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Registered Dietitian
Registered Dietitian
Jillian Kubala, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian based in Westhampton, NY. She holds a master’s degree in nutrition from Stony Brook University School of Medicine as well as an undergraduate degree in nutrition science.
Image by Ina Peters / Stocksy
September 03, 2024
The dieting world seems to thrive on extremes. From keto to Atkins, popular diets rarely provide moderate amounts of macros. Take, for example, the high-protein, low-carb diet—a way of eating that restricts carbs while emphasizing protein-rich foods.
Although this eating pattern may provide a few health benefits, more restrictive versions can be hard to follow and may lead to unpleasant side effects.
Here’s what you need to know about the high-protein, low-carb diet, including health benefits, potential side effects, and how to follow this eating plan in a healthy, sustainable way.
A high-protein, low-carb (HPLC) diet is an eating pattern that emphasizes protein and restricts carbs. Unlike other diets, like the ketogenic diet, there’s no set definition of a high-protein, low-carb diet, so people following this way of eating may take in different macronutrient ratios.
In order to be considered a “low-carb” diet, a diet must contain less than 130 grams of carbs1 or less than 26% of total calories from carbs per day. To put this into perspective, 130 grams equates to a little more than 8.5 slices of bread.
High-protein diets provide more protein than the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), which currently sits at 0.8 gram of protein2 per kg of body weight or 0.36 gram per pound. This equates to 54 grams of protein per day for a 150-pound person or 10% of total daily calories for a standard 2,000-calorie diet. Most high-protein diets provide between 1.8 and 3 grams3 of protein per kg or 0.8 to 1.36 grams per pound of body weight per day.
Let’s translate this to what goes on your plate: A person following a 2,000-calorie high-protein, low-carb diet may take in 40% of their calories from protein, 25% from carbs, and 35% from fats. This would equate to 200 grams of protein and 125 grams of carbs per day and around 1.4 grams of protein per pound for a 150-pound person.
However, the high-protein, low-carb eating pattern is flexible, meaning some people may eat more carbs and less protein, while others eat fewer carbs and more protein.
High-protein, low-carb diets are eating patterns that provide less than 130 grams of carbs and significantly more protein than the current RDA.
Before we dive into the potential benefits of high-protein, low-carb eating patterns, it’s important to note that some experts argue that diets that are considered “high” in protein should actually be considered standard protein diets.
“We find from a metabolic standpoint, working predominantly with women, that if they get below 100 grams per day5, they lose most of the benefits of protein: fatty acid metabolism, insulin sensitivity, weight loss, satiety,” Don Layman, Ph.D., a leading protein and amino acid requirements researcher, says on the mindbodygreen podcast.
Limiting or at least cutting back on carb intake allows more room for protein-rich foods and usually leads to a reduced intake of ultra-processed foods rich in refined carbs like snack foods and desserts.
The RDA for protein is the minimum you need to avoid nitrogen imbalance and other health issues. Most people—even those who aren’t following the HPLC diet—will want to consume more than that; at least 100 grams per day.
Here are the top evidence-backed benefits of high-protein, low-carb diets:
1.
Studies have linked both high-protein6 and low-carb diets7 to weight loss. Following a low-carb, high-protein diet may support fat loss by decreasing appetite and energy intake.
“Protein has that satiety factor. Research suggests8 higher protein diets increase satiety compared to lower protein diets, which may help you eat fewer calories,” dietitian Maggie Moon, M.S., R.D., tells mindbodygreen.
For example, a 2020 study9 published in Nutrients found that people with obesity who followed a low-carb, high-protein diet providing 30% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 40% fat for four weeks lost 58% more weight than study participants who followed a higher-carb Mediterranean diet that provided 55% carbohydrate, 15% protein, and 30% fat.
2.
Diets low in carbs and higher in protein have been shown to reduce both short- and long-term markers of blood sugar control in people with11 and without12 Type 2 diabetes.
3.
Visceral fat is a type of deep belly fat that surrounds your internal organs. Having too much visceral fat significantly increases the risk of health conditions13 like Type 2 diabetes.
A 2021 study14 published in Nutrients found that adults who were overweight or had obesity and who followed a low-carb, higher-protein diet for 15 weeks lost 6.4% more visceral fat than those assigned to a low-fat, high-carb diet.
4.
Reducing overall carb consumption and increasing protein consumption could help reduce triglyceride levels16, as long as you’re consuming an appropriate amount of calories.
5.
Studies show that bumping up your protein intake when following a lower-calorie diet for weight loss can help prevent weight-loss-associated muscle loss.
Because there’s no set definition of a high-protein, low-carb diet, it’s flexible and can fit into a variety of eating styles. But here’s a bit more on how high-protein, low-carb diets compare to other popular eating patterns:
A high-protein, low-carb diet is flexible, so it differs from diets with set macronutrient ratios like the keto diet and the Atkins diet. It’s also lower in carbs than the Mediterranean diet. Intermittent fasting is a method that can be used with almost any eating pattern, including a high-protein, low-carb diet.
Even though high-protein, low-carb diets can include a variety of foods—depending on the strictness of the diet and the macro ratio you choose to follow—most people following this way of eating prioritize the following protein-rich and low-carb meals and snacks such as the following:
When you’re on a high-protein, low-carb diet, you’ll want to reduce your intake of high-carb foods. People following moderate versions of this diet can enjoy carb-rich foods more frequently, while people following stricter versions will want to significantly limit carbs.
Here’s a list of carb-rich foods that should be limited when following a high-protein, low-carb diet:
Your carb restriction will depend on your chosen macronutrient range. You can enjoy carb-rich foods like starchy vegetables, fruits, and beans in moderation as long as you’re not exceeding your carb limit for the day.
If you’re interested in trying out some high-protein, low-carb meals or want to get started on a high-protein, low-carb diet, check out this three-day meal plan that’s packed with nutrients like fiber, protein, and healthy fats throughout breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Make it your own: When you’re following a high-protein, low-carb diet, one of the easiest—and most nutritious—ways to start your day is with eggs. “To boost protein content I’ll add a whisked egg into savory soups, or top just about anything with a sunny-side-up egg: salad, grain bowls, avocado toast, even pizza,” Moon says.
Make it your own: “According to a meta-analysis21, the healthiest protein foods for heart health are high-quality plant protein foods and seafood,” Moon tells mindbodygreen. To bump up your protein intake, try adding some of Moon’s favorite sources like tofu, arctic char, seabream, and Alaskan cod to dishes like protein bowls.
Make it your own: To add another source of plant-based protein to your salad, Moon recommends adding nuts. “I top my salads with nuts instead of croutons to increase the protein content of the meal,” she says. Not only will nuts add a satisfying source of protein, but they’ll also add some crunch.
