GYMCADDY™ Explains Intermittent Fasting

The GYMCADDY™ team is made up of different types of lifters. Some are bodybuilders, others are powerlifters, and some are crossfitters. We have all tried If It Fits Your Macros, "Clean Eating" , the Atkins diet, Low Carb, High Carb, No Carb, the Paleo diet, and the caveman diet. In this article we will breakdown Intermittent fasting and go over the pros and cons. Remember to consult a physician before starting any new diet or workout regiment. Also remember to pick up your GYMCADDY™ HERE. 

You might be asking, "what is intermittent fasting", "what is a fasting diet", or "what are the benefits of intermittent fasting".  Intermittent fasting doesn't restrict the types of foods you can eat like most diets, but it restricts the times you can eat. For the most part you will designate a certain time length to fast and another time length to consume your daily calories. You're essentially breaking everyday into to two phases, a fasting period where you don't consume any calories and only drink water. And an "Eating window", a designated time length where you consume all of your daily calories.  There are even certain "difficulty levels" , some choose the 16 hour fast 8 hour eating window, others choose the 18 hour fast 6 hour eating window, and there are even others that do a 20 hour fast and 4 hour eating window. Obviously the longer the fast the harder it is to stick to. 

Now that we know the core basis of intermittent fasting, lets break down exactly when we can and can't eat. 

Remember that the time you spend sleeping COUNTS towards your fast. So if you're doing a 16 hour fast with an 8 hour eating window and sleeping 8 hours a night that means you only need to go 8 waking hours without eating. For example, if you go to bed at 10pm, and wake up at 8am then you can break your fast at 11am. Your eating window will essentially be from 11am to 6pm. This eating window is the designated time where you will consume all of your calories for the day. You can shift your eating window up or back if you'd like. Personally I like to shift my eating window back to 1pm to 9pm. Which means I would have had eaten all of my calories by 9pm in the evening. Like we mentioned before you can extend your fast and shrink your eating window if you'd like. Some say the longer the fasting window the more potent the results, but that still has yet to be proven . 

So what are the benefits of Intermittent fasting?

Let me be the first to tell you that Intermittent fasting is tough when you first start. You're going to feel hungry, and you might be a little grumpy. But intermittent fasting has been suggested to be an effective weight loss tool, with research supporting its ability to increase fat oxidation, reduce body weight, and accelerate fat loss. Some people including the GYMCADDY™ team have reported having more energy while they workout and throughout the day. There are even some people who claim it helps you live longer (still yet to be proven). Intermittent fasting paired with a proper nutrition plan can be a very powerful tool to help you get over that weight loss plateau. 

But be Cautious!

Intermitten Fasting is great and all and we've had great success doing it. But make sure if you're feeling a little dizzy or drowsy to stop immediately, sit down and eat something. It is imperative that you have a healthy relationship with food and understand what a proper nutrition plan looks like. We definitely wouldn't recommend intermittent fasting to someone who is anorexic or borderline anorexic. Its imperative you have self control.