Intermittent Fasting — Some Interesting Things I’ve Noticed So Far
I’ve known the concept of Intermittent Fasting for several years. Having done much more extreme diets I for some reason have never officially IF’ed. There are a myriad of potential health benefits that others much more qualified have explained in detail. A truckload of info can be easily searched for, as I just now found a solid recent article from Harvard in a moment.
It was two weeks ago today that a friend, someone I would have least expected to be Intermittent Fasting (just a guy, not a health buff, or paleo dude), mentioned he’d been doing the thing for several weeks with pretty incredible results. He also shared this as we walked to get burgers and milkshakes, so that may have been the reason it finally struck a chord. Travis is the third friend in a short time I’ve learned is following this regime, so I decided to give it a try, starting right then and there.
Not only am I professionally unqualified, but also personally inexperienced enough to give meaningful feedback about any direct, quantifiable health benefits. I have though, in a short time, had what I would consider to be some pretty profound results, that I’m very happy with and wanted to share.
Not hungry all the time
I eat. A lot. Always have. When I was 9, I weighed about 50 pounds. It entertained my grandpa to take me to dinner just to see how much I could eat. He would suggest the biggest steak, and definitely a giant piece of cheesecake afterward. You could see on his face how amused he was by my ability to eat 2%+ my weight in a sitting.
So, naturally, I’m incredibly surprised by how easy it has been for me to go 16 or more hours at a time without calories. It has required no effort whatsoever, and took just a day or two for my body and mind to fully adjust and not cry for food around the clock.
Noticeably more focused
My mind is simply more at rest. I have experienced this before when intentionally going low-carb and grain free. I’m not sure if there is a connection between insulin resistance and my brain hormones or what, but the closer I get to ketogenesis the more I seem to be laser-focused. I’m feeling the mental benefits that have occurred only during some of my most stringent periods of paleo-ish dieting.
Currently, I’m not limiting carbohydrates in any hardcore fashion. In general I avoid processed foods and wheat flour, though precisely what appealed to me to give IF a try was getting benefits while being less radical than I have at other times about what I ingest. Nevertheless, another neat benefit has been naturally making better choices.
Overall more discipline
Without trying, I am making generally better decisions about what I am eating. I am a hardcore sugar addict. Even as I’m giving myself freedom with diet, making the limited hours of eating the sole goal, I’m making better overall decisions. For instance, not eating rice isn’t a rule I’ve set (or carbs in general), but eating Chipotle the other night I went for the steak bowl without rice, extra beans and fajita. This is not an uncommon selection, but I always still yearn for the burrito, not this time.
Maybe it’s just an overall discipline-begets-discipline thing. Or, maybe my body is actually adapting metabolically and craving healthier things. Whatever the case, if it reduces my urges to smash a pound of sour gummy candy from Ikea (best in category) every day, I’ll take it!
I’m enthusiastic about how well this is going, wanted to share a quick write up about it. As adhering 100% from day one has been completely effortless, and I’m seemingly already benefiting in significant ways, I cannot imagine why I would not stick with IF indefinitely. Bar some damning conclusive evidence this is unhealthy, or personal health issues that would prevent me from doing this, I plan to continue down this path and may follow up down the road more conclusively.
