I'm sure all of us in the weight-loss world have been exposed to the hype of intermittent fasting at some point.
It is supposedly the new method of torching fat, and even has health benefits such as prevention of cancer, stroke and heart disease.
Well, I was recently enlightened on this topic, mostly from a successful friend of mine on MFP in the weight-loss sense. And what source is more reputable than one who has tried, and succeeded?
She does the IF of 18/6 - 18 hours fasting, 6 hours eating window. This suits my lifestyle exceptionally well, as I am sleeping or at school for most of the fasting hours.
So I said, I'm going to do it.
After conducting some research and many tiring questions, (sorry, M), I devised a 3-component plan.
Firstly, there's the fasting (obviously). I plan to fast in the pattern of 18/6 as well, and gradually work my way up to 20/4. According to nowloss.com, 16-20 hours of fasting empowers your body to metabolise fat to its maximum ability. During the fasting period, you are allowed to consume sugar-free gum (yay!), black coffee, plain tea and lots and lots of water.
I also plan to combine intermittent fasting with a low-carb-high-protein diet, so as to maximise fat burning for energy, rather than carbs. I also find that low-carb helps suppress my appetite a lot more than, say, the SGD diet. However, it is not essential for IF, but I find that it will help with bf% reduction.
So from now on, I will be eating plenty of chicken breast, tuna in springwater, boiled basa fish and grilled salmon, as well as leafy vegetables, tomatoes, carrots, capsicum, cucumbers, celery and the like. Also on the list are nuts, protein powder, shiritaki noodles and sugar-free...stuff. All sugars are carbs, so avoiding that will hopefully mean avoiding carbs.
Number three is coconut oil. I've never actually stuck to this for long enough, but from today onward I am consuming 1-2 teaspoon of extra-virgin, cold-pressed, unrefined coconut oil. I have had the Melrose extra-virgin, cold-pressed, unrefined coconut oil butter at home for a while now, for cosmetic purposes. It's amazing as a body moisturiser, eye make up remover, and hair treatment. It's also full of MCTs, which are readily utilised for energy rather than being converted into fat.
And there you have it. FLCC: Fasting, Low-Carb and Coconut oil.
I began trying on Sunday for 18 hours, but broke it at 16.5 hours with chocolate cake. I also went over my calorie goal, but I evened it out from free calories the day before and tomorrow (today). So I didn't do low-carb, but still got 16+ hours of IF.
Today, I did 18 hours of fasting, and my first meal was a delicious salad. I also took my coconut oil and sugar-free gum. It is quite important to break the fast with something healthy, so the body doesn't store as much fat. Dinner will be another salad, along with coconut oil, and a protein shake is coming up right about now.
So yeah. I really can't wait to see if IF works or not. I'm determined to stick with it for at least a week (how long they say it takes to start working), and I will report on my (potential) weight loss then.
