Why Intermittent Fasting is a Valid Choice.

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Josh

Note: Martin Berkhan (http://www.leangains.com) recommends 14-hour fasts for females, for various reasons. I believe Jason Ferruggia makes this allowance in his Renegade Diet, too.

“For losing weight, it simply comes down to how many calories you take in as compared to how many calories you burn.”

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting (And Why They May Not Matter)

There’s a lot of benefits that are being touted as reasons to follow Intermittent Fasting as the protocol for weight lifters, dieters, etc. Many of these benefits are unproven or the proof is somewhat tenuous- and most people just want to look better in their clothes, so they don’t care about IF’s effect on muscle gain. I am worried that as IF becomes more mainstream through various diet programs, it will become as confusing as Paleonutrition has become, and as gnostic as the 6-meals-per-day mythos. I would hate to see people lose sight of what’s important when it comes to fat loss because it’s really NOT that complicated. Here’s my bottom line:

For losing weight, it simply comes down to how many calories you take in as compared to how many calories you burn. I learned last winter to NEVER lose sight of that basic truth.

I have tried the 6-meals-per-day approach and it did not work for me. I don’t think there is a magical explanation, but I do think there is a logical one (outlined below). Like Martin and Jason, I prefer to eat big when I do eat. In order to do that and not suffer from calorie overdose, I need to NOT eat at all when I’m not eating. Grazing, snacking, etc. throughout the day add calories that (a) I don’t enjoy eating all that much; (b) aren’t consumed in company I enjoy; and (c) are usually forgotten about in my brain long after they have settled into my fat.

Examples: Why IF Succeeds Where a 6-Meals Strategy Failed

This is a day I took from my food journal, nutritionally (all calories are (over)estimates- I’m not a big “weigher” of food, but I have learned to overestimate my calories):

9PM to 4 PM: Fasted State

4PM: Sweet potato with cinnamon (tastes like Sweet Potato Casserole, which I love, to me). 200 calories.

7PM: Chicken fajitas (without the shells). 500 caloriesBroccoli with white cheese dip (I’ve learned to flavor foods, so there was very little cheese dip). 100 calories*Note: I don’t eat the shells because I’ve learned that they’re not worth the calories for the experience. :-)

9 PM: Almonds, Frozen grapes and cinnamon toast (double fiber whole wheat). 400 calories

TOTAL: 1200 calories

That was a light day for me, because I didn’t work out. If I had worked out, I would have added about 600 calories, mostly protein and carbs, from vegetables and whey.

Now, this is how an optimum day would have gone five years ago, when I was trying to have a “light” day:

7 AM: Yogurt and toast. 200 calories

10 AM: Sandwich, maybe fruit. 500 calories

2 PM: Protein Shake. 250 calories

4 PM: Protein Shake. 250 calories

6 PM: Chicken fajitas (I would have eaten the shells). 700 calories

8 PM: Snack/Dessert. 300 calories

TOTAL: 2200 calories

And the second example would have been an OPTIMAL day. Those didn’t happen very often. What did happen on the 6-meals-per-day plan? Something like this:

7 AM: Yogurt and toast. 200 calories

10 AM: Sandwich, maybe fruit (for “energy”). 500 calories

12 PM: Damn Birthday Cake Someone Brought to Be Nice. The Jerk. 300 calories.

2 PM: Protein Shake. 250 calories

4 PM: Protein Shake. 250 calories

6 PM: Chicken fajitas (I would have eaten the shells) and I may as well have some rice and beans with everyone, since I had that “Damn Birthday Cake Someone Brought to Be Nice. The Jerk.” 1300 calories

8 PM: Snack/Dessert. 300 calories

TOTAL: 3100 calories

Even if we assume I didn’t work out that day, and so I didn’t take a protein shake, I was still at 2800 calories. And even if I felt stuffed and didn’t have fajita shells or dessert (which I would have, but say I was “being healthy”), that’s still 2200 calories. That’s a lot of assumptions that I can make if I want to be delusional, but I would have eaten more. Once I start, it is difficult for me to stop. I have references who will support this.

I know myself very well. If I start eating, I will continue eating. But when I don’t eat, I can go for extended periods without it. So, when I don’t eat breakfast (usually on-the-go, anyway), I don’t miss lunch and I don’t have any trouble not eating the cake some jerk brought to be nice.

Note: I have not experienced this “broken metabolism” everyone keeps parading around as vehemently as rapture predictions. I occasionally (every five or six days) go way overboard and have 2800-3000 calories, but when I do, I ENJOY them- with family and friends. None of this strategic snacking, which then forces me to control myself when family and friends have a sudden get-together.