If you’d like to transition to a high-protein, low-carb diet, it’s important to do it in a healthful way. It’s not necessary to severely limit your carb intake or go overboard on protein-rich foods.
Here are a few helpful tips for staying healthy on a high-protein, low-carb diet.
High-protein, low-carb diets can be tricky to follow for people on plant-based diets. This is because plant-based proteins, like legumes, usually contain a good amount of carbs.
“It’s challenging to meet protein needs on a vegan/vegetarian diet while also restricting carbs,” dietitian and sustainability advocate Abby Cannon, J.D., R.D., CDN, tells mindbodygreen.
“Beans, lentils, peas, and whole grains are high in carbohydrates and typically form a large part of a vegan/vegetarian diet. In order to meet protein needs without them, you have to eat more soy products and nuts and seeds,” she says.
Cannon says it’s easier for vegetarians to follow a high-protein, low-carb diet if it includes high-quality dairy, which provides a good amount of protein per serving. Eggs are another high-protein option for people who don’t eat meat.
High-protein, low-carb diets can cause some side effects. However, these side effects are usually related to more significant carb restriction.
For example, very low-carb diets like the keto diet can lead to symptoms22 like headaches, fatigue, constipation, and irritability. Cutting carbs too severely can also lead to low blood sugar. This is another reason why more moderate low-carb diets are better suited to most people.
In terms of protein, studies show that even extremely high-protein diets are generally safe and not associated with adverse side effects, even when followed for a long time period.
A 2016 study23 published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism found that following a high-protein diet that provided between 2.51 and 3.32 grams per kg or 1.14 and 1.5 grams per pound per day for one year had no harmful effects on any measures of health in athletic men.
Another important thing to consider is protein sources. Diets high in certain types of animal proteins, like red and processed meats, have been associated with an increased risk24 of certain health conditions, like colon cancer.
“It all comes down to how animal-based proteins are raised and prepared. If you’re consuming protein from farms that use regenerative agriculture, those are the protein sources that are most sustainable,” Cannon tells mindbodygreen. Here’s a comprehensive primer on how to eat meat more sustainably.
Most of the side effects from a HPLC diet occur because of carb restriction. It’s important to pay attention to your body and eat more carbs if you experience symptoms like headaches, fatigue, constipation, and irritability. And when increasing your protein intake, you’ll want to pay attention to how your diet impacts the environment. Choose ethically and sustainably sourced proteins whenever possible.
As long as you’re in a calorie deficit, then yes. While some diets have been shown to be more effective compared to others for promoting fat loss, the most important factor in any weight loss diet is to take in fewer calories than you burn.
If you’re following a more moderate high-protein, low-carb diet, you shouldn’t experience significant side effects. Those who follow a very low-carb diet may experience symptoms like headache, fatigue, and constipation.
Yes, IF can be used with any diet you choose to follow. If you’re new to IF, consider starting with a shorter fasting window before moving on to longer fasts to see how your body reacts.
The high-protein, low-carb diet is a way of eating that emphasizes protein-rich foods and limits carbs. This diet is flexible and can be tailored to your macronutrient preferences.
It may be effective for weight loss, blood sugar regulation, and lowering triglycerides. Plus, it could help you maintain muscle mass during weight loss. However, like most diets, it does come with a few downsides, especially if you choose to significantly limit carbs or eat proteins that are taxing on the environment.
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All of the scientific evidence we know to be true today was, at some point, up-and-coming. For example, clinical studies backing the Mediterranean diet’s role in longevity or evidence showing that fermented foods are good for the gut were all novelty research studies once upon a time.
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Some people struggle with weight loss and are looking for a silver bullet. Currently, the trend is Ozempic®. The tradition way eating less and moving more is the best, for for some, they need additional help. Intermittent fasting is an eating plan which switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule. Research shows intermittent fasting is a way for some to manage weight.
RELATED: Marijuana For A Lean Physique? Science Weighs In
Before diving into the reasons why CBD’s capabilities might make for better fasts and might help manage people’s hunger, it’s important to understand what the fasting process is about and why it’s been so embraced as of late.
We’ll focus on the most popular and common methods: the 18/6, 16/8, and Eat-Stop-Eat. In the first method, 18 represents the hours spent fasting, and 6 represents your eating window. By following the 18/6 you’ll spend 18 hours fasting and have a window of 6 hours to get your necessary calories. The 16/8 is the same thing, with slightly different windows for each. For some people, this method works perfectly since all they have to do is avoid snacks past their bedtime and either skip breakfast or eat it later in the morning.
For those who are stronger willed, there’s the Eat-Stop-Eat method, which is a little more extreme, increasing the amount of time you spend fasting and the amount of time you have to eat. People can spend 24 hours without eating, only ingesting liquids without calories, like coffee and tea, and then have a day to eat with no limitations. Then they get back to fasting and so on and so forth. This method produces more effective intermittent fasting results, preserving lean muscle mass, promoting hormone levels and cutting calories.
Intermittent fasting is built upon the knowledge once the body spends over 16 hours without eating, it automatically begins to break down fat as a replacement for glucose. This is a process called ketosis. Aside from burning fat, ketosis also makes your body work harder to repair damaged DNA and replace old cells, some of which have been correlated with Alzheimer’s disease. There’s a lot of promise for fasting and a lot of good stuff associated with it.
CBD may enhance the fasting process by reducing your appetite, contributing with hormone regulation, fighting inflammation and even preventing diabetes. While THC is known for increasing people’s hunger, CBD doesn’t share these same capabilities. Most of the time, people eat when they’re bored or anxious; CBD makes for a good option for these types of people, keeping their brains focused and relaxed and preventing snacking.
RELATED: Federal Study Aims To Learn More About Marijuana And Weight Loss
CBD also boosts the health capabilities of fasting, producing larger and more impacting results. CBD can be consumed as oils, topicals or capsules while fasting – as long as these don’t have calories – or as edibles once people have broken their fasts.
While there’s no studies proving CBD oil makes for better fasts, the evidence exists suggesting it might help people who have a hard time wrapping their heads around such a long period of time spent without eating. In any case, it sounds like a good supplement if you’re looking to give intermittent fasting a shot.
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Amy Hansen
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Depending on your goals and the type of fast you’re doing, drinking beverages with a small number of calories (such as lemon water or coffee) should not interfere with your progress. In fact, taking a “dirty” fasting approach to beverages can make fasting easier to stick with for beginners and help keep your body properly hydrated.
