Intermittent Fasting - any form of not eating/drinking any calories for 16+ hours
(ideally for 20+ hours) - works for weight loss and for variety of other
long-term health and longevity benefits. The good news is that you can incorporate
Intermittent Fasting in any way and any time.
I would highly recommend incorporating Intermittent Fasting into Real Food Longevity,
on days when it works for you. It is
totally historically accurate (people have been fasting forever for religious reasons),
it is the single easiest thing most people can do to accelerate their weight loss;
and it is actually fairly easy to achieve after you make a
transition to eating Real Food and eating twice a day - breakfasts and dinners.
Intermittent Fasting Recommended Steps.
- Start eating breakfast later.
- Start eating dinner earlier.
- Start eating lunch and dinner within 4-6 hours window.
- Start eating once a day sometime.
Step 1. Start eating your breakfast later.
Practice this step on your days off first.
Start eating your breakfast later and later, one hour at a time. Basically,
wake up, eat nothing, and just wait till you start getting hungry.
Keep pushing not eating breakfast till you are not hungry till lunch.
Step 2. Start eating dinner earlier.
Start pushing dinner earlier, an hour at a time. If your schedule does not allow that,
do it on weekends.
Your only goal with pushing dinner earlier should be to still go to bed full and avoid
any post-dinner snacks. So just keep pushing dinner back one hour at a time.
Go from 7pm, to 6pm, then 5pm, then 4pm, then 3pm....
If you notice that you are hungry before going to bed, either eat even more animal
protein with your (earlier) dinner, or push your dinner a little later.
Step 3. Start eating lunch and dinner.
Once you are able to skip breakfast, start eating lunch and dinner only.
Try to push lunch late and/or dinner early so that you are eating within 4-6 hours window.
You can also eat breakfast and lunch instead. It makes no difference. Just try to eat
two meals within 4-6 hours window, then eat nothing until the next day.
Step 4. Eat Once a Day - OMAD (One Meal a Day).
Do it on random days you are not hungry for lunch or dinner.
Once you are comfortable with late lunch and/or early dinner, start throwing in OMAD
when you are not hungry for lunch or dinner.
And keep doing that indefinitely. If you are not hungry for lunch, don't eat it and
just wait till dinner. Don't try to plan it in advance and give yourself OMAD goals.
Just do it on random days you are not hungry for lunch.
Do not get obsessed about OMAD. If you can not do it often (or at all), don't worry about it.
Both eating once a day or eating twice a day within 4-6 hour window is perfectly fine.
Intermittent Fasting FAQ
How many hours per day should I not eat?
Between 12-16 hours is not going to do much in terms of fasting benefits. But every hour above 16 hours is very beneficial.
Not eating for 20+ hours is an excellent goal, eating once a day is also excellent.
Should I fast for longer than 24 hours?
Fasting between 24 hours and 2/3 days is great if you can do it regularly.
It will definitely accelerate your weigh loss, plus it has many other benefits.
Fasting for longer than 4 days is a bit more of an advanced topic.
Can I drink any calories?
Any calories you eat/drink will spike your insulin. But as a practical matter, coffee in
the morning with a little milk (but no sugar) is not going to do much.
Should I stick to the same eating schedule?
You do not need to. But some people do better with consistent schedule.
