In this post, we’re going to discuss how to do intermittent fasting properly and strategies to make fat loss downright effortless.
Now, I’ve been utilizing intermittent fasting for the last five years. That said, it’s only been the last 1-2 years that I’ve really seen amazing results. This post will outline the best possible way on how to do intermittent fasting and some of my latest findings to help you achieve your fat loss goals with ease.
First things first – getting to a very low body fat is very, very difficult.
Pretty much everyone who’s lean puts in a ton of effort to stay in such a lean condition. I used to be one of them – until it burnt me out and I had to find a much more enjoyable strategy to stay lean.
Interestingly enough, it’s really hard for me not to be lean by utilizing some tips that we’ll get to in a minute.
First though, I’d like to talk about the best strategies for how to do intermittent fasting and why I think it is the best diet strategy.
What Are The Benefits of Fasting?
1)By pushing your first meal later into the day, you give yourself a ton of dietary freedom. Now you have just a couple meals to hit your calories. This means you can eat big, delicious meals, while dropping fat!
2)Intermittent fasting is amazing for productivity. When you no longer have to worry about preparing, cleaning and eating first thing in the morning and during the day, you can get way more work done
3)Intermittent fasting will increase fat mobilization and even spare muscle protein, this is due to the massive increase in growth hormone
4)Intermittent fasting has life extension benefits and has been shown to reduce the risk of numerous diseases. Mark Sisson has a great article on the health benefits of Fasting.
How To do intermittent fasting
1) Forget about the eating window, it is restrictive and unnecessary. Instead, simply focus on pushing your first meal 4-8 hours after rising. You don’t need to break your fast or end your fast the same time, each day. That is extremely restrictive. The only rule is to push your first meal after rising.
2) Don’t think about fasting. Just go about your day, and understand this is very good for you, and this is what your body is designed to do. Your body will kick up energy through increasing fat mobilization. Going without breakfast isn’t a big deal!
3) Use black coffee or cafe americanos (my favorite is Fasting Fuel), strategically to blunt appetite. One really powerful trick is to wait at-least 1-2 hours before utilizing black coffee. This will increase the appetite suppressing effects. Also, I recommend only using caffeine during the fasted state and at no other time. This will ensure your body maintains a sensitivity to caffeine.
4) Drink some sparkling water during the fast to increase fullness and to dissolve any hunger. So, does sparkling water break a fast? For our purposes, no.
5) Break your fast with 1-2 pieces of fruit. The first sign of hunger, typically, is a depletion in liver glycogen. So if you break your fast with some fruit, you can stave off hunger for a couple more hours, with only 80-160 calories. Pushing your first meal later, will make dieting easier!
6) When it comes time to eat, listen to your body. You don’t want to be hungry during the feeding window. In the past, I was too strict on my diet, with intermittent fasting, and it only backfired. Contrarily, if you’re full, it’s okay to go lower in calories if you’re satisfied. You’ll just lean up faster!
7) Eat foods that really fill you up and satisfy you on your calorie intake. For me, this is plenty of meat, veggies, potatoes, pop chips and really good quality milk chocolate.
8) You don’t have to have 2-3 conventional meals. You can have one main meal and some smaller snacks. You can be very flexible with the diet. It’s okay to eat right before bed, it will not interfere with fat loss at all.
What Else Can You Do To Make Intermittent Fasting Easy?
Another important strategy for how to do intermittent fasting properly is eating the right foods.
If you’re looking for amazing meals to eat on your intermittent fasting plan, I definitely recommend checking out KinoChef!
Oh and one other, very cool tip, that works extremely well, is to break your main meal up.
Instead of eating the protein and carbs together. Fill up on an epic portion of meat, then, 30 minutes to 2 hours later, indulge in a plate of potato wedges or fries. By splitting the meal up, you’ll keep yourself fuller for longer! Cool, eh ;)
