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Overview

I used to feel the need to eat something every few hours.

But not anymore.

What changed?

I took up intermittent fasting.

There are various fasting methods, but the one I want to talk about is the 16:8 plan. The idea is to eat your meals within eight hours and spend the remaining two-thirds fasting each day.

But why else would I deliberately reduce my eating times?

I am glad you asked. Read on, and all will be revealed.

11 Intermittent Fasting Benefits

1. Blood Sugar Control
2. Inflammation Reduction
3. Heart Health
4. Brain Health
5. Boosts Metabolism
6. Detoxification
7. Promotes Longevity
8. Cancer Prevention
9. Skin Health
10. Controls Hunger
11. Adaptability

1. Blood Sugar Control

Fasting can improve insulin sensitivity, which is the ability to remove sugar from the blood and convert it into energy for the body to use. By fasting, the body is forced to convert glucose into energy to supply a steady amount of energy. In conjunction, because the excess glucose in the body is used during the fasting period, after breaking fast, the insulin in the body is readily available to perform its function once new food enters the body. This subsequently means that the pancreas no longer needs to produce as much insulin to maintain healthy blood sugar levels in the body.

Fasting creates a positive feedback cycle, which rapidly reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 

2. Inflammation Reduction

Though there is no hard evidence on humans, fasting is perceived to help reduce inflammation levels in the body. When animals get sick, they have a primal instinct to eat less food and instead focus on resting. The digestive system uses up a lot of energy. As animals tend to eat scarcely and sporadically, they are better off not eating at all for a period and directing their energy reserves to fight off the infection. To put it another way, animals would end up with less energy to combat illnesses if they ate while sick, due to the majority of the energy becoming used up through the digestive process.

3. Heart Health

During fasting, the body is forced to burn off some LDL cholesterol to provide additional energy for the body to use, once it has run through its supply of carbohydrate-based fuel. Fasting can also help lower triglyceride levels which, again, is beneficial for a healthy heart.

4. Brain Health

Fasting can increase the production of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which boosts the production of brain neurons by converting brain stem cells. BDNF production can also release additional chemicals which are beneficial to brain health, and it can help defend against degenerative brain disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s

Fasting also helps prevent the brain from going into overdrive. This can happen after meals when the brain uses excess energy due to neural hyperactivity, which can lead to difficulty in concentration. While in a fasted state, however, this excess energy is not readily available for the brain to indulge in, leading to clarity and focus.

5. Boosts Metabolism

By eating less frequently, the digestive system has more time to rest. As stated earlier, the function of digestion uses up a lot of energy. By giving additional time for the digestive system to recover, the metabolic efficiency can be increased.

Fasting can also increase the levels of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which can also speed up metabolic rates.

When the fast is broken, the digestive system is usually in peak condition to efficiently break down the food and gain the most energy through the digestive process.

6. Detoxification

Intermittent fasting can increase autophagy, a process that eliminates built-up waste in the body. During each fast, the body will initially use up carbohydrate-based energy. After around half a day, the brain will send a signal to the body to start breaking down fat into energy to use as the primary source of energy. A lot of toxins that are ingested into the body through the consumption of processed foods get trapped in fatty deposits within the body. However, once this fat is broken down, the trapped toxins are released and flushed out of the body thanks to the liver and kidneys.

7. Promotes Longevity

By boosting metabolic rate and flushing out toxins with autophagy, the longevity of the body improves. Fasting also increases bone strength, better protein synthesis, and increases muscle mass, all leading to a younger and healthier body. When the body enters a fasted state, the brain treats the condition as an on-going threat, but unlike chronic inflammation, the response to this perceived threat is beneficial. An increased cellular regenerative effect takes place during fasting, guarding cells against molecular damage, and repairing any damaged tissues, which all help decrease the effects of ageing.

8. Cancer Prevention

Tumours form when cells become cancerous. Cells become cancerous due to excess toxins in the body which corrupt the cells. As mentioned earlier, fasting can flush toxins out of the body, and therefore, it stands to reason that it can also prevent the formation of tumours.

9. Skin Health

When the body isn’t spending lots of energy on digestive efforts, that energy can be utilised elsewhere. This includes the maintenance of skin health. The body can spend additional resources to clear out toxins from the skin as well as regenerating new skin cells to replace the old, more rapidly. The same concept is applied to the hair and nails as well as the light that shines from your eyes.

10. Controls Hunger

Like I said at the beginning of this article, I used to feel the need to eat every few hours. It took a few weeks to adjust to the changes in my eating habits, but gradually my hunger pangs disappeared during off-peak periods.

The hormones in my body were returning to their natural state. 

You see, getting peckish regularly is not natural. If we study the behaviours of animals, it can be inferred that most will eat in bursts with long periods of fasting in between. Constant hunger pangs are a sure sign that your body is out of balance, and intermittent fasting is a method to realign your hormones so that they are sending the correct signals at the right times.

11. Adaptability

Following from the previous point, once I adjusted to the 16:8 intermittent fasting routine, I was able to adapt myself to spontaneous situations better.

Remember those times when you went to a restaurant but soon became frustrated because the food was taking too long to prepare, and your hunger was only getting worse?

