You may have heard of Intermittent fasting as it is becoming a very popular way to lose weight much quicker than following a calorie controlled diet, or any one of a number of other systems. I have been watching many hours of Youtube videos lately to understand how this all works and i believe this may be the way forward to losing weight and still being healthy.. whilst also fasting much of the day each day. I’m starting to understand why effective dieting is so complicated, and why so many diets just don’t work. The biochemistry of our metabolism is highly complex and it is very hard to understand it all, and why, for example, eating low fat products can actually make things worse! Thankfully we have some amazing teachers on youtube and i would like to share a little bit about what I have learned, with minimal technical info!
Most of our issues around weight are related to insulin, and finding ways to reduce insulin in our body so that we start burning fat instead of making it. Just about everything we eat stimulates insulin with some notable exceptions, and so it can be very hard to lose weight unless we understand what spikes insulin and how to prevent it happening. Intermittent fasting is a sure way to prevent insulin in our blood so that our body starts burning fat, although its good to note that even when we are fasting we can drink water, coffee and tea when they are without sugar and milk etc.. The secret to really losing weight seems to be having 2 meals a day, or even one, and no snacking in between! Even healthy low calorie snacks can totally ruin a day of very minimal eating as far as losing weight goes. We have to have no carbs, no sugar, and basically nothing that needs digesting in order for our body to start changing its metabolism into ketosis.
Ketosis is the golden word in dieting, and all it means is that our body starts metabolising other things to get energy when we don’t eat carbs or sugar. So, a very low carb and low sugar diet is essential, even if we are fasting, in order to lose weight. Ketosis is basically where our body metabolises ketones instead of carbohydrates. What are Ketones i hear you ask? Ketones are what are produced when your liver breaks down fats.. and there is the magic right there. If there are no carbs and no sugar, our body must get energy and so finally it starts breaking our fats down. So all the magic happens in our liver, and by eating the right foods we can start to lose weight very rapidly if we are very strict with what we put in our mouths.
This whole process depends on three things for maximal efficiency and fast results. WE must leave a long gap in between eating so that our body starts metabolising fats. Even if we eat a small meal, or just pop a few nuts in our mouths the whole process of ketosis is halted, and we don’t lose weight. The ideal gap between our meals is around 16-18 hours, which does sound a lot, most of the day even.. but actually its not so bad if you skip breakfast and have an early dinner. The idea is to have lunch late and dinner early and then don’t snack. If you eat the right foods, you wont be hungry in between, and after 5 days of doing this i can testify that amazingly it works! im usually very prone to snacking after dinner, and used to eat a lot of different things from 8-10pm. So if i eat lunch at 1pm, then have dinner at 7pm and skip breakfast it means im actually fasting 18 hours a day even though it doesn’t feel like it!
The truth is, as i have come to realise, that eating sugar and carbs makes us so hungry all the time! Its like a never ending game, and as im sure many of you will know, we don’t really get full up when we snack and eat things that are sweet or high in carbs. If we do get full, its not for long and very soon we get very hungry again! This is the trap that most of us are stuck in, and it can be easily reversed. When we eat foods that are really really low in carbs, and that means no bread, no pasta, and almost no sugar, everything starts to change, and we start to feel really good.. with no energy crashes or ups and downs. After just two days of eating like this I have really noticed the difference in my energy levels and my hunger levels. I am very quickly full, and hardly have to eat much anymore. Its weird, but it just works!
You may ask, well what can i eat then if i am on this super low carb diet? Well simply put anything that is high in protein and fibre. If you are a meat eater then its pretty easy, but just be careful to avoid the bread, buns, and wheat! There are many wheat substitutes today, and its possible to eat almost anything if you change things up a bit. One great example is a most amazing looking pizza recipe that i saw just yesterday! The main problem with pizza is the base, which is very high in carbs. The recipe removed that totally and replaced it with a pizza base made from cauliflower, mozzarella, and egg. Its a little bit fiddly to make, but not that hard, and its looks damn tasty..
What i am doing, since i don’t eat meat right now, is focusing on pulses and lentils, beans and salads. Fortunately i just love Dahl and rice, and so I am eating that most days along with a green salad. The rice i am using is red rice which spikes insulin much less than white rice, and the dahl is also very high in protein and fibre with minimal carbs. Salads of course have none! The dressing i am using contains apple cider vinegar, some olive oil, and I am also using tahini sauce to balance it out and make it much more enjoyable to eat larger amounts of. Overall my portions of rice and dhal are pretty small but i feel full very quickly and remain full for a very long time! Its just so weird how i don’t crave crisps, sweets, or anything of the sort. Its just GONE, as if by magic!
