The Joy of Hunger

I have lost nearly thirty pounds in the last two months through a miracle called Intermittent Fasting. Most specifically, I eat ONE MEAL A DAY. This usually consists of a lot of fat, moderate protein, and virtually NO CARBS (breads, grains, starchy vegetables such as peas and potatoes, etc.)

Since then, I have gone from being a type-2 diabetic that required Metformin to function, to having virtually perfect blood sugars ( between 90-115). I have dropped the weight, have more energy, and an increased sense of mental clarity that I cannot even begin to describe.

I work out (both cardio and weights) in this fasted state; and, where as before I was not getting very far with weight loss goals, no matter how often or strenuously I worked out, now, I am leaner, meaner, and still able to exert the energy needed to go to the gym.

What's more, I now have TIME, wonderful, precious time, to get things done, to accomplish those things that got crowded out by my eating schedule. I eat once a day at 4 P.M. The rest of the day, I am only drinking water, carbonated water, BLACK coffee, or unsweetened Green Tea. No calories in. None.

And the body transformation, the improved digestion, the energy and the focus is, really, nothing short of a miracle.

You will hear much about a state called "Ketosis." It's when your body burns off the glycogen stored from eating carbohydrates, and, instead, begins to burn your stored BODY FAT as energy. resulting in all the good stuff you want to have happen in your body, such as an increase in human growth hormone, and hormones suh as ghrelin and leptin, which regulate fat burning and hunger. Eventually, if you fast longer than thirty-six hours, you hit a state called "autophagy"--a point in which your cells, starved of nutrients, begin to cannibalize themselves. This may sound bad at first, but, in reality, is quite good, as cells begin to regenerate, cleaning up the "bad stuff" lurking within, such as cancer cells.

People are eating way too much these days; and, to quote one fitness trainer, "You're fat, because you eat too many carbs." The human body, a mechanism evolved from hunter-gatherers that foraged for food for DAYS sometimes without eating, was, most decidedly, NOT meant to be digesting "three meals a day." That's a lot of energy expended on just digesting! Worse, the insulin needed to burn off the sugar from this, especially in the high-carb American fast food diet--is giving people type-two diabetes, and ensuring a premature death. Obesity, a national epidemic, is projected to soon affect nearly HALF of ALL Americans.

But, with Intermittent Fasting, we can reverse the course. We can turn the tide in this health crisis.

There are different ways to Intermittent Fast. One, start off by going twelve hours between meals, just skipping breakfast. This will be easier because the sleep schedule will consume a number of those hours. Eat at noon or just after, and have an "eating window" of twelve hours where you eat normally. It has been suggested this is best for women.

A step up from this is called "16:8", which means to fast for sixteen hours, and have an eight-hour eating window in which you eat normally. So you could eat from noon to eight p.m. and then fast for sixteen hours, eating again about noon the next day.

Going up in level of extremeness would be "20:4", a variation that is the same as above, but just leaving you a four hour "eating window."

After that, the most extreme, is "OMAD"; or, "One Meal a Day." meaning literally just that. This is the diet I do. You eat ONE meal, a large one, and, hopefully, primarily made up of FATS and some protein, and almost NO CARBS...and then you fast the rest of the time.

And the pounds just melt away, as the definition gets tighter with the muscles, and the mind becomes more clear.

Now, is it possible to binge eat and still IF? Of course! And, if you want to lose the weight, you should take care, even with OMAD, NOT to overeat, even with a "large" meal. Listen to your body. Eventually, too, your capacity to eat a large amount of food will diminish severely, particularly as you divest yourself of carbs. You simply will NOT be able to eat that much. And hunger will become not an issue.

I recommend this to ANYONE that is struggling with weight issues of diabetes. It almost seems like a miracle.

Of course, IF is NOT for everyone. People with low blood sugar, or pregnant women, should not do it. Also, I am not a medical professional in any capacity, so anyone beginning a new diet regimen should consult their doctor first.

Here is a video detailing the radical body transformation of one individual through Intermittent Fasting:

The final dimension here to be appreciated is the SPIRITUAL dimension. ALL the world religions and forms of mysticism recommend fasting as a way of shrugging off the shackles of the world, of getting "closer to God." Whether or not though you even believe in God, fasting marks you out from the common individual stuffing their face with Big Macs, or slurping down sundaes and munching fries all day, every day, day in and day out, until they are diabetic. It shows you who you are inside, what you are capable of. So, in that sense, it is also a healer.

Happy fasting!