Intermittent Fasting: Eating in an Eight Hour Daily Window

Eating in an Eight Hour Daily Window

• Begin to Progressively Delay Eating First Meal Until 10 AM to Noon 
• May Have Coffee, Tea and Water and Milk--No More Than a Total of 50 Calories
• Exercise Prior to Eating (But Not More Than 30 Minutes Prior to Eating)
• Avoid Any Psychological Temptation to Eat More During First Meal
• Eat Three Meals (Limit Carbohydrates to 30--60 G Per Meal--Daily 110--200 G)
• Two Small Snacks only if Hungry (Veggies, Nuts, Yogurt, Nut Butters & Fruit)
• Drink at Least Eight Glasses of Water During the Day
• Eat Dinner Six to Eight Hours After the First Meal
• Alter to Fit Your Body Needs and Lifestyle (Any Time Reduction May Help)
• Adapt for Social Reasons with No Guilt (Having Fun with Family and Friends is Important---This is Only One Tool in a Big Bag of Tricks to Burn Fat)
• Challenge Yourself and Do These Suggested Tips for Two Weeks (Did Your Ability to Burn Fat and Lose Weight Improve?)
•  If Yes, Begin to Incorporate as an Eating Lifestyle

Now that you have begun to implement the initial information of, Veggie HIIT Adventure: A Path to Weight Loss and Healthy Eating, or might be experiencing a plateau in your weight loss, perhaps you are up for an additional adventure challenge to assist with weight loss?  If so let's explore the principles of intermittent fasting. Let's go!

There are a variety of different types and techniques of intermittent fasting. This article lists five  popular methods:  http://dailyburn.com/life/health/intermittent-fasting-methods/  Striving to reduce the daily eating window to an eight hour period is one that seems to be the most popular and easiest to follow for most people. It was for me. The list above are the intermittent fasting principles I follow and have done so for the past 17 months, during my 52 pound weight loss.

Here's a few suggestions for getting started, which I found were not difficult to integrate into my retired lifestyle. Gradually each day delay eating your first meal by a half hour until you have been up in the morning 3-5 hours (usually somewhere around 10 am to noon) before your first meal. Enjoy morning coffee, tea and water prior to your meal. Milk or a creamer can be added as long as the calories don't exceed 50 calories during the intermittent fast. My first meal frequently still is composed of "traditional" breakfast foods, such as eggs but also with at least half of my meal being vegetables. Is my weight loss due to intermittent fasting?  It is hard to say for sure--as I've implemented a lot of lifestyle changes that have contributed to this weight loss--but what I can say with certainty is I'm eating less food.  And likely due to my first meal being around 11:00 am while I strive to stop eating at 7 or 8 pm dependent on family needs.

If you work in the mornings, you likely will need to alter these principles to your current lifestyle situation. For example, consider making a smoothie or preparing other food to take with you to eat, either at work, on the road, or during other activities, sometime around 10-11 am perhaps during a coffee/water break time.

I recommend adapting your eating schedule for social reasons, as your emotional and mental health are also important and are primarily fed through social relationships. Personally, I don't think it is healthy to be rigid about intermittent fasting or for that matter anything--except creating and maintaining strong relationships with people who matter to us. Strong relationships are important to our emotional and mental health so be cautious not to allow intermittent fasting to interfere with sharing time or a meal with people who are important to you.

Since intermittent fasting currently is one of the buzz concepts for weight loss, one can easily find internet information. I have included some of the sites and articles I have found useful in  providing information and may increase your understanding on the concept of intermittent fasting.

The graphic below is taken from Dr. Mercola's website which clearly outlines the major principles of this technique. While the principles of intermittent fasting as he describes them are fairly universally accepted, know that much of his advice on other medical topics is highly controversial and suspect. They should be carefully reviewed bearing this in mind prior to implementing them.  Additionally, I am always suspect of health websites like Dr. Mercola's where the content supports sale of various products.  I do not believe you need to buy any supplement or expensive protein drink from anyone's website, as local retailers such as Costco have "Muscle Milk Protein", which is a fine protein shake mix or an addition to your smoothie for an economical price. Link: www.mercola.com/infographics/intermittent-fasting.htm 

Another source on intermittent fasting http://lifehacker.com/what-ive-learned-from-2-years-of-intermittent-fasting-1458916019 , which also provide a link to an audio podcast may be helpful, especially for auditory learners.

So in summary, if you have mastered the major concepts of Veggie HIIT Adventure: A Path to Weight Loss and Healthy Eating, or if you have plateau in your weight loss, try the additional adventure challenge of intermittent fasting.  I think you'll find like many others have, it isn't hard to delay your first meal and might just be the eating technique that jump starts further weight loss.