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Intermittent Fasting for the past 3 years and counting.....

In my personal transformation journey, I continue to feel amazed at how often solutions for the big, major life problems are in the basic and simple answers.

Sometimes, too basic that we reject the idea. We think this will not work unless it’s going to be a hard, complicated formula and require a lot of effort on our part.

Intermittent Fasting is a simple and highly effective powerful tool whose benefits you are missing out right in your life if you are not doing.

Intermittent Fasting is the single most crucial tool that entirely transformed my life for the better. I know it’s a big statement but I can promise you the benefits are so rewarding and huge that you can thank me later for this suggestion.

People who know me know how much I’m passionate about this topic. I wouldn’t share with you or stick to this regime myself for the past 3 years if I haven’t experienced the tremendous benefits in the first hand.

Intermittent Fasting is not another recent fitness trend or diet plan, rather it’s been around for centuries.

Only in recent times, there have been more scientific studies done to uncover the benefits based on factual scientific data points. So, I’m here to share this simple but most effective ancient tool and wisdom you can incorporate in your life today.

So please keep reading with an open mind till the end to learn more about Intermittent Fasting, how it works, and the holistic benefits. Also, I will share some other important benefits that are not widely spoken on the internet.

Have you ever thought about how people managed to survive without food sometimes for days during prehistoric hunter-gatherer time?Even a few hundred years ago when the modern convenience of facilities like refrigerators or microwaves was not there to preserve food for a longer time?

Many religions like Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism recommends a period of fasting throughout the year. Many spiritual people, yogi’s also fast for prolonged periods to achieve many health and mental benefits.

Only in the recent modern era and due to popular marketing campaigns by large companies and brands, eating meals three times a day and snacking all day along concept got popularity and adopted by people.

Due to these lifecycle choices, some of us now ended up eating all day long. Most of the time mindlessly either to seek pleasure in food or avoid boredom. I’ve been guilty of that too in the past.

It’s a very smart strategy used by brands and pharmaceuticals to get people eating. This way it results in serious health problems. We then end up to doctors, hospitals for treatments spending even more money. It’s a vicious cycle but the good news is that the control is 100% in your hand.

We as humans, biologically are not meant to eat all day long. Our beautiful body has all the healing power inside and fully capable of repairing itself if we just give enough time to work itself.

Like any other machine, our body needs time off from eating so that it can start working on healing and repairing.

Today, I’m going to share with you my personal journey of Intermittent Fasting (IF) for the past 3 years without missing a single day and the transformative benefits I’ve experienced.

What is Intermittent Fasting (IF)?

Intermittent fasting is a form of time-restricted eating and fasting pattern where we restrain ourselves from eating foods during a particular period of the day.

Unlike any other diet trends, rather than focusing on What we eat, IF focuses on When we eat aligning our eating timing with our body’s natural circadian rhythm – the internal clock.

There are several variations of Intermittent fasting patterns that are popular and effective.

There is 16:8, where you fast for 16 hours of the day and eat meals during 8 hours window. There is also 18:6 where you eat meals during a 6 hrs window and fast the rest of 18hrs.

There are so many different combinations and it’s very individualistic. However, to experience the optimal benefit, it’s recommended to have at least 12-14 hrs fasting time during the day.

Personally,

I’ve been following 16-18 hrs of fasting daily for the past 3 years without missing a day.

The science behind how intermittent fasting works in our body

Before we deep dive into this topic, it’s beneficial for you to first develop a basic understanding of how intermittent fasting works in our body.

Basic Terminology

Sugar or Glycogen

when we eat food, carbohydrates are broken down into individual glucose or sugar units ended up forming a long chain known as glycogen which is stored in our liver or muscle for energy. Glycogen is the most easily accessible energy source which provides energy for our body cells.

Body Fat

When we overeat, we run out of spaces in our liver to store glycogen. Our liver then converts excess glucose into fat. This newly created fat is now stored in the liver and across other parts of the body.

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone created by our pancreas that controls the amount of glucose in our bloodstream at any given moment. It helps to turn food into energy, store glycogen in our liver, and fat. Finally, it regulates your body’s metabolism

When We Eat

When we eat, our insulin level rises up helping to store glycogen for energy use later as food ingested in our body. If the number of calories is consumed more than we can burn then some of this energy is stored in the liver as body fat.

