Eat Lots but not All Day

Are you a foodie?

Do you like crisps, chips, dips, stuff that leaves a greasy mess on your lips?

Fuck you.

Of course that’s what I would say, were I not a 21 year old living out the shift work lifestyle where food is about as respected as a homeless man in a Versace store. I hate those “Fitstagram” types who insist that if you don’t follow some strict diet regime of broiled chicken and steamed broccoli you aren’t eating, or living healthy. Those diets suck, and no amount of paprika, thyme, or any other spice that makes one pseudo-artisan is going to make you suddenly love eating the same thing every day. Cumin… ugh. They’re cumin down your throats if you buy into any of that crap.

Most of us, including myself, don’t go to the gym on a regular basis. And that puts a thought in a lot of our heads; little to no exercise combined with a mediocre at best diet is gonna make me fat, right? Wrong. New Years just hit folks, which means summer is just around the corner - and I’ve got something special for you.

Intermittent Fasting: an eating habit in which one delegates only a few hours to food each day, typically between 6 to 10 hours.

“bUt CciUto, iSNt fAStiNg bAd FOr u???”

No. I mean, yes, but only when you do it the way Survivorman does. You’re not Les Stroud, and this ain’t the jungle bitch.

This way of eating was first brought to my attention by one of my favourite actors/personalities, Terry Crews. I watched an interview where he stated he only ate between the hours of 2-8pm. My first thoughts were skeptical to the concept, which then turned to curiosity as he flexed his pecs to the beat of Darude’s Sandstorm to cap off the video. Hips don’t lie, but dancing pecs tell the truth.

NCBI has done a medline search on the effects of intermittent fasting over x amount of time, in which the conclusion of the abstract states: “Modified fasting regimens appear to promote weight loss and may improve metabolic health. Several lines of evidence also support the hypothesis that eating patterns that reduce or eliminate nighttime eating and prolong nightly fasting intervals may result in sustained improvements in human health. Intermittent fasting regimens are hypothesized to influence metabolic regulation via effects on (a) circadian biology, (b) the gut microbiome, and (c) modifiable lifestyle behaviors, such as sleep. If proven to be efficacious, these eating regimens offer promising nonpharmacological approaches to improving health at the population level, with multiple public health benefits.”

Admiring how intelligent a website whose name is an acronym sounded, I figured I’d give it a go, if only for a few weeks. Gotta say, regardless of how many fond memories that include powereating bagels while hearing the twelfth bell I may have, I don’t see myself going back any time soon. I’m never hungry outside of my eating window, don’t put on undesired weight, I have energy throughout the day, and despite not engaging in much exercise outside of the motions I do on a daily basis, I have, and still am gaining muscle mass. All this, and simply because the bagels I now powereat are consumed between noon and 8pm.

So if you’re feeling sloppy, but don’t want to actually put any effort in, give this a shot. It’s convenient, easy to do, relatively cheap, and you get to feel like you’ve cheated some sort of metabolic system.

Or don’t fatty I don’t care.

Sources:
NCBI: Metabolic Effects of Intermittent Fasting