As Varady explains of her clinical experience with fasting, “Many of our studies run six to 12 months, and we want our subjects to feel comfortable while doing fasting. If we ask them to change their eating habits too much, they often drop out.” Plus, she adds, if weight loss is the goal, “these additives only contribute a very small amount of calories, so it does not upset their progress.”
That said, high-calorie or high-sugar options like smoothies, soda, or broth will likely do more harm than good and should be avoided during your fasting window.
And despite the health benefits of fasting, it’s definitely not for everyone. For example, some experts warn that intermittent fasting is trickier for women because fasting is a type of stressor, and women process stress differently than men.
Amy Shah, M.D., a double board-certified physician specializing in hormones, previously told mbg that overly stressed women should skip intermediate fasting, as it can negatively impact female hormones (though more research needs to be done on the subject).
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Julia Guerra
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Eating in alignment with your circadian rhythms means that you’re taking advantage of this natural period of higher metabolic activity.
Current studies on meal timing show that early fasting in particular can help lower blood sugar (glucose) levels, manage weight, and improve body composition. Some research indicates that frontloading your calorie intake 2for the day before 3 p.m. is linked consuming fewer calories daily and eating a higher-quality diet, whereas eating a higher percentage of your daily calories after 8 p.m. is associated with having a higher body mass index (BMI) and body fat.
So there’s pretty well-established (and growing) evidence behind eating earlier in the day. What’s still emerging though is comparing intermittent fasting eating window times. What the data currently show is that early time-restricted feeding may reduce fasted blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity—meaning your cells are more responsive to the hormone that helps the body better utilize glucose. And late time-restricted feeding may increase blood sugar levels.
But in terms of fasting, intermittent fasting in general is considered a beneficial therapeutic approach to managing type 2 diabetes3.
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mindbodygreen
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Menopause is a term used to describe the time in a woman’s life when her menstrual periods stop permanently1.
After you go through menopause, your ovaries produce very little of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. The natural decline in hormone production that occurs during this time can cause a range of unpleasant symptoms including hot flashes, weight gain, high blood lipid levels, mood swings, vaginal dryness, sleep problems, and irritability.
Perimenopause, or the time leading up to menopause, generally begins in a woman’s late 40’s. Most women experience menopause around the age of 511.
Certain lifestyle and dietary changes, like intermittent fasting (IF) may be effective for women who are perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal. Unfortunately, although there’s plenty of research on the potential benefits of IF for premenopausal women, research investigating its effects in older women is limited2.
However, the little research we do have suggests that IF may have some health benefits for women over 50, like promoting weight loss3 and improving blood sugar regulation.
Overall, research findings4 suggest that IF affects older women in the same way it does younger women in terms of weight loss and metabolic benefits, but larger studies are needed to understand how IF impacts women during perimenopause and menopause, as well as postmenopause.
Also, IF may compromise the health of some older adults and may lead to changes in certain hormones, which we’ll cover later in the article.
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Jillian Kubala, MS, RD
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Alternate-day fasting, as the name suggests, involves fasting every other day. So, if you were to follow this fasting schedule, you would eat normally one day and fast the next day.
The alternate-day fasting protocol has gained popularity largely due to the research of Krista Varady, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, Chicago. In her book The Every Other Day Diet, Varady describes how you can lose weight by eating what you want—half of the time.
The idea behind alternate-day fasting is that instead of having to limit your calories every day, as many diet regimens require, you only have to restrict your calorie intake on alternate days.
When you fast, your body starts to burn stored fat for energy, a process known as lipolysis1. Over time, it goes into a metabolic state known as ketosis2, where it uses fat as its main source of energy, instead of sugar.
When done correctly, ADF can also give you the benefits of fasting beyond weight loss. Emerging research shows that alternate-day fasting can be a useful tool for improving metabolic markers, boosting heart health, lowering chronic inflammation, and promoting cell repair, says Madiha Saeed, M.D., an integrative family physician and author of The Holistic Rx.
However, most people will find fasting every alternate day challenging. Furthermore, this diet may not be safe for everyone and should only be undertaken under medical supervision, says Bindiya Gandhi, M.D., an American Board-certified physician who practices family medicine and integrative medicine.
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Sanjana Gupta
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“If you ingest caffeine on an empty stomach, it will have a more potent stimulant effect that will also tend to increase the level of jitteriness that caffeine can produce,” Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., notes on the Huberman Lab Podcast.
And some coffee drinkers are going to feel this more than others. “Some people are going to be very sensitive to coffee triggering an insulin response, even if the coffee is black or only has fat but no sugar,” Pedre says. “When the pancreas releases insulin, blood sugar will drop subsequently. And within 30 to 60 minutes of drinking coffee, a blood sugar drop will cause uncomfortable weakness, shaking, and cravings for carbs or sugar.”
These regular crashes could have long-term impacts. “It may even lead to the overconsumption of calories over the rest of the day,” Pedre says, “which will cause weight gain in most individuals.”
If you experience these “crash” symptoms, you may wish to wait until you break your fast to drink your coffee. Alternatively, you could wait until just 30 minutes before you break your fast, Pedre adds. That way you can use food to mitigate any blood sugar plummet. Another potential way to limit a crash is to add MCT oil and ghee to your cuppa. Huberman also says adding 100 mg of L-theanine can offset some of the jitteriness.
Another potential side effect of drinking coffee on an empty stomach is gastrointestinal upset. “Coffee on an empty stomach can trigger the release of hydrochloric acid33,” Pedre explains, “leading to an acid stomach, heartburn, and acid reflux.” Excessive coffee consumption in a fasted state, over time, can also lead to abdominal pain and nausea, he adds.
If you have a history of gallbladder attacks, you may wish to avoid coffee, especially on an empty stomach. “Coffee induces the release of a hormone called cholecystokinin34 [CCK],” Seeman adds, “which causes gallbladder contractions. People with underlying gallstones can get symptomatic with ingestion of coffee.”
Finally, be aware of how much coffee you consume and if you have any restrictions on caffeine intake regarding underlying conditions. “Excessive caffeine intake has risks35, including poor sleep, high blood pressure, headaches, anxiety, and more,” Seeman notes. “The recommended upper limit of caffeine is no more than 400 milligrams per day for adults.”
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Jennifer Chesak
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Speaking of the history of fasting…this is exactly what led to the introduction of what’s known today as the ketogenic diet.
This high-fat, very low-carbohydrate diet mimics human fasting metabolism and was used medically in the early 1900s to manage epileptic seizures5 as well as Type 1 diabetes6 before the advent of insulin.
Keto is a way of eating that restricts carbohydrates to the point that our body needs to vet out an alternative fuel source to feed our glucose-hungry brain. (Unlike most of our tissues, the brain cannot burn fats for fuel.) That’s where ketones come in.