Intermittent Fasting Allows Adaptation to Sudden Food Parties

Take a look at what might happen if a pizza party suddenly broke out in the evening:

9PM to 4 PM: Fasted State (I’m burning stored calories or calories from the night before)

4PM: Sweet potato with cinnamon (tastes like Sweet Potato Casserole, which I love, to me). 200 calories.

7PM: Attack of the Pizza. 1500 calories

9 PM: Almonds and frozen grapes. 250 calories

TOTAL: 1950 calories

Even a moderately bad day, with some alterations, can stay below my maintenance. If a pizza party massacre occurred during a 6-meal-per-day, I would have taken in an additional 1000 calories that I didn’t enjoy or need (see the examples above for the math)- I was taking them in to “be healthy” and to “keep my metabolism going”.

My conclusion is  that Intermittent Fasting- if it provides NO other benefits- allows me to adapt when fun and food suddenly spring up.

But wait, there’s more! :-)

More

Since I routinely stay between 1200 and 1800 calories and follow an exercise plan, the bad days don’t really hurt me. In April and May of this year, I have had several celebratory occasions that led to overeating- but I’m still at 175 and I look leaner than I did when I finished the TT contest.

I believe that I am creating regular caloric deficits that compensate for my overeating- essentially, my fasted states force my body to burn the excess calories. So when I do overeat at night, my body has twice as much time to burn the calories as it did to consume them. Even several days in a row of less-than-great eating can be offset with intermittent fasting, or that’s been my experience.

Another benefit is that I’m not eating when I feel like I should- I’m eating when I can enjoy the experience and the company. On top of that, I don’t crave food like I used to. Rather, I crave the light, energetic feeling I have right now (about 13 hours into a fast) and I can look forward to some carefree eating later on. Fasting taught me- someone who could NEVER resist food- to control myself. As an example, the faculty lounge had a HUGE cake- vanilla icing laid on thick on top of chocolate cake with caramel inside- yesterday. There was a knife. And plates. One little slice. Or one big one. I could just not eat for the rest of the day, right? I didn’t have that struggle, because I didn’t crave it like I would have before. I control my eating!

Caveat Emptor!

Now that I have written all of this, I do have one caveat: I don’t think it’s for everyone. It does take some willpower in the beginning, although everyone I have introduced to the concept who has done it for a couple weeks has found what I found: other than a couple of regularly scheduled bitch sessions from the stomach, “hunger” doesn’t exist. This past weekend while on a weekend getaway with my lovely, never-has-to-diet wife, I really went overboard (3 days in a row, although always after 4 PM). So, I did a 24-hour fast Sunday night through Monday night, kept my total calories on Tuesday to about 800, and then resumed regular eating habits yesterday. And tonight, we may overeat a little because the girls are staying with my parents. But I’m not worried about it, because my body is handling it very well.

So, can you use a different strategy? Absolutely. Mine took about 12-weeks to perfect, and I’m always making little tweaks. Does a typical day for me involve “clean” eating? Definitely. You simply cannot go wrong with vegetables, and I don’t think you can get very lean while eating processed or junk food- unless you’re one of “those” people. Even on my nutritionally poor days, I pre-stuff myself with vegetable. I don’t know if the fiber is helping in some way, or if I’m just eating less than I used to, or both, but the bad days don’t get me.

Try different methods out. However, I say this to anyone who says they cannot use 24-hour fasting or intermittent fasting because they like to eat (this is what I tell me 5-year old twins when Mommy is fixing their hair): just because it doesn’t feel good doesn’t mean you can’t do it. And now, on the other side, I would never change how I eat.

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A Warning About Following My Way

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Josh

I cannot stress the importance of viewing this from the correct perspective. I want you to view this as the narrative of a journey that I took. You, too, can go on this journey, but you don’t have to do everything that I did. Some of the things that worked for me will be impossible for you. Some of the things that I will dismiss or not even discuss will pop up as you research further, and will become the key that unlocks the doorway to ultimate success.You have to be willing to try and fail; to set, examine, then reset your goals and approaches; and to view this as a permanent solution. This is not a plan or diet- it’s a journey, and the instant you stop the journey, you’ll start another one (hopefully toward further success, but also as likely, a journey of regression toward weight gain). You cannot take this journey and then arrive at a destination, after which you are forever done. You will always be on the journey.

