Why Intermittent Fasting?


I started intermittent fasting on the third of March. It has been a little over a month since. Due to a few hiccups - me falling ill the past 2 weeks - I was unable to track my one-month result. I didn't lift a single weight, and couldn't visit the gym to get my readings. It's unfortunate, I know. Having proof that it works would be a wonderful way to start this post, alas I'll call it a miss opportunity. So to spare you the excessive word count, I'll just get to why and how I started IF.

WHY

The science. I love researching, especially about health and fitness, and I found the science behind intermittent fasting legit. It makes sense. In layman's terms, our body is meant to use the food we consume. And for it to use the said food, we need to give it time. Hence, the fast.

Allow me to get a little science-y; it takes approximately 12 hours before our bodies stop processing our last meal. After which, our bodies use what has been digested to power itself. The most common IF method is the 16/8 - giving our bodies 4 hours to use what has been stored. If we feed ourselves before then, what has been stored will go unused - taking unnecessary space, which we'll have to work doubly hard to burn.

Now, I'm no doctor. But what I've gathered has come from health professionals alongside fitness gurus. IF isn't a diet fad, but an eating pattern backed by many. And after hours spent reading and watching, I decided to adopt it.

HOW

I do the 16/8 method - where I fast for 16 hours (including sleep) and eat only during an 8-hour feeding window. I have my first meal at 1pm, and my second meal before 9pm. If I'm required to eat an hour earlier tomorrow, I set my last meal today before 8pm. There's no hard and fast rule, but I endeavour to give my body at least 4 hours to work with.

As IF is reported to have hormonal affects on some women, I monitored my body's response the entire month. Perhaps because I fast lunch, for a month every year, my body isn't affected by my new eating pattern. With everything seemingly in order, I plan to keep it going.

PERSONAL CHALLENGE  

Fasting isn't difficult for me. As I'm used to fasting lunch - stated above - fasting breakfast isn't a problem. So the challenge I face is maximizing my fasted state. Which science has proven to assist in fat loss. Which I'm not doing. Which I find difficult to do.

You see, I'm an evening workout person. I exercise after dinner for about 45 minutes to an hour during the weekdays. My workout sessions during the weekends differ. But even then, I don't lift in a fasted state. To change my workout pattern is challenging, as I've little motivation to exercise before office hours. Perhaps... one day... I'll stop giving myself excuses and set the alarm earlier.

SHOULD YOU DO IF?

So, I guess the big question is whether you should adopt intermittent fasting. My answer is 'yes'. Give it a shot. Try it for a month, then decide if you'd like to continue. If you're a woman, pay close attention to your body's response. IF may not work, nor is it sustainable, for everyone. But if it happens to benefit you, why hold back?

(Read more on intermittent fasting HERE. I found this particular article to be informational and succinct.)


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Comments

  1. This is the craziest coincidence! I've been asked to write an article about my experience with IF as well. I'm a total fitness nerd and find the science behind the why of IF fascinating.

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    Replies
    1. High-five! It makes sense, doesn't it? I wish I knew of it earlier.

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