When we lower carbohydrate intake, and by virtue, blood sugar and insulin levels, to the point that puts the brain at risk of an energy deficit, the liver starts converting fats (either from our diet or body fat stores if in a caloric deficit) into ketones.
This is what defines a keto diet: an elevation of ketones. It turns out that the brain loves ketones so much that it uses them even in the face of impaired energy metabolism. Ketones do a lot of other extraordinary things in the body that scientists are still unpacking.
Today, the ketogenic diet is being researched in various clinical settings for its effect on cancer7, neurodegenerative diseases8, and most notably, Type 2 diabetes9.
It also shows promise for promoting brain health and treating mental health conditions10. “A ketogenic diet is a really important tool for people who are trying to improve their brain’s access to energy and the overall health of their brain’s metabolism,” nutritional psychiatrist Georgia Ede, M.D., says on the mindbodygreen podcast.
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Kristi Storoschuk, BSc
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Dec 15, 2022 – Some people with type 2 diabetes may be able to lose weight, lower their blood sugar, and stop taking diabetes drugs, if they follow anintermittent fasting diet for 3 months, new research suggests.
Intermittent fasting – such as the 5:2 diet, which consists of eating few calories for 2 days followed by eating normally for 5 days – has led to weight loss in previous studies.
But it hasn’t been clear whether intermittent fasting might lower HbA1c levels – a measure of a person’s average blood sugar levels over the past 2 to 3 months.
And specifically, it was not known if intermittent fasting could let people revert to a non-diabetic state, known as diabetes remission – defined as having a blood sugar level below 6.5% for at least 3 months after stopping all diabetes medications.
This new study in 72 patients with type 2 diabetes in China showed that indeed, the 36 patients in the intermittent fasting group lost roughly 13 pounds and maintained this weight loss for 1 year, and close to half achieved diabetes remission. This compared with barely any weight loss for the 36 patients in the control group, of whom just 3% achieved remission.
The results show that “type 2 diabetes is not necessarily a permanent, lifelong disease,” senior author Dongbo Liu, PhD, from the Hunan Agricultural University in China, said in a news release. “Diabetes remission is possible if patients lose weight by changing their diet and exercise habits.”
“The large amount of weight reduction is key to continuing to achieve diabetes remission,” Amy E. Rothberg, MD, PhD, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Michigan, said in an interview. Rothberg was not involved with this study.
The bottom line is that “lifestyle changes work,” she says.
Although these findings are specific for an Asian population, they suggest that a similar approach could be tailored to other populations.
People with type 2 diabetes who would like to try intermittent fasting need guidance from a dietitian, Rothberg says, to make sure their diet includes all the necessary micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals on fasting days. They also need to maintain a relatively balanced diet and not gorge themselves on feast days.
She also advises patients: “Try to reduce your calories by a method that you find sustainable, so that you can lose weight and maintain that reduced weight.”
The study was published Dec. 14 in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
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“We recently did an analysis of some of our data, and we found that people who followed [time-restricted eating] five days a week, every week, had improvements in their blood sugar levels, their heart rate, and they lost more weight, which is no surprise,” Peterson explains.
After all, “flexible restraint” has been shown to be successful when it comes to weight management: In one 2019 study, participants who reported dieting more strictly during weekends had a significantly higher chance of regaining the weight they had previously lost over a year’s time, compared to those who reported less strict dieting on the weekends and holiday periods. In another study2, flexible restraint was associated with better weight maintenance, while rigid restraint was associated with less weight loss.
Time-restricted eating has benefits way beyond weight management, but if you find it difficult to stick to the schedule 24/7, try to give yourself grace on the weekends. “Five days a week is sufficient for people to see benefits in the long term,” assures Peterson.
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Jason Wachob
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“…Tony the Tiger tells us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day! It’s grrrrrreat!”
This adage about breakfast has become commonplace that it’s readily and unquestionably accepted as fact.
Well then, what’s with the growing popularity of Intermittent Fasting and SKIPPING breakfast?
(Tony just audibly gasped.)
In this Ultimate Guide to Intermitting Fasting, I’ll teach you everything about the science of fasting and what results you can expect:
ALSO, if you’re interested, Nerd Fitness Journey has an intermittent fasting adventure that you can start today!
This fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life, all while building your very own superhero!
Sign-up for a free trial right here:
“Conventional wisdom” isn’t that smart.
We’re going to take two widely accepted healthy eating “rules” and turn them on their head:
RULE #1: You HAVE to eat first thing in the morning: Make sure you start off with a healthy breakfast, so you can get that metabolism firing first thing in the morning!
“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”
There are even studies that show those that eat earlier in the day lose more weight than those who ate later in the day or skipped a meal.[1]
RULE #2: Eat lots of small meals for weight loss. Make sure you eat six small meals throughout the day so your metabolism stays operating at maximum capacity all day long.”
In other words, “eat breakfast and lots of small meals to lose weight and obtain optimal health.”
But what if there’s science and research that shows SKIPPING BREAKFAST (the horror! blasphemy!) can help with optimum human performance, mental and physical health improvement, maximum muscle retention, and body fat loss?
That’s where an Intermittent Fasting Plan comes in.
Intermittent fasting is not a diet, but rather a dieting pattern.
In simpler terms: it’s making a conscious decision to skip certain meals on purpose.
By fasting and then feasting deliberately, intermittent fasting generally means that you consume your calories during a specific window of the day, and choose not to eat food for a larger window of time.
There are a few different ways to take advantage of intermittent fasting, which I learned about from Martin over at LeanGains, a resource specifically built around fasted strength training:
#1) INTERMITTENT FASTING 16/8 PLAN
What it is: Fasting for 16 hours and then only eating within a specific 8-hour window. For example, only eating from noon-8 PM, essentially skipping breakfast.
Some people only eat in a 6-hour window, or even a 4-hour window. This is the “feasting” and “fasting” parts of your days and the most common form of Intermittent Fasting. It’s also my preferred method (5 years running).
Two examples: The top means you are skipping breakfast, the bottom means you are skipping dinner each day:
You can adjust this window to make it work for your life:
#2) INTERMITTENT FASTING 24-HOUR PLAN
Skip two meals one day, where you take 24 hours off from eating. For example, eat on a normal schedule (finishing dinner at 8PM) and then you don’t eat again until 8PM the following day.
With this plan, you eat your normal 3 meals per day, and then occasionally pick a day to skip breakfast and lunch the next day.
If you can only do an 18 hour fast, or a 20 hour fast, or a 22 hour fast – that’s okay! Adjust with different time frames and see how your body responds.
