Intermittent Fasting is not just a trend, it is a game-changer. It can help you shed pounds and lose weight for good while being one of the easiest diet habits you’ll ever adopt. You will find intermittent fasting can help you in a variety of ways and simplify your life. The benefits of intermittent fasting go beyond weight loss.
The simplest solutions are usually the best…
Back about 5 years ago, I started hearing about the benefits of fasting. I heard how it could help you prevent disease and lose weight while making you look and feel younger.
Well documented benefits of intermittent fasting include:
- Helps You Loss Weight
- Improves Mental Clarity
- Promotes Detoxification
- Speeds Up Metabolism
- Improves Your Immune System
- Improves Insulin Sensitivity
- Helps Prevent Disease
The benefits can go on and on…
Fasting is not actually a new thing, evolutionarily speaking.
Fasting is an experience as close to humans as any other human experience we have.
The thing is, as a modern-day culture we got away from fasting. The “three meals a day” police and the “breakfast is the most important meal” crew won out. Food is abundant and eating all the time became normal.
Fasting is what we are meant to do.
Do you really think as a species we would have survived if we could not miss a meal from time to time? NO!
We are survival machines. Meant to be able to go long periods without food.
In fact, it is probably even more likely that our bodies function better missing a meal or two. The constant barrage of food into our system causes several issues.
Grazing on food causes constant heightened insulin. Insulin is your body’s signal to take in all those nutrients. Once you have enough nutrients, your body stores the extra nutrients as fat. The constant requirement of your body to metabolize all that food also reduces energy, mental clarity, and damages to your gut lining.
The mental clarity of fasting is addictive. It is like your brain is supercharged and running on rocket fuel. It is like you are Bradley Cooper after you took the NZT pill in the movie Limitless (which is a must-see movie, if you haven’t).
With intermittent fasting, you have an advantage over your usual fed self.
Going back to evolution here, it really would have not paid off as a species if we became lethargic when we didn’t have food. That’s right. The opposite is true. Clarity is what happens when we lack food and we evolved that way. It is not like after that Thanksgiving meal we sit back and say damn, I fell sharp.
When fasting your mind becomes clear and steady.
For example, on a recent vacation driving back from Yellowstone to Indiana. I drove 13 hours straight and never missed a beat. In the past, I would have split that time evenly with my wife. However, in this fasted state my brain was wired and attentive the entire time. I listened to books and podcasts while driving the entire time. I even suggest driving the entire twenty-plus hour trip home and skipping the hotel. My wife talked me out of that and I found a nice healthy meal for dinner that night.
Another great benefit is:
When you do finally eat, you can eat!
When I fast it usually involves skipping breakfast and lunch. I either eat a snack in the mid-afternoon or wait until dinner. If I wait until dinner, I am can be ravenous and that’s okay. You can eat a big meal and not feel guilty.
I am not saying you should go crazy and binge eat, even though if you do, you probably won’t gain much weight.
If you stick with a whole food diet and don’t take in more than you normally would in one day during your eating window, you will realize the real benefits of fasting.
Fasting is also completely liberating and I have experienced benefits hardly mentioned by others such as:
- Never Have to Pack Lunch Again – For years I used to make my lunch for the week and bring it to work daily. Returning my containers from work and washing them at home in order to turn around and do it all again next week. With fasting, this is a thing of the past. You now have that time back for other things.
- Road Trips Made Simple – I used to be a terrible, horrific eater on vacations and it all started with the drive to vacation. I would take the opportunity to stock up on gas station snacks and eat fast food. Really, on those road trips, the healthy food options are limited. Using intermittent fasting, you have a great reason to blow by the candy aisle and stay focused. Not to mention the mental clarity I discussed above.
- Holding Out For Healthier Options – There always seems like you get into situations where there are no good options to eat a healthy diet. Maybe you are doing Keto or low carb diet or you just want some good old whole food. Don’t get trapped. With fasting, you can hold out until you get to a better place that has better food options.
Intermittent fasting really is empowering. You can save time, save money, and eat on your terms.
I hope this article has convinced you to give intermittent fasting a try. If you are new to it, check out my Beginner’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting.