The No-BS Method to Help You Achieve Your Desired Body

Stop the presses! There’s a new, revolutionary health method that will help you lose unwanted weight, provide mental clarity throughout the day and might even help you live longer, according to experts. It’s called intermittent fasting. 

OK, maybe it’s not new, but it can definitely improve your health if applied correctly and you stay committed. 

What in the Heck is Intermittent Fasting?

For those who don’t know, intermittent fasting is when you alternate between periods of fasting and eating. It’s not a complete fast – you’re not looking to test the limits of the human body here or anything – but you’ll most likely be eating much less throughout the day than you might be currently accustomed to, so make sure to keep that in mind before starting.

There are many ways to approach intermittent fasting to experience its benefits. You can start by reducing your daily meals to just two full meals, staying in a caloric deficit and applying fasting every other day or whatever you’re comfortable with. 

That’s the beauty of intermittent fasting as opposed to a regular fast –  the guidelines and rules are entirely up to you. For beginners, I like to give a special shoutout to the 16/8 rule. 

What’s the 16/8 rule, you might be thinking to yourself? I’m glad you asked. The 16/8 rule is when you fast for 16 hours a day and fit all your meals within an eight-hour window. This is the approach I use and when coupled with eating healthy and exercising regularly, you’ll start seeing results in no time. 

Pretty simple, right? Right!

Intermittent fasting can be a great option to help you lose weight and achieve an end-of-summer body before the sun is gone. However, the benefits extend beyond those of physical appearance – it has many other valuable advantages, too.

A Myriad of Health Benefits

UCLA Health reports that by consistently practicing intermittent fasting, you may:

• “Banish brain fog by forcing you to get energy from stored fat (a process called ketosis) instead of sugar
• Decrease your risk for diabetes by controlling blood sugar and reducing your body’s resistance to insulin, the hormone that helps control the amount of sugar in the blood
• Help you lose visceral fat, the harmful fat around the abdomen that causes disease
• Improve sleep by regulating your circadian rhythm (internal clock) and moving digestion earlier in the day
• Protect your heart by reducing blood pressure and improving cholesterol levels
• Reduce inflammation, which can improve conditions such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis and asthma.”

I know what you’re thinking: this sounds too good to be true, but stay with me because it only gets better. 

According to Healthline.com, various studies have discovered profound health results associated with intermittent fasting. A study done in 2017 found it can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, may help prevent cancer and may help you live longer as a result. 

Music to my ears. 

Now, I know this all might sound a bit extreme and far-fetched, and I haven’t conducted my own studies to confirm any of those bold claims (yet), but at the very least, in my personal experience, what I can confirm is that intermittent fasting DOES help keep my weight at bay and helps me focus on my daily tasks without needing to spend valuable mental energy on when and what I’m going to eat next. 

Thanks to intermittent fasting, my brain is programmed to eat at a specific time, thus focusing on more important and pressing matters, like getting this article done – ha!

“This sounds great and all, Marck, but I can’t function without my morning coffee! It’s my favorite part of the day! Won’t that get in the way of the wasting period?” 

I hear you and believe me, I share your sentiment, so let’s briefly touch on coffee.

For all of my black coffee lovers out there, good news: black coffee won’t interrupt the intermittent fasting period, so you can enjoy that precious cup of Joe worry-free! Woot! 

My double-vanilla-extra-whip-cream-with-six-packets-of-sugar latte lovers out there, bad news: your drink will interrupt the fasting period. No woot. 

Again, if you want to see results, you must stay committed to the cause and you’ll have to make some sacrifices along the way. 

Here’s a silver lining: black coffee is healthier and cheaper than your over-sweetened drink anyway, so why not give that a try, too?

Implementing something new can be difficult, especially if you are used to eating at particular times each day, but remember; you can always start small. Life’s all about baby steps. I’m sure I’ve said that before.

Stay Cautious

Humans come in all shapes and sizes and as great as intermittent fasting can be, it isn’t for everyone. As with all health diets, make sure to consult with your primary healthcare physician before starting intermittent fasting to see if it’s a good option for you,

As stated by UCLA, the following people should avoid this diet method unless under the close supervision of a physician:

• Children and teens under 18
• People with advanced diabetes or on medication for diabetes
• People with a history of eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women

Elevator Pitch

In a nutshell, here’s the elevator pitch: if you’re looking for a way to get your desired spring/summer/fall/whatever body with long-term health benefits and have spoken with your primary health physician, look no further than intermittent fasting. It’s not the most challenging diet out there and it has proven worthwhile.

It’s worked wonders for me and chances are, if appropriately implemented and you combine it with a healthy and active lifestyle, it’ll work wonders for you, too.