Two examples: skipping breakfast and lunch one day of the week, and then another where you skip lunch and dinner one day, two days in a week.
Note: You can do this once a week, twice a week, or whatever works best for your life and situation.
Those are the two most popular intermittent fasting plans, and the two we’ll be focusing on, though there are many variations of both that you can modify for yourself:
You’ll need to experiment, adjust to work for your lifestyle and goals, and see how your body responds.
Let’s first get into the science here behind Intermittent Fasting and why you should consider it!
Now, you might be thinking: “okay, so by skipping a meal, I will eat less than I normally eat on average (2 meals instead of 3), and thus I will lose weight, right?”
Yes.
By cutting out an entire meal each day, you are consuming fewer calories per week – even if your two meals per day are slightly bigger than before. Overall, you’re still consuming fewer calories per day.
In this example, you’re eating LARGER lunches and dinners than you normally do, but by skipping breakfast you’ll consume 500 less calories per day.
And thus, weight loss!
This is highlighted in a recent JAMA study[2] in which both calorie restricted dieters and intermittent fasters lost similar amounts of weight over a year period.
That doesn’t tell the FULL story, as the timing of meals can also influence how your body reacts.
Intermittent Fasting can help because your body operates differently when “feasting” compared to when “fasting”:
When you eat a meal, your body spends a few hours processing that food, burning what it can from what you just consumed.
Because it has all of this readily available, easy-to-burn energy (thanks to the food you ate), your body will choose to use that as energy rather than the fat you have stored.
During the “fasted state” (the hours in which your body is not consuming or digesting any food) your body doesn’t have a recently consumed meal to use as energy.
Thus, it is more likely to pull from the fat stored in your body as it’s the only energy source readily available.
Burning fat = win.
The same goes for working out in a “fasted” state.
Without a ready supply of glucose and glycogen to pull from (which has been depleted over the course of your fasted state, and hasn’t yet been replenished with a pre-workout meal), your body is forced to adapt and pull from a source of energy that it does have available: the fat stored in your cells.
Why does this work? Our bodies react to energy consumption (eating food) with insulin production.
The more sensitive your body is to insulin, the more likely you’ll be to use the food you consume efficiently, and your body is most sensitive to insulin following a period of fasting [3].
These changes to insulin production and sensitivity can help lead to weight loss [4] and muscle creation [5].
Next: Your glycogen (a starch stored in your muscles and liver that your body can burn as fuel when necessary) is depleted during sleep (aka during fasting), and will be depleted even further during training, which can lead to increased insulin sensitivity.
This means that a meal following your workout will be used more efficiently: converted to glycogen and stored up in your muscles or burned as energy immediately to help with the recovery process, with minimal amounts stored as fat.
Compare this to a regular day (no intermittent fasting): With insulin sensitivity at normal levels, the carbs and foods consumed will see full glycogen stores and enough glucose in the bloodstream, and thus be more likely to get stored as fat.
Back to fasting: growth hormone is increased during fasted states (both during sleep [6]and after a period of fasting). Combine this increased growth hormone secretion:[7], the decrease in insulin production (and thus increase in insulin sensitivity [8]), and you’re essentially priming your body for muscle growth and fat loss with intermittent fasting.
The less science-y version: Intermittent fasting can help teach your body to use the food it consumes more efficiently, and your body can learn to burn fat as fuel when you deprive it of new calories to constantly pull from (if you eat all day long).
TL/DR: For many different physiological reasons, fasting can help promote weight loss and muscle building when done properly.
I know Intermittent Fasting can be overwhelming for many, which is why we sought to simplify the practice for our new app: Nerd Fitness Journey.
When you get started, we won’t have you jumping into the deep end. Instead, we’ll provide small missions so you can gradually grow accustomed to skipping meals.
If you want, you can sign-up for a free trial right here:
There are a few main reasons why diet books recommend six small meals:
1) When you eat a meal, your body does have to burn extra calories [9] just to process that meal. So, the theory is that if you eat all day long with small meals, your body is constantly burning extra calories and your metabolism is firing at optimal capacity, right? Well, that’s not true.
Whether you eat 2000 calories spread out throughout the day, or 2000 calories in a small window, your body will burn the same number of calories processing the food [10].
So, the whole “keep your metabolism firing at optimum capacity by always eating” sounds good in principle, but reality tells a different story.
2) When you eat smaller meals, you might be less likely to overeat during your regular meals. I can definitely see some truth here, especially for people who struggle with portion control or don’t know how much food they should be eating.
However, once you educate yourself and take control of your eating, some might find that eating six times a day is very prohibitive and requires a lot of effort. I know I do.
Also, because you’re eating six small meals, I’d argue that you probably never feel “full,” and you might be MORE likely to eat extra calories during each snack.
Although grounded in seemingly logical principles, the “six meals a day” doesn’t work for the reason you think it would (#1), and generally only works for people who struggle with portion control (#2).
If we think back to caveman days, we’d have been in serious trouble as a species if we had to eat every three hours. Do you think Joe Caveman pulled out his pocket sundial six times a day to consume his equally portioned meals?
Hell no! He ate when he could, endured and dealt with long periods of NOT eating (no refrigeration or food storage) and his body adapted to still function optimally enough to still go out and catch new food.
A recent study (written about in the NYT, highlighted by LeanGains) has done a great job of challenging the “six-meals-a-day” technique for weight loss [11]:
There were [no statistical] differences between the low- and high- [meal frequency] groups for adiposity indices, appetite measurements or gut peptides (peptide YY and ghrelin) either before or after the intervention. We conclude that increasing meal frequency does not promote greater body weight loss under the conditions described in the present study.
That’s why we made this:
Now that we’re through a lot of the science stuff, let’s get into the reality of the situation: why should you consider Intermittent Fasting?
#1) Because it can work for your goals. Although we know that not all calories are created equal, caloric restriction plays a central role in weight loss.
When you fast, you are also making it easier to restrict your total caloric intake over the course of the week, which can lead to consistent weight loss and maintenance.
#2) Because it simplifies your day. Rather than having to prepare, pack, eat, and time your meals every 2-3 hours, you simply skip a meal or two and only worry about eating food in your eating window.
It’s one less decision you have to make every day.
It could allow you to enjoy bigger portioned meals (thus making your tastebuds and stomach satiated) and STILL eat fewer calories on average.
It’s a point that Coach Matt makes in this video on intermittent fasting:
#3) It requires less time (and potentially less money). Rather than having to prepare or purchase three to six meals a day, you only need to prepare two meals.
Instead of stopping what you’re doing six times a day to eat, you simply only have to stop to eat twice. Rather than having to do the dishes six times, you only have to do them twice.