When We Fast

When we fast for a prolonged period, our insulin level falls, and the food storage cycle goes in reverse. Our body first exhausts glycogen or sugar storage for energy before burning fat storage in the liver.

This process is called Ketosis where fat is burned to form ketones to fuel energy. Intermittent fasting works by prolonging this period from our last meal so that our body actually begins fat burning or the Ketosis process.

Our body can only exist in one of two states – the eating state or the fasting state.

Either we are storing food energy or burning stored energy.

So what happens if we don’t have enough time breaks between meals?

Creates toxins build-ups – depending on the food we eat, each food has a different digestive time. For example, it takes 3hrs for the fruit to digest, 6hrs for veggies, and around 18hrs for grains. So you can imagine if you constantly, keep eating food, the last food you ate might not have digested. So undigested food molecule creates toxin build-ups or waste in our intestines. Down the line, this toxin build-ups mixes with the bloodstream and travels across the body creating diseases in different parts of the body.

No healing time – if we consistently eating, our body is consistently in work mode to digest, convert food into energy and fat forms. So the body is not getting any break to actually stay in healing mode to heal, repair all organs and bodily processes at a cellular level. If you imagine you are driving a car without stopping for a min for days, weeks or months surely it will stop working at one point. The same goes for our bodies. When we fast our body stops work mode and turns on healing mode clearing out all toxins, repairing cells, creating new cells, and perform much more critical bodily functions.

How I started Intermittent Fasting?

Over 3.5 years ago, I weighed 93kgs, the heaviest I’ve ever been in life. I had a mild heart attack, severe Sleep Apnea, acute hormonal disorders, and other serious health concerns. At that same time, I was also going through other personal challenges.

My life literally hit rock bottom at that time. So I knew, I need to make serious changes and take action to transform my life.

Becoming healthier was my no.1 priority, non-negotiable.

As I started the weight loss journey, I’ve been learning and trying different techniques to get the results I wanted. Even though I’ve never been a snacker but usually I used to have my heaviest meal at dinnertime around 9 pm and then go to bed straight after due to the lifestyle I had.

So before I knew about intermittent fasting, I almost started intuitively initially changing my dinner timing and then slowly transitioning into skipping dinner allowing eating two meals a day.

Fast forward to 3 years, after achieving extraordinary physical and mental benefits, I’m still continuing intermittent fasting daily which is ingrained into my lifestyle and plan to do for the rest of my life.

Nowadays, I do IF mainly for the mental benefits and long term physical goals like longevity, vitality, prevention of diseases, etc.

While I can count 100 benefits of IF but here is the snapshot of some of the key benefits I’ve received..............

Increase in cognitive abilities. Extreme clarity, focus, and sharpness in mind. Some of the best work I’ve produced in the last few years was in the fasting state.
A balanced mental and emotional state. Don’t experience mood swings making me either too high or too low.
Discipline and determination. The simple acting of fasting has taught me many lessons but one most important is that I can train my mind and body to achieve unbelievable results. I even run 10-15km when I’m on 18hrs fasting mode. It showed how capable my body beyond my own imagination.
Creating space and time to work on activities and things that truly matter in life rather than consistently thinking about food choices, making or eating foods.
Weight loss. Significantly assisted in losing 35kgs of weights, regulated hormonal levels, cured years of migraine, and other health concerns. I haven’t fallen sick, not even a single day of cold and flu in the last 3 years. This shows how my body has transformed for the better.
Quality sleep. Thanks to IF, I now have more quality sleep and feel lighter by the time go to bed. With sleep, I feel like I have love and hate relationships. IF significantly helped me with this.
Anti-aging. At age 35, I’ve never felt physically this strong, lean, and healthier ever before. The majority of the credit goes to IF. Also, judging by the comments I usually get from people, I can say that I’ve also not looked at this better before. I truly and genuinely believe IF has been working as anti-aging for me. I feel and look great.

Holistic Benefits

Physical

Based on recent studies and researches, here are some of the physical benefits that you can expect to see by doing intermittent fasting.

Mental

Aside from physical benefits, intermittent fasting equally if not more useful for improving neurological, mental, emotional state and other lifestyle benefits.

