Why Fasting is the Quickest Way to Drop Pounds

I speak of this because I know the journey of weight gain, weight loss and everything in between. Cravings being at the core. As a technically obese person now, I speak firsthand about the success I have had from fasting. There have been 3 times in my life that I have lost significant weight from basically lowering my intake of food/calories. In short, all I was doing was fasting. You can call it OMAD or intermittent, but these methods allowed me to get out of the overweight category as a 12 year old in a month and a half time frame (losing 30 lbs). Into my ideal range at the age of 23 (60lbs), and on my way back there now at 32. The significance of me going through it now is that I have recognized my patterns and what I fail at and what has worked. In short, when I don't eat for a day, I lose two pounds by the next morning. If I do OMAD (one meal a day), I can lose 1 pound by the next morning or two if I don't overdo it and eat exceptionally light (like vegetables and a low carb). Keeping it up over time will allow me to reach my goal weight in a few months time frame if I can minimize my stress and navigate social food setbacks like seeing a treat on the kitchen table and avoiding big dinners. Taking in liquids that revive me like fresh water and mineral salts, celery juice, coconut water, or maybe coffee keep me in a steady and satisfied state. I am convinced that this works. I have lost 22 pounds so far in a month and a half and I feel great. The fasting has kept my cravings at bay, which in turn has kept me in a positive mental state. I'm not spiralling, yo-yoing back and forth, though I do think that learning about yourself is the greatest gain from that experience. Yes, fasting is the way for me, and it could be for you. Not for just losing weight but just for the mental clarity. It's a journey though, so be prepared for the long haul.

Intermittent fasting has its roots in evolution and the early caveman period when the people savored their meal because they didn't know exactly when the next one would come. Nowadays its more of a counter-culture necessity for those who ever want to master their bodies and minds in this modern luxury of food abundance. For those who haven't heard, it's a period of time gone without eating, with a small window during the day to do just that. For example, 16:8 means 16 hours fasted from the last time you ate, with a window of 8 hours to eat. Not that you have to eat the whole 8 hours. There's variations of this method where people go longer, 20:4, or 40:8. The idea is that your are giving your body time to rest digestively, to rejuvenate cells and shed unwanted pounds, or to keep pounds from coming back when you eat again. I know people who have gone days in this state and have a renewed sense of energy. They are only consuming water and minerals. With that said, I have to introduce to you a protocol that has helped me finally take back control. You may have heard of the Snake Diet founded by Cole Robinson. It's a system where you fast on 'snake juice' until you reach your desired weight, with refeeds in between. The first 24 hours fasted is to obtain a ketosis state that puts your metabolism into constant fat-burning mode, where your liver no longer uses glucose or glycogen as its primary energy source, but now stored fat. That is where the term 'keto' comes from. Foods that are keto keep you in this fat-burning state, and consist of protein and low-carb vegetables. Though, in this protocol, you can have low-carb fruit as well. The snake juice is made of 2 liters of water with 1 teaspoon of electrolytes to keep your head from spinning and getting headaches throughout the fast. The minerals are sodium, potassium chloride, and sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda. Magnesium is optional and people say it helps with cravings. The next phase is to do a 72 hour fast with a refeed (eating again) at the 72 hour mark, though I personally have had difficulty doing them and find success doing 24s and 48s. Shameen Miller, a representative of his program who translates his videos on her Youtube channel, hosts a Facebook group called Rolling 48s that helps people stay on track throughout the month doing 40 hours of fasting while eating in an 8 hour window. The group has about 2300 members, with people sharing success stories, what's working for them, asking questions, while encouraging each other along the way. It's really an awesome group. Both Cole and Shameen can be found on Facebook and Youtube.