Is Intermittent Fasting Right for You?
Intermittent fasting (I.F) has become a hot topic in the health and fitness community over the past few years. Basically, it involves fasting for the majority of the day and then fitting all of your meals into a shortened “feeding window”. There are many ways to do it, but the usual format is 16 hours of fasting with an 8 hour feeding window – a method popularized by Martin Berkhan of Leangains. Most people choose a feeding window from 1pm to 9pm and then fast for the remainder of the night up until 1pm the next day.
Many lifters have begun intermittent fasting with great results to their physique, but it’s not for everyone. In my experience practicing intermittent fasting for nearly a decade and working with clients, I’ve found that intermittent fasting really shines in several ways.
If one or more of these sounds like you, then intermittent fasting might be exactly what you’re looking for.
- You’re busy in the mornings
- You have low activity levels
- You have a smaller frame
- You’re social in the evenings
- You have a big appetite
- You have a sweet tooth
- You’re dieting
- You want to stay lean all year
Let’s look at each of them in more detail to see if intermittent fasting is right for you or not. Click on any of the items in the table of contents below to be shuttled to that topic.
You’re Busy in the Mornings
If you’re like most people, you get up early in the morning and go to school or work.
With a normal meal schedule, that means you might have to get up even EARLIER to fix yourself a breakfast that you don’t even get to enjoy because of the morning rush. You might also have to prep another meal to have in the mid-morning if you’re on a higher meal frequency that you also don’t get to enjoy because you’re in class or at work.
Intermittent fasting solves this problem. You wake up and skip all that nonsense. Instead, you sleep in a bit more, fix yourself some coffee, and go about your day until it’s time to break the fast.
Then you relax and enjoy your meal – a meal that’s larger than you would otherwise have.
Many people who do intermittent fasting also report higher productivity and focus in the mornings due to the lack of food focus. In fact, I’m fasted as I’m writing this article right now!
You Have Low Activity Levels
If you have a very active job or crazy workouts that mean you have a high calorie requirement, intermittent fasting probably isn’t the best thing for you. But chances are, you ride a desk for most of the day and have pretty typical gym workouts that don’t burn a ton of calories.
For people like this, intermittent fasting can be a lifesaver. Rather than settle for smaller, unsatisfying meals throughout the day, you get to enjoy larger, more filling meals and go to bed happy.
You Have a Smaller Frame
If you have a smaller frame like the average woman or shorter man, then you don’t burn many calories every day – especially if you also have low activity levels and typical bodybuilding workouts.
Having a fulfilling diet off of only 2000 calories or less a day can be hard with a standard meal frequency. Intermittent fasting can be great for these people.
You’re Social in the Evenings
Most of the fun in life happens at night. That means that most of the good food and drinks also happen at night.
What do you do if you only have 500 calories left in your calorie budget for the day and are going out to a nice dinner or night out with friends? You’re screwed.
Intermittent fasting can be great for these situations because you probably have 1000 calories or more left to work with. Even if you’re just unwinding at home for the evening like most people do during the weekdays, it’s much nicer knowing you can enjoy a nice big meal and go to bed content and satisfied without worrying about fat gain.
You Have a Big Appetite
If you’re anything like me, you’ve got a big appetite and like to throw down at meal time. Regular meal frequencies only leave you wanting more like an itch you can’t scratch.
Intermittent fasting is great if you have a big appetite. You are in fasting mode for the majority of the day and then get to eat until you’re full when it’s meal time. Hunger isn’t a problem when you’ve adapted to fasting, and any hunger you do feel is gone as quick as it comes or easily solved by some water, coffee, tea, or sugar-free gum.
There is something that’s just so primally satisfying about fasting and then feasting before knocking out to a good night’s sleep, and it’s one of the reasons that I and so many others love this meal frequency approach.
You Have a Sweet Tooth
When many people begin the fitness lifestyle, they learn to accept the fact that their favorite treats are off-limits or only reserved for special occasions and holidays. After all, when your calorie budget for dinner is only 600 calories, it’s hard – or even impossible – to fit in that slice of cake or scoop of ice cream while still providing your body with the things it needs to build muscle and be in good health.
Intermittent fasting changes that. With intermittent fasting, 1000+ calorie dinners are an everyday thing, so it’s easy to have a satisfying meal while still squeezing in some dessert. No guilt or worry about unnecessary fat gain required.
Sometimes you really can have your cake and eat it, too – pun intended.
You’re Dieting
All of the above conditions are magnified when you’re dieting. You have even LESS calories to work with due to a calorie deficit, so intermittent fasting can be a godsend to maintain your sanity when cutting.
Personally, I don’t think I would have gotten to where I am today if I didn’t practice intermittent fasting. It makes cutting bearable when you work from your laptop all day and hit the gym for only 45 minutes a few times a week.
You Want to Stay Lean All Year
Many people say cutting is hard. Try maintaining that fat loss when you’re done. Now THAT’S hard. There’s a reason most people gain all their weight back and struggle with yo-yo dieting.
For all of the reasons above, intermittent fasting can make maintaining your leanness easy once your cut is over. You no longer stress about going over your calorie limits just to enjoy life, and you still eat the foods you enjoy until you’re full, so you don’t have to deal with any nagging hunger or cravings that wreck your hard work.
Conclusion
Intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone, but for those it’s good for, it can be life-changing. I’ve been doing I.F for almost 10 years now, and I can say with full confidence that it’s one of the best fitness decisions I’ve ever made.
If you’re ready to take the plunge, make sure to subscribe down below to be notified of my upcoming article on how to do intermittent fasting successfully.
Joseph Murci
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