on the appointments I have; I’ll eat a few things shortly before so I get enough for the day.
Weekend Exceptions
During the weekends, I often deviate from OMAD, but I still make sure to fast for at least 16 hours. Not because I have to, but because I genuinely feel better that way. The reason I often deviate from OMAD on weekends is my partner 😜. We don’t live together during the week because it doesn’t align with our schedules, but we do spend weekends together. My partner doesn’t do OMAD, so they usually prepare a delicious-smelling breakfast for themselves in the late morning. Technically, I could continue fasting, but with all those tempting aromas, I often choose to have breakfast with them. That’s what I love about IF; you can easily adapt it to your circumstances.
Sources
Note: Medical studies are very valuable, but they never tell the whole story. During these studies, only one specific aspect is usually examined, limiting the outcome.