Rather than having to purchase six meals a day, you only need to purchase two.
#4) It promotes stronger insulin sensitivity and increased growth hormone secretion, two keys for weight loss and muscle gain. Intermittent fasting helps you create a double whammy for weight loss and building a solid physique.
#5) It can level up your brain, including positively counteracting conditions like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and dementia.
As explained here in this TEDx talk by Mark Mattson, Professor at Johns Hopkins University and Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging, fasting is grounded in serious research and more studies are coming out showing the benefits:
#6) Plus, Wolverine does it:
If adamantium-clawed superheroes do Intermittent Fasting, it can probably work for you too, if you can make it work for your particular lifestyle and situation!
If you’ve tried implementing something like this in the past and not had success, I hear ya!
That was the specific problem we set out to solve when we created Nerd Fitness Journey, our fun habit-building app. The tasks and missions we assign are small – like drinking a glass of water or taking a 5-minute walk – so the steps you take won’t be too scary.
You can try out the app (including our Intermittent Fasting missions) for free right here:
In my own experimentation with Intermittent Fasting since 2014, I have found very few negative side effects with Intermittent Fasting.
The biggest concern most people have is that Intermittent Fasting will lead to lower energy, focus, and the “holy crap I am hungry” feeling during the fasting period and ruin them.
People are concerned that they will spend all morning being miserable because they haven’t consumed any food, and thus will be miserable at work and ineffective at whatever task it is they are working on.
The following are my thoughts and experiences, and your results may vary:
Yes, the initial transition from EATING ALL THE TIME, to intermittent fasting MIGHT be a bit of a jolt to your system; it was for me.
However, once I got through the transition after a few days, my body quickly adapted and learned to function just as well only eating a few times a day.
Although I fast for 16 hours per day with no issues, the following might help assuage your fears that skipping breakfast will cause your body to eat itself and your brain to implode:
After 48 hours of fasting in a recent study [12], “cognitive performance, activity, sleep, and mood are not adversely affected in healthy humans by two days of calorie-deprivation.” You’ll be fasting for far less time than that.
“So why do I feel grouchy and lethargic when I skip breakfast?”
In this nerd’s humble opinion, a good portion of the grumpiness is a result of past eating habits. If you eat every three hours normally, and normally eat as soon as you wake up, your body will start to get hungry every three hours as it is now used to consuming food every three hours.
If you eat breakfast every morning, your body expects to wake up and eat food.
Once you retrain your body to NOT expect food all day every day (or first thing in the morning), these side-effects become less of an issue. In addition, ghrelin (a hormone that makes you hungry [13]), is actually lowest in the mornings and decreases after a few hours of not eating too. The hunger pains will naturally pass!
Personally, I found this grumpiness subsided after a few days and now my mornings actually energize me.
It’s important to understand that Intermittent Fasting is NOT a cure-all panacea. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that if you skip breakfast and then eat 4,000 calories of candy bars for lunch and dinner that you will lose weight.
If you have an addictive relationship with food and you struggle with portion control, figure out your calorie goals and track your calorie intake in your meals to make sure you’re not overeating.
If you skip breakfast, you might be so hungry from this that you OVEREAT for lunch and this can lead to weight gain. Again, the important thing here is that with an intermittent fasting plan, you’re eating fewer calories than normal because you’re skipping a meal every day.
Think about it in caveman terms again. We certainly found ways to survive during periods of feast and famine, and that remains true today. Imagine if you needed to eat in order to be active and alert: what would hungry cavemen do?
They would go find food, and that probably required a ton of effort. It actually takes our bodies about 84 hours of fasting [14] before our glucose levels are adversely affected. As we’re talking about small fasts (16-24 hour periods), this doesn’t concern us.
AN IMPORTANT CAVEAT: Intermittent Fasting can be more complex for people who have issues with blood sugar regulation, suffer from hypoglycemia, have diabetes, etc. If you fit into this category, check with your doctor or dietitian before adjusting your eating schedule. It also affects women differently (there’s a whole section dedicated to that here).
You’re damn right you can!
(We have our big “how to build muscle” guide, in addition to a whole “Strength 101” series – and I’d recommend you read those if you’re looking for a place to start strength training.)
In fact, I have been intermittent fasting since 2015 while building muscle and decreasing my body fat percentage:
I still eat roughly the same number of calories I was consuming before, but instead of eating all damn day long, I condense all of my calorie consumption into an eight-hour window.
In a different method, my friend Nate Green packed on a crazy amount of muscle while fasting for a full 24 hours on Sundays – so it is possible. [15]
I’m not kidding when I say this has revolutionized how I look at muscle building and fat loss.
Ultimately, this method flies in the face of the typical “bulk and cut” techniques of overeating to build muscle (along with adding a lot of fat) before cutting calories to lose fat (along with some muscle) and settling down at a higher weight.
I prefer this method to the bulk-and-cut technique for a few reasons:
A note on BCAA consumption. Martin from LeanGains [17] recommends consuming Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) as a supplement with regards to fasted training to aid your muscles through your workout.
Personally, I used BCAAs for about 6-8 months during my initial start with fasted training (consuming them before training), though haven’t used them in the past 2+ years. I didn’t notice any adverse effects to not taking them with regard to my performance. Your value may vary!
Now, it should go without saying that if you want to build muscle while fasting, you need to work out. Specifically, by lifting heavy.
If you want help building a workout routine designed to create muscle, I have 3 options:
#1) “Build Your Own Workout Routine” and get your hands dirty. Our guide will walk you through building a full-body exercise program in 10 simple steps.
#2) Follow our Strength Building Guide and start training today. You’ll want to do lots of heavy compounds lifts like the Barbell Squat, Deadlift, Bench-Press, Dip, Bodyweight Row, Pull-ups, and Push-ups.
Get strong as hell, eat enough protein, and you’ll hit your goals.
#3) Try the workouts in our fun habit-building app, Nerd Fitness Journey!
NF Journey will guide you through a workout routine that can be done anywhere, all while creating your very own superhero! No guesswork needed, just follow the progression plan laid out in the app and grow strong!
You can give it a free test drive right here:
We have a crazy extensive guide on the Keto Diet in case you’re not familiar with it, so here it is in a nutshell:
By only eating fat and protein, your body must adapt to run on fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. In the absence of carbs/glucose, your body converts fats to ketones and uses them for fuel.
This process is called “ketosis,” and there are two ways for a body to enter ketosis:
We actually have an amazing success story here on Nerd Fitness, Larry, who followed our strategies, went Keto and start intermittent fasting. He ended up losing weight, getting stronger, AND overcame the challenges of rheumatoid arthritis (click on the image for his story)!