That was a common scenario for me as well, but not anymore. Even at other social gatherings, I tend to be able to compose myself for lengthy periods without any real issue, before any food becomes available for consumption.

On competition days, you can never be too sure when you will be called up to the stage. Planning ahead and bringing a packed lunch is a countermeasure I use to ensure I have a supply of food to hand whenever I feel like eating. Intermittent fasting is the other trick I have up my sleeve. Because I have accustomed my body to training on an empty stomach, it better prepares me for the potential scenario of having to compete under similar circumstances also.

Intermittent Fasting Tips

Now that you know how amazing intermittent fasting is, I’m sure you’d like to get started right away and jump straight in.

Hold your horses sonny Jim.

I have a few pointers I’d like to throw your way before you dive right into the 16:8 intermittent fasting strategy.

1. First check with a Medical Professional
2. Pick a Suitable 8 hour Eating Period
3. Final Meal three hours Before Sleep
4. Drink Plenty of Fluids
5. Exercise before your First Meal

1. First check with a Medical Professional 

Depending on your current levels of health, it may be a good idea to stop in with your local doctor and make sure you are not taking any significant risk via intermittent fasting. This is particularly true if you are currently on any medication as dietary changes can hamper the effectiveness of the drugs or cause unwarranted side effects.

2. Pick a Suitable 8 hour Eating Period

Once you’ve got the all-clear, you need to determine your eight hour eating time frame. Most people opt for the noon to 8 pm window. This allows a long morning fast and a shorter evening fast before bed. People who follow this timing usually skip breakfast and go straight to lunch. Other popular options include 10 am to 6 pm, and 9 am to 5 pm. I opt for 11 am to 7 pm as this fits well with my current lifestyle.

Ultimately though, evaluate your lifestyle and find an option you think will serve you best.

3. Final Meal three hours Before Sleep

Following from the previous point, regardless of whether you fast or not, try to space at least three hours between your final meal and bedtime. The metabolic rate slows down in the evening, which reduces the effectiveness of converting food into energy. Hence, if you overeat at dinner, a lot of the food will be converted into fat.

4. Drink Plenty of Fluids 

Specifically, during the waking hours of the fasting period. It may take a few weeks to adjust to the new routine, so during the fasting period, drink fluids to help keep those hunger pangs at bay while your hormones correct themselves. You cannot drink foods with high-calorie content; however, just stick with water or tea, and that will help tick you over to your chosen eating time frame.

5. Exercise before your First Meal

This one is a personal preference, but I find that exercising in the morning, just makes that first meal all the more rewarding. It will increase your metabolic rate because a lot of energy will be required to replenish your body after working out.

Intermittent Fasting Drawbacks

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows for intermittent fasting, unfortunately. There are a few considerations that I would like to direct your attention toward before you consider whether the 16:8 method is for you.

1. Incorporation
2. Weakness
3. Overeating

1. Incorporation

Depending on your lifestyle, it may not be healthy to implement a 16:8 fasting rule. You might work twelve-hour shifts or have a physically demanding job which requires lots of energy for a large portion of the day. The 16:8 principle is not for everyone, and it is up to you to determine whether you can incorporate it into your lifestyle.

2. Weakness

Initially, you are going to suffer from weakness while transitioning over to an intermittent fasting lifestyle. You will likely feel hungry, tired, and weak at certain points throughout the day while your metabolic system and hormones adjust to the change. You might experience headaches, dehydration, and other such symptoms also. This should usually be a temporary phase, lasting a couple of weeks, but if symptoms persist beyond that, then intermittent fasting may not be for you.

3. Overeating

Because there is no restriction on the amount of food that can be consumed during the eight hours, it can be very tempting to go from one extreme to the other and overeat in an attempt to cure excessive hunger pains. This usually does not end well and only further perpetuates the divide between fullness and emptiness – a gap intermittent fasting is trying to help you bridge.

Overeating or eating unhealthily can lead to all manner of problems such as heartburn, indigestion, and reflux. If you cannot train yourself to eat moderately during the eight hours, then the 16:8 principle is not going to be for you.

My Experience

I started incorporating the 16:8 intermittent fasting strategy since late 2018 after I had researched the benefits regular fasting has on the human body. Even before formally adopting the practice, for a few years prior, I was pretty close to following the 16:8 strategy most of the time. These days, the 16:8 principle is standard practice for me, and only on rare occasions do I break out of the routine.

A few weeks after formally abiding by the 16:8 method, I dropped a couple of kilos without any noticeable loss of strength. My mental focus also increased as I learned to transmute my hunger to eat into a desire to succeed. It does take some time for the body to adapt to the change in lifestyle, but once it does, you’re golden. It should take a few weeks or a month at most to implement intermittent fasting successfully.

Conclusion

Intermittent fasting is an excellent way to detox, lose weight, and boost your overall health. If you do decide to give it a shot, take it nice and slow. Maybe consider doing a 10 hour fast and gradually build-up, to allow your body time to adjust to the new routine. You should expect to experience hunger pains during the first couple of weeks, so keep that in mind also. All of that said, I wish you all the best with your fasting efforts!

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.