I think William Stafford summed it up nicely in his poem (one of my favorites, if not my favorite) “The Way It Is”:

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

When I talk about intermittent fasting and caloric algebra, I’m talking about a total paradigm shift. It will change everything about the way you handle eating- and it should make it simpler, more enjoyable- and the way you go about being healthy. The way of doing things is a belief system, a thread that stretches out beside and before and behind you, and like any belief system, it works only if you believe and adhere; like any thread, it can be held or let go. It is one of many belief systems, one of many threads. But it does not end or taper off, and that’s something you must understand. It is liberating, it is simple, it makes living and eating more enjoyable; it changes, it will modify; you will falter, you will make mistakes, you will succeed, you will fail- but the thread does not end. Don’t let go and you’ll be fine.

 

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Men’s Health: The Pros and Cons of Fasting

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Josh

http://blogs.menshealth.com/health-headlines/fast-to-burn-fat-not-so-fast/2011/04/18#comment-3339

Well, at least they’re discussing it. They do manage to sound suspicious because there’s not a lot of research. Oddly, this same publication willl happily recommend eating as soon you get up and eating frequently throughout the day (especially using meal replacements, which they advertise)- two strategies that made me fat (granted I overate, but it was stimulated, not suppressed, by frequent meals) and made their advertisers more money. All this despite the fact that neither strategy is any better attested (in fact, 3 meals has been shown to be a better strategy and breakfast-as-requisite is a myth) than fasting (which is simpler and had a myriad of proven benefits).

Bottom line here: they’re being hypocritical, but I can hope that they’ll eventually give fasting a fair look.

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215 to 175, II: Old Fallacies in Eating

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Josh

“This practice is sustainable only because I enjoy it and prefer it to other methods of getting calories.”

Some Starter Notes

  1. I provided a basic primer in an earlier post.
  2. Some definitions are in order:
    1. When I refer to intermittent fasting, I am not referring to a specific timeframe of eating versus not eating. I am rather referring to the general concept of abstaining from food for health and dietary benefits. When I am referring to a specific timeframe, I will mention it specifically. In general, though, I do not time my fed/fasted states- the latter is always greater than 16 hours, but that’s about it.
    2. I will sometimes refer to an ESE Fast, which is a 24-hour fast done once or twice per week. There’s nothing proprietary about this, but Brad Pilon wrote about the concept and so I give him credit for it.
    3. Fasting works for me because it is liberating. Some people won’t find that it is. However, I can guarantee that it won’t be as liberating if you turn it into a stopwatch event. Bottom line: the 5-6 meals per day crowd has that worry (of having to eat every couple hours, of having to have available foods that meet their needs, etc.) and the fasting crowd is freed from those concerns… until IFers start timing themselves, eating at 3 PM because it’s been 16 hours, etc.
    4. As a sidenote, many days I operate on a 18-, 20-, or even 22-hour fast. My primary concern is making sure I’m eating healthy, maintaining a basic weekly caloric intake, and that I’m enjoying the process.
    5. This practice is sustainable only because I enjoy it and prefer it to other methods of getting calories.

Now, I’m going to look in detail at the process that I went through to arrive at my nutritional strategy. This post is about the original thinking that I had to overcome in order to finally arrive at a solution that, all along, was staring me in the face.

I first heard Craig Ballantyne (turbulencetraining.com) say, “You can’t outtrain a bad diet.” I think it’s more of an anonymously-created maxim in the fitness industry, but when you think about the exercise programs out there, what is the ONE thing they all have in common? An eating plan package. And what’s the one thing the most diets do not include? An exercise program. Thus, exercise programs always include eating plans but diets rarely include exercise programs. There’s a logical reason: for weight loss, the diet is the primary mover.

I have to warn you that this (that is, all of this information) may be complex and it may require several readings for you to put together for yourself. However, TAKE HEART: I spent eight months reading, researching, synthesizing, testing, and thinking. It’s worth it to find what works for you (caveat emptor: I make no claim that this approach will work for you in the way it did for me, nor do I claim anyone would enjoy it as much as I have- this is “WHAT I DID”, not “WHAT YOU SHOULD DO”. To be honest… GO FIGURE IT OUT FOR YOURSELF! And I mean that as encouragement!)

The purpose of Part 1 was just to lay out what I did because it worked for me and I feel it is a strategy that I can continue to use for the rest of my life. The latter part is the most important- too many diets, plans, and pills offer momentary success, but (for me, anyway) there was always one of two feelings during the process:

  1. First, I’ll get to my goal weight and then go back to what I was doing, except I’ll just eat less. I call this the Primoris Tunc Fallacy- it comes from the Latin, literally meaning “First Then” (I’m a nerd, and this is how nerds roll)- which refers to the mindset I described (i.e. I’ll do this first, then I’ll do this.)
  2. This is not going to work because I just don’t feel right, but this type of thing isn’t supposed to be easy. This sad realization is the Ascetic  Fallacy, which also rears its head in other areas of our lives. It’s the belief that we don’t have it in us to succeed; that others have succeeded in this way and thus the problem lies within us, and not within the approach; that we must experience discomfort in order to earn success.

