An active fasted body soaks up nutrients optimally

I have tried so many eating strategies Veganism, Paleo, Keto, Six meals a day to name a
​few and the timing involved in any diet makes a huge difference. 

It takes approximately six hours after you have stopped eating before your body enters a fasted state. Just because you are fasting (not eating) does not mean you are in a fasted state. 

Adjusting to INTERMITTENT fasting 

Adjusting to a smaller eating window can be tough especially if you have never used fat for fuel before. 
I suggest people start with a goal of a 6 hour eating window which is the window for the Low Intensity Protocol. The reason for this is that it takes 6 hours to get into a fasted state after eating so if you eat for 6 hours and then digest for 6 hours you are in a fasted state for 12 hours and an eat/digest phase for 12 hours. 

 

How to adjust 

Figure the hours you normally eat. Push back eating 1 hour form the norm then break the fast with fat (This is where fat in a coffee makes sense) and wait 1 hour before starting normal eating. Do this for 3-5 days then bump the process back another hour. Do this until you have reached your 6 hour goal. Simply remove the fat consumption once your there. 
This gets the body used to using fat and will teach it to be comfortable using body fay as fuel. 
Feel free to stop eating earlier as well. 

Example 
Starting window 8am-8pm
Start at 9am at 10am have fat and eat normally at 11am
Do this for 3-5 day 
Then start at 10am - fat at 11am - eat normal at 12pm
3-5 days
Then start at 11am -  fat at 12pm - eat normal at 1pm 
and so on 
doing this will help you to aclimate and if you stop eating earlier you will be comfortably eating in a 6 hour window in no time.

Why I Do Intermittent Fasting?

I have finally found a way to lose fat and maintain strength keeping my energy up and feeling great. I have struggled with fat my whole life. I was very fat kid and suffered a lot of abuse at school as a result. (See My Past) Knowing nothing about health at sixteen a lost a lot of weight with exercise but also bread and cigarettes. I thought bread didn't have fat so it would not make me fat. This created all kinds of health issues. As an adult I gained a massive amount of weight back. My weight fluctuated and at one point when I was vegan and over cleansing I was underweight but feeling sick and weak. Being skinny does not necessarily equal healthy.

​Recently I got my genetics tested and sure enough I have three polymorphisms that make me prone to fat gain. I knew this because as a child I was adopted and my adopted parents and brother where eating the same junk food as me but I was getting fat and they all stayed relatively thin. Genetics do matter and so does lifestyle both are factors. 
Adding intermittent fasting to my routine of healthy eating has made a huge difference in my results as well as how I feel day to day. It is primarily for fat loss and overall health. I person bulking or struggling with low weight may not want to do intermittent fasting.

Fat loss can be confusing to try and simplify it people on keto diets eating fat, or ketones along with traditional low calorie glucose diets are providing fuel for the body that it will use before it does the work of breaking down body fat. Far too many people think mct's or Ketones are for weight loss. They are tools that may be better for weight loss than sugar but will stop your body from using body fat and for this reason should not be marketed as fat loss products. Companies have a hard time making money off Intermittent fasting which is why it's benefits are not marketed. The best way to burn body fat is to remove all fuel sources besides body fat.

My energy stays high all day. Fasting tells my body I'm looking for food. Working out tells my body I'm hunting and then I eat. This has a very evolutionary feel to it. I enjoy eating much more than I used to and I am much more intentional about it. As in all things the law of scarcity applies. The less you eat the more you value and enjoy the food. Intermittent fasting changes my mindset and seems to give me a much more patient and self discipline way of being through out the day. 

There is an app called Zero that tracks fasting and seems to work well if you're looking for trends. 
Also there is great info at Fledge Fitness, the videos are very helpful
 
Lifting While IF to Maintain Strength 

It is important to lift weights while doing intermittent fasting. The use of muscles helps to communicate to the body that they are important and should not be broken down for fuel. Letting the body know that since no calories are coming in as fuel during the fasting window that body fat is the best option and not muscle. Lifting also helps to make use of the glycogen that you consume during your eating window. 

Growth Hormone While Fasting 

A lot of people think that if they don't eat every few hours they will waste away. These people consume BCAA's or protein to sustain muscle. The body can use these as fuel sparing muscle breakdown however consuming these things will pull you out of a true fast shutting off many of the benefits the body engages during a fast spiking insulin and shutting off growth hormone creation and even fat loss. In the first 48 hours of a fast the growth hormone increases dramatically which is great for muscles and anti aging. With intermittent fasting enough protein should be consumed in the eating window to sustain muscle mass.   

Insulin with Fasting and Eating 
​
Insulin keeps your body storing fat, eating throughout the day keeps insulin up. Sugar spikes insulin and keto diets work by keeping insulin low. Many keto products like keto proteins spike insulin keeping your body storing fat. In my opinion intermittent fasting is the best way to keep insulin down and still get your needed macros and micro nutrients in the eating window. You get the best of both worlds leading to fat loss and better overall health. ​

The Mental Benefits

I have found that being in control of an essential thing like food seems to make all the non-essential things much easier to control. If I don't have to eat do I really need that? is a question I ask myself. At the same time the other mental game is during the eating window. When You can eat the temptation, mostly when you first start intermittent fasting is to eat too much or eat junk food. 
Both lessons are important ones. 

General Intermittent Fasting

It takes six hours to enter a fasting state after you have eaten so if you eat for a six hour window then digest for a six hour window you will have twelve hours fasted and twelve hours non fasted in a twenty four hour day. I think for general health this is a good protocol.