Here’s how the fasting portion of it works:
As your body enters a fast period when there are no sources of glucose energy readily available, the liver begins the process of breaking down fat into ketones.
Fasting itself can trigger ketosis.
Fasting for a period of time before kicking off a Keto-friendly eating plan COULD speed your transition into the metabolic state of ketosis, and fasting intermittently while in ketosis could help you maintain that state.
I personally love fasting for the simplicity: I skip breakfast every day and train in a fasted state. It’s one less decision I have to make, it’s one less opportunity to make a bad food choice, and it helps me reach my goals.
WHY KETO + IF WORKS = eating Keto can be really challenging. And every time you eat, it’s an opportunity to do it wrong and accidentally eat foods that knock you out of ketosis.
You’re also tempted to overeat.
So, by skipping a meal, you’re eliminating one meal, one decision, one chance to screw up.
Note: if you’re thinking “Steve, am I losing weight because I’m skipping 1/3rd of my meals for the day, AND eliminating an entire macronutrient?”, then you’d be right.
Both Keto and IF have secondary effects that could also be factoring in – physiological benefits which I explain in both articles.
Your value may vary!
You need to decide what works for you.
You probably won’t become “keto-adapted” (your body running on ketones) just skipping breakfast every day – your body will still have enough glucose stored from your carb-focused meals for lunch and dinner the day before.
In order to use fasting to enter ketosis, the fast needs to be long enough to deplete your carb/glucose stores, or you need to severely restrict carbohydrates from your meals in addition to IF in order to enter ketosis.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Experiment and try different strategies that will work for you.
By skipping a meal or minimizing carbohydrate intake, you’re more likely than not to lose weight:
Sticking with Keto is BRUTALLY difficult, and probably not the right diet for 98% of the planet. Those people would be better off following our “Start Eating Healthy” guide with small changes.
That’s actually why we designed Nerd Fitness Journey to be a step-by-step progression plan. Our nutrition adventure won’t have you abandoning all carbs on Day 1 (which probably won’t work), but instead will have you create small habits that you can follow permanently.
If this sounds like a winning strategy for you, check out our free trial of the app right here:
The quick answer is: “yes, Intermittent Fasting can affect men and women differently.”
Anecdotally, we have many women in our online coaching program that swear by Intermittent Fasting, while others have had adverse effects.
Let’s dig into the science and studies.
A recent PubMed summary concluded that “fasting can be prescribed as a safe medical intervention as well as a lifestyle regimen which can improve women’s health in many folds [18].
Now, in that extract, many of the studies cited are focused on specifically calorie restriction (and not just fasting), and they also say that “future studies should address this gap by designing medically supervised fasting techniques to extract better evidence.”
Digging into the PubMed Archives brought me to the following conclusions [19]:
One small study (with 8 men and 8 women, all non-obese) resulted in the following: “Glucose response to a meal was slightly impaired in women after 3 weeks of treatment, but insulin response was unchanged. Men had no change in glucose response and a significant reduction in insulin response.”[20]
Another small study (8 women) studied the effects on their menstrual cycles after a 72 hour fast – which is significantly longer than any fast recommended in this article: “in spite of profound metabolic changes, a 72-hour fast during the follicular phase does not affect the menstrual cycle of normal cycling women.” [21].
Yet another study tracked 11 women with 72 hour fasts (again, longer than we’d recommend) and it found that “Fasting in women elicited expected metabolic responses – included increased cortisol (a stress hormone) – and apparently advanced the central circadian clock (which can throw off sleeping patterns). [22]
Those studies above, in working with small sample sizes, and different types of fasting than recommended here, would lead me to believe that fasting affects men and women differently, and that many of the weight loss benefits associated with intermittent fasting (that affect insulin and glucose responses) work positively for men and negatively for women.
There are also a series of articles[23] out there that dig into the potential reproductive health issues, stress challenges, induction of early-menopause [24] associated with fasting (and calorie restriction) for women.
Precision Nutrition – a great resource – recommends not attempting Intermittent Fasting as a woman if:
The challenge associated with all of this is that there aren’t enough long-term studies, with large enough sample sizes, specifically targeting female humans, with relation to the different types of Intermittent Fasting.
ALL OF THIS TO SAY: It does appear that men and women will have different experiences with intermittent fasting; we’re all unique snowflakes (yep, especially you), and your body will be affected by intermittent fasting differently than the person next to you.
There is enough evidence as cited in the articles and studies above that would give me pause to recommend Intermittent Fasting for women, especially if you are considering getting pregnant in the near term.
If you are looking to attempt fasting for weight loss reasons, my research has shown me that Intermittent Fasting could be less effective for women than men with regards to weight loss, and thus you would be wise to keep your efforts elsewhere:
Now, if you’ve read the above warnings, you are still curious about Intermittent Fasting, and you want to give it a try as a female, that is your choice!
You know your body best.
So, get blood work done, speak with your doctor and get a check-up.
Give intermittent fasting a shot, track your results, and see how your body/blood work changes as a result of Intermittent Fasting and decide if it’s right for you.
Your mileage may vary, so speak with a doctor or find a doctor versed in intermittent fasting plans and treat it like an experiment on yourself!
1) “Won’t I get really hungry if I start skipping meals?”
As explained above, this can be a result of the habits you have built for your body. If you are constantly eating or always eat the same time of day, your body can actually learn to prepare itself for food by beginning the process of insulin production and preparation for food.
After a brief adjustment period, your body can adapt to the fact that it’s only eating a few times a day. The more overweight you are, and the more often you eat, the more of an initial struggle this might be.
Remember, your body’s physical and cognitive abilities most likely won’t be diminished as a result of short-term fasting.[25]
2) “Where will I get my energy for my workouts? Won’t I be exhausted and not be able to complete my workouts if fasting?”
This was a major concern of mine as well, but the research shows this might not be the case: “Training with limited carbohydrate availability can stimulate adaptations in muscle cells to facilitate energy production via fat oxidation.”[26]
In other words, when you train in a fasted state, your body can get better at burning fat for energy when there are no carbs to pull from!
3) “I like the idea of fasted training, but I work a regular 9-5 or a night shift and can’t train at 11AM as you do. What am I supposed to do?”
Depending on your training schedule, lifestyle, and goals, go back to the portion above where I talk about the 16/8 protocol and simply adjust your hours of fasting and feasting.
LeanGains digs into various options here, but here is really what you need to know:
Do what you can, and don’t psyche yourself out! Get started and adjust along the way.
4) “Won’t fasting cause muscle loss?”