The final piece of the puzzle is of course exercise! WE have to do some exercise if we want to lose weight faster and be healthy! The simple fact is that the more exercise we do , the more weight we will lose! I have to be honest, im not really that into exercise and really don’t like doing cardio at all! It just wipes me out. SO instead im doing lots of walking, and some abdominal exercises like sit-ups, crunches, and planks. I make sure i do around at least an hour or two a day of that, which ensures that my metabolism is alive and kicking and the body really responds when we haven’t eaten tonnes of carbs and sugar by breaking down fats much more quickly. Exercise is the key here.. if we don’t do it, then the only way to lose weight is to basically starve ourselves and that is not healthy.
What i really like about this diet is that it is a healthy way to lose weight. There are so many diets, and many either don’t work, or make us unhealthy and deprive us of nutrients. Fasting is in fact a very healthy way to lose weight if we do eat well, and we eat the right foods. It can be confusing at first to figure it all out, but with some efforts its not that hard to make a good meal plan and just stick to it. The fact that you do feel really very good living this way makes it much easier to do long term.. and its fair to say that this is a longer term diet.. there are no healthy quick fixes to being overweight.. and honestly even when i have reached my target weight i think i will have broken the habit of eating and craving sweets and carbs anyway.. Lets be honest, we feel like shit after we’ve eating tonnes of it!
So, wish me luck! I want to reduce my weight by around 15Kg, and then see how things looks from there. My current weight is 87Kg, and my target is around 70Kg. I can not remember the last time i weighed 70Kg so if i manage to get there it will be a great achievement! I believe it may help me in many other ways too, as our whole body gets healthier and stronger eating this way.
If you are interested to learn more about this i share a great\ video below by a great guy who i have come to trust. he seems to really know his stuff, and it can be hard to find the right person to listen to when we are seeking a diet like this. How to Start Keto Correctly - Dr. Berg
My #1 BEST Intermittent Fasting Tips for Faster Weight Loss - Dr. Berg
The Healthiest Pizza in the World – Dr.Berg
Thumbnail Source:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/is-intermittent-fasting-safe-for-older-adults
I think this is a good way to maybe control your weight. I need to look more into it and get better discipline.
You say you are on a low carb diet right now, how are you finding your energy levels?
Do you eat extra fruit or juices for energy?
this guy is really amazing.. heres a great video with some top tips
thanks! yes this i think is the way to do it.. from what i have experienced and learned so far.
My carbs are very low, yes.. and basically zero sugar .. Fruits also are off my list as they are just loaded with sugar and really spike insulin.. which means no ketolysis!
My energy levels are way higher despite this.. i just came back from a long fast walk.. and still havent eaten today at 4pm.. i feel light and clear and my mind is very much more focused.. cant compare really! im still not hungry!
so it seems we can get more than enough energy from metabolising fats.. Sugars are just one way to get it.. and not really needed..
surprising it is, but once you understand the chemistry it makes perfect sense..
thanks, I need to give it a go. the best weight loss so far has been avoiding wheat for me. but it's still not enough I think.
thanks for sharing on ListNerds! :)
yep, wheat is most of what i think it in my belly! its SO hard to give up.. but its possible :) if you can also drop the sugar you should be on your way!.. mainly the trick is no snacking and a long gap between your main meals.
best of luck!
Yes, I try not to eat too much wheat. You're right about the snacking! (my weakness)
Thanks for your help!! :)
From the sound of it, this is something I need to explore more, especially as my GP now thinks I'm diabetic. The discipline of it may prove to be my downfall, but won't know till i try. Thanks for sharing
oh wow! let me tell you, this will reverse diabetes.. end of story! but of course you have to pay attention to your blood sugar levels when you try it.. if you feel dizzy or weak then you may need a little sugar.. but failing that you will very quickly see major improvements.. just a few days to weeks is enough !
wishing you the best of luck!
Ah, so the trick is to fast but also eat keto friendly foods. I've just started intermittent fasting but not sure if it's really working. Then again, I'm not actually checking the scale everyday. That can be mentally unhealthy sometimes, you know? The 18 hours I've got covered; it's the snacking during the time I can eat that probably gets me. I try to keep it to a minimum though.
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Saw your post on Listnerds. You told so many things that I already know but it is always gopod to hear it again especially when one is not practicing it. I tried the keto diet but I missed fruits. You post encourages me to try again because of the feeling I had while eating so little carbs.Thank you.
Intermediate fasting is a great way to lose weight just because most people can go for 16 hours without eating. Makes dieting much easier. Thanks for sharing.