Anyone else ever felt this way?

Analyzing the Primoris Tunc Fallacy

“To call it a diet or plan or whatever is really like calling walking a strategy for moving around.”

Deconstructing the problem here is rather simple, so here’s a metaphor: you wouldn’t drive a Ferrari at top speed across the country to get to your destination, then swap it out for a dump truck, and expect to make the same progress. Yet, we all think that’s what we’re going to do when we change our eating habits. It’s just for 12 short weeks! That’s the delusion into which we buy, right? We forget that weight loss is never permanent and that the work of 12 weeks can be dismantled twice as quickly- it is an always-present possibility that we can only avoid through a plan that isn’t a plan, a diet that isn’t a diet.

To create change within ourselves, to create change within our lives, we have find a method that just works for us. For me, it was intermittent fasting. It’s an approach that is as natural as eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’ll (hopefully) post about the rewards I get from this lifestyle, but what I want to emphasize is that I call it an approach, a strategy, a plan, a change, etc. only to characterize it in a way that can be discussed. Truly, for me, it’s just how I do things. To call how I eat a diet or plan or whatever is really like calling walking a strategy for moving around. More to the point: how I eat is how I eat, similar to the fact that how you eat is how you eat; and thus, our results speak to the direction our nutrition take us.

Hopefully, Primoris Tunc (now unmasked) won’t get you as you make changes. However, if it does, let me offer you some advice: change what you’re doing. The bottom line is that, if you know that what you’re doing is not sustainable, you may as well quit now and search for another approach.

Analyzing the Ascetic Fallacy

“As animals, we are programmed to avoid that which we do not enjoy. There’s a reason… I know I can practice the 16/8 fasted/fed eating schedule. I enjoy it.”

To be honest, this one is a little more difficult, because asceticism is in the opinion of the individual. My father-in-law would call camping in a tent, with one change of clothes, some coffee, and some campfire-friendly food an enjoyable, true camping experience. My mother-in-law sees it as ascetic. Her memorable quote about that sort of camping versus the pop-up camper we all now enjoy was, “I did it. I don’t need to prove anything and do it again.” Too often, we all look at losing weight and getting in shape that way: we did it, now we’re done.

Problem is… fitness is a journey, like most of the best things in life. It’s not a destination, like most of the unrewarding things in life (e.g. death).

Some people think they have to earn being in better shape, kind of like some people think they have to be punished to be cleared of sin. We have the Rocky Balboa mentality: if I work harder, take the punches, and keep coming back for me, I will get what I want. Unfortunately, that sort of toughness gives out quickly. As animals, we are programmed to avoid that which we do not enjoy. There’s a reason I would work out every single day if it wasn’t detrimental; and, why I would run 3-6 miles every day if my joints could handle it; and, why I know I can practice the 16/8 fasted/fed eating schedule. I enjoy it. If it became a hassle, didn’t fit into my schedule, was a stress rather than a pleasure, or in some way interfered with my overall enjoyment of life, I would jettison the practice.

Some people enjoy certain kinds of pain. Said another way: challenging, painful, stressful, or otherwise difficult practices can cause pleasure. There are plenty of people who feel rewarded from experiences that the rest of us would sooner live without. These experiences may be painful, but they’re not negative. Big difference. Some people have told me they could never handle 12, 14, 16, or more hours of fasting. While I am almost certain they would survive (and that some of them would enjoy it, even), it’s not going to be a final solution for some people, for whatever reason. I do believe, though, that there is a way of getting calories- for everyone- that is sustainable. (Note: we live in a society of excess, so any sustainable strategy will have to deviate from current norms AND will require a system of checks and balances of that excess.)

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Frozen Veggies Equivalent to Fresh Veggies?

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Josh

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/frozen_food/

The title says it all. This, according to Men’s Health. It could be good news. Of course, it could also be more of the selective analysis and myopia of which MH is sometimes guilty (e.g. MH only recently said something good about fasting, and you know my opinion on that topic.)

I’m going to look into this a little bit more because it could save me a lot of money (and shopping time). In theory, I guess, how much worse could frozen be when compared to fresh, pesticide-ridden veggies and fruits?

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