At any given time 50% of the clients I work with are practising intermittent fasting. Since I first adopted Intermittent fasting as a lifestyle choice a year ago I now offer it as an option for anyone that is embarking on a body transformation program with myself or a member of my personal training team.
I didn’t come to advocate such a radical system lightly. I used an 8 hour eating period followed by a daily 16 hour fast for 6 months straight to experience not just the benefits but also any potential downside to the regime.
I was able to loose fat as fast as I ever have been able to in the initial 6 weeks, following that I have been able to stay under 10% bodyfat for 11 months straight with little or no actual ‘dieting’ or restriction of calories.
I’m going to release a comprehensive guide to fat-loss shortly so this is not the place for an out and out guide to intermittent fasting, but I would like to share my top 5 reasons for loving and advocating it, in order to spur anyone who is considering trying the protocols to give it a whirl.
1. Starting The Day Productively
As many of us in this busy city will experience on a daily basis, the commute into work can be stressful, and tiring. Beginning the day knowing that you don’t have to worry about breakfast until lunch time is very liberating. I remember pre IF I used to eat oats out of a bowl at traffic lights during my 5am drive into work, not the most relaxing way to eat breakfast I can assure you. With intermittent fasting you are able to coast into your first meal of the day with ease and anticipation, its wonderful.
2. Ritual Of Meal Times
When using IF Meal times have a way of becoming a brilliant ritual, where food is appreciated, never rushed and always enjoyed. This ritual is elevated in both enjoyment and significance when you share meals with other who are also fasting along the same timeframe as you are.
3. Sustainable Lifestyle
In my experience, intermittent fasting is the by far the easiest method I have used to stay lean over a sustained period of time. I’ve dieted down to single digit body fat percentages several times over my career for one reason or another. The most well known or ‘go to’ method of achieving a lean physique is the traditional low carbs approach and I mean super low carbs and super restrictive dieting – bodybuilding style. I remember one summer I dieted to such an extent that I nearly lost my mind, my training partner and I would spend several minutes just looking at an oat cookie. Never eating it, but the seductive dour alone was near torture. That all changes with Intermittent fasting, the same results are achieved with virtually no restriction whatsoever, sure you have to eat a healthy diet but all the meals are full, substantial and ultimately very satisfying.
4. No Hunger
This may seem counterintuitive, but in my experience you actually stand to experience far less hunger when using IF than you would on virtually any other ‘dieting’ regime. Again this is because our meals do not have to be heavily restricted or zero carb as they be under other regimes. Zero hunger dieting has been a breakthrough for many, as it allows not only great results, but highly productivity and mental focus in comparison to those that are carb restricted.
5. The Results!
Without doubt the greatest benefit of IF protocol are the results. It’s not uncommon to see rapid body transformations within a 6-10 week period. I Can’t stress enough how many people I have seen this style of living, eating and training help. For many it has been the final tweak that will finally get them where they have always wanted to be with their physiques, often having tried a myriad of other avenues without achieving their desired results.
If you would like to arrange to visit me in my personal training studio in Victoria to discuss how Intermittent fasting or personal training in general could benefit you, please contact me on scott@project-fitness.co.uk too arrange your complimentary consultation.