We’ve been told by the supplement industry that we need to consume 30 g of protein every few hours, as that’s the most amount of protein our body can process at a time.
Along with that, we’ve been told that if we don’t eat protein every few hours, our body’s muscle will start to break down to be burned as energy.
Again, NOT TRUE! Our bodies are quite adept at preserving muscle even when fasting [27], and it turns out that protein absorption by our body can take place over many many many hours.
Not only that, but you can even burn fat AND build muscle at the same time if you have the right system in place!
Protein consumed in a shorter period of time has no difference on the body compared to protein spread throughout the day.
5) “What about my body going into starvation mode from not eating?”
Now, the thought process here is that when we don’t feed ourselves, our bodies assume calories aren’t available and thus choose to store more calories as opposed to burning them, therefore eliminating the benefits of weight loss with fasting.
Fortunately, this is NOT true.
Starvation mode is significantly overblown and sensationalized these days. It takes a dramatic amount of starvation, for a long, long, long time, before your body kicks into “starvation mode”. We’re talking about 24-hour or 16-hour fasts here, and starvation mode takes significantly longer than that.[28]
In other words: starvation mode should not be factoring into your decision here.
5) How much should I eat while intermittent fasting?
Simple: Eat for your goals! You do know how many calories you should eat every day, right?
If your goal is weight loss, you still need to consume fewer calories than you burn every day to lose weight. If your goal is bulking up, you’ll need to consume more calories than you burn every day. Intermittent Fasting isn’t a cure-all, it’s a PART of the puzzle.
To start, begin intermittent fasting and eat your normal sized meals and track your weight and performance. If you are losing weight and happy with the progress, keep doing what you’re doing! If you are NOT losing weight, you could be eating too much. It’s a message I really strike home in our guide “Why Can’t I Lose Weight?”
That’s why you should track your calories for a week, and then target a 10% reduction in calories and continue. Here’s a calculator for you to determine the amount of calories you need daily.
Lastly, if you want a plan for slowly “wading into the water” calorie restriction, check out our new app!
Nerd Fitness Journey has missions where you tally the calories you normally eat, keep a food journal, and plan your next meal. We do all of this BEFORE we recommend even taking any food off your plate.
To learn more on why, start your free trial right here:
#1) Don’t freak out! Stop wondering: “can I fast 15 hours instead of 16?” or “what if I eat an apple during my fasted period, will that ruin everything?” Relax. Your body is a complex piece of machinery and learns to adapt. Everything is not as cut and dry as you think.
If you want to eat breakfast one day but not another, that’s okay. If you are going for optimal aesthetic or athletic performance, I can see the need to be more rigid in your discipline, but otherwise…freaking chill out and don’t stress over minutiae!
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good when it comes to your intermittent fasting plan.
#2) Consider fasted walks in the morning. I found these to be very helpful in reducing body fat, and also gave my day a great start to clear my mind and prepare for the day.
Simply wake up and go for a mile walk. Maybe you could even start walking to Mordor?
#3) Listen to your body during your strength training workouts. If you get lightheaded, make sure you are consuming enough water.
If you notice a significant drop in performance, make sure you are eating enough calories (especially fats and protein) during your feasting window.
And if you feel severely “off,” pause your workout. Give yourself permission to EASE into intermittent fasting and fasted workouts. This is especially true if you are an endurance athlete.
#4) Expect funny looks if you spend a lot of mornings with breakfast eaters.
A few weeks back I had a number of friends staying with me, and they were all completely dumbfounded when I told them I didn’t eat breakfast anymore.
I tried to explain it to them but received a bunch of blank stares. Breakfast has become so enGRAINed (zing!) in our culture that NOT eating it sounds crazy.
You will get weird looks from those around you…embrace it. I still go to brunch or sit with friends, I just drink black coffee and enjoy a conversation.
#5) Stay busy. If you are just sitting around thinking about how hungry you are, you’ll be more likely to struggle with this. For that reason, I time my fasting periods for maximum efficiency and minimal discomfort:
#6) Zero-calorie beverages are okay. I drink green tea in the morning for my caffeine kick while writing. If you want to drink water, black coffee, or tea during your fasted period, that’s okay. Remember, don’t overthink it – keep things simple! Although be aware that Dr. Rhonda Patrick over at FoundMyFitness believes that a fast should stop at the first consumption of anything other than water, so experiment yourself and see how your body responds.
If you want to put milk in your coffee, or drink diet soda occasionally while fasting, I’m not going to stop you. Remember, we’re going for consistency and habit-building here – if milk or cream in your coffee makes life worth living, don’t deprive yourself.
There are MUCH bigger fish to fry with regards to getting healthy than a few calories here and there during a fast.
80% adherence that you stick with for a year is better than 100% adherence that you abandon after a month because it was too restrictive.
If you’re trying to get to a minimum bodyfat percentage, you’ll need to be more strict – until then, however, do what allows you to stay compliant!
#7) Track your results, listen to your body:
#8) Don’t expect miracles. Yes, Intermittent Fasting can potentially help you lose weight, increase insulin sensitivity and growth hormone secretion (all good things), but it is only ONE factor in hundreds that will determine your body composition and overall health. Don’t expect to drop to 8% body fat and get ripped just by skipping breakfast.
We cover all of this throughout our online courses in Nerd Fitness Prime, but you need to focus on building healthy habits, eating better foods, and getting stronger.
This is just one tool that can contribute to your success.
Intermittent fasting can potentially have some very positive benefits for somebody trying to lose weight or gain lean body mass.
Men and women will tend to have different results, just like each individual person will have different results. The ONLY way to find out is through a conversation with your doctor and self-experimentation.
There are multiple ways to “do” an Intermittent Fasting Plan:
After that, get started! Take photos, step on the scale, and track your progress for the next month.
See how your body responds.
See how your physique changes. See how your workouts change.
And then decide if it’s something you want to keep doing!
4 years later, I have no plans on going back to eating breakfast. Sorry General Mills and Dr. Kellogg!
If you’re worried about all of this stuff, or aren’t sure when to eat and stop eating, try out our new app!
The Intermittent Fasting Adventure within Nerd Fitness Journey was specifically designed for a beginner who is interested in experimenting with fasting.
Plus, if you learn fasting isn’t for you, you can follow along with other nutrition adventures for sustainable paths for weight loss.
You can try it for free right here:
But enough about me, let’s talk about you!
I’d love to hear what questions you have!
Thanks for leaving your comment, I’m excited to get the conversation started.
-Steve
PS: Before you take off, grab our Intermittent Fasting Worksheet to help you start your fasting practice:
Download a free intermittent fasting guide and worksheet!
PPS: Make sure you check out the rest of our guides on losing weight:
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