Intermittent fasting is, instead of eating all day long, just not eating all the time.
It’s really that simple
I dislike breakfast. My stomach just isn’t up to do the food thing and revolts at the thought. Science persuaded me my body was wrong and I started eating some of the things I could stomach (haha) but really, it never felt right.
In doing the plant based diet experiment, I more and more realized that returning to what felt good for me was probably a very very good idea.
Turns out that skipping breakfast and only eating at noon is called intermittent fasting these days.
Not eating all day isn’t that unusual either. All the big religions have a concept of a period of fasting. Several weeks of not eating during the day or eating a lot less, to water fasts for days on end. In graduating big religion, we also ignored the folk traditions that were attached to it. Taking that back feels good ๐
So what did 4 months of IF [Intermittent Fasting] (abbreviated because still lazy optimizing energy) teach or reveal to me?
- People eat out of habit
- People eat JUNKKKKKK
- We really do not need to eat all the time
- IF is highly personal and gender matters
- Running off stored fat feels good and the burn rate is interesting
- Just knowing when and what I’ll eat when I’ll start eating again takes all the difficulty out of it.
- Shopping fasted doesn’t matter at all anymore.
- Eating is a big activity that we spend TONS of time on!
I’ve done IF for a while now and I love it. I relax in the weekend and aim for a 13 hours fast (skip breakfast and have lunch). I like the family meal and evening alcohol ๐ During the week I often socially do a 16h fast and 8h of eating; 16:8. Stop eating at 20h, and lunch with the people around me the next day. But most of all, I like 20:4 or even OMAD [One Meal a Day]. Not eating for most of the day, and having one big, no holds barred, meal in the evening. I love not having to care what I eat (as long as it’s balanced and healthy) and how much. I resisted the urge to binge eat early on, and I can only eat that much in one meal without feeling stuffed.
It’s been an interesting journey. One I’d heartily propose everyone to look into!