Physical Benefits

01 Weight loss and belly fat

As we learned earlier, when we prolong the fasting period, our body starts tapping into stored fat for energy. Hence, weight loss is a very natural effect. When we eat less, we are consuming fewer calories and on top, our body is burning fat. IF works in both ways on the calorie equation and improving overall body metabolism.

02 Diabetes management

IF can reduce insulin resistance, lowering your risk of type 2 Diabetes. Intermittent fasting has been shown to have major benefits for insulin resistance and lead to an impressive reduction in blood sugar levels. This can be very effective protection against type 2 diabetes which is getting very common now.

03 Reducing Oxidative stress

Damages of oxidative stress and inflammation can be reduced and further prevented by IF.

04 Cardiovascular diseases

Studies have shown, that intermittent fasting can materially improve numerous risk factors related to heart conditions such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and inflammatory markers.

05 Cancer prevention

Although there are further studies require, so far IF showing potential for cancer prevention. If you think about it, cancer is nothing but a condition of the uncontrollable growth of cells in the body. So when we increase the healing power daily by IF, one can think the natural effect would be preventing diseases like cancer.

06 Cure and improve skin diseases

As our body works more time on healing, it shreds all waste and unwanted debris. Many skin conditions are the by-product of the toxin or waste build-ups in our bodies. I first hand experienced curing my acute acne condition through IF.

07 Changing Genes and Anti-aging

When we fast our body turns on healing mode to kick start important cellular repair processes, remove toxins or waste, and change hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible.

One such cell repair process is known as Autophagy which is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells. You can think of Autophagy as a RESET for your body. Studies have proven that IF has the potential to contribute to longevity and prevention of chronic diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s.

Mental Benefits

01 Create new neurons

During fasting mode, our brain cells or neurons are also getting repaired and created like body cells. This overall improves brain health and protects the brain from further damages. Studies have shown that IF improves the symptoms of neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

02 Cognitive abilities and memory power

Studies discovered that intermittent fasting boosts strengthen memory power and concentration levels. It creates clarity in the mind removing brain fogginess. I definitely swear by this.

03 Improving sleep quality

we heard that before, it is recommended to stop eating at least 2 hrs prior to bed. However, how many of us religiously follow this? IF will significantly help your quality of sleep allowing you to have a deeper and restful sleep leaving your body and mind rejuvenated for the next day.

04 Prioritizing life

Intermittent fasting allows you to shift your focus from thinking about food to actually creating choices and doing activities that spark joy in your life. Have you ever thought about how many hours we spend days thinking about what to eat, planning, cooking, and eating? All of this time can be saved and better utilized in other areas of life.

05 Physical and mental potential

The one thing for sure I can say that when you do intermittent fasting you’d be amazed by how much potential is hidden in your body and mind. It’s truly limitless but sadly not realized or achieved. Have trust that your body and mind can achieve anything beyond your imagination. All you need to do is give a sincere try and patiently wait for the results.

06 Discipline

The simple yet powerful act of fasting will help you strengthen your will power and creating a routine in your life. It is the testimony to yourself that you can transform your mind, body, and entire life just starting with this small step. Before you know, you are more likely to apply these lessons in other parts of your life subconsciously. Nothing can stop you to dream the dream life you desire.

So if you are still reading, the chance is that you are pumped and want to know how you can get started.

So let’s get you started in 3 simple steps

Disclaimer – Before you start any changes consult with your doctor to assess risk and other side effects.

STEPS

01

Open mindset

Anything worthy in life takes time to manifest and almost always starts with an open mindset. So have an open beginner’s mind to learn more and incorporate this tool in your daily lifestyle and adjust the routine as you progress.

To get the optimal results, you need to focus on an individualistic approach rather than following one size fits all approach.

02

Reflect

Reflect on your current lifestyle. Think carefully about how your daily routine is structured and reflect on any distractions that you have in your environment that may hinder your progress.

An example, If you someone enjoys snacking in between meals, consider removing or hiding those snacks temporarily until you overcome mental resistance.

03

Commit

The final step is to take action before overthinking this. Just commit to it.

Usually, most of us aim to sleep around 8 hrs a day so your body will be in fasting mode. If this concept seems challenging initially start with 10hrs before gradually increasing to 14-16hrs of fasting. The key here is to just start with small actions initially.

Things to consider

Consult with your doctor and health practitioner to carefully assess your current physical, mental conditions, and the risks associated before starting intermittent fasting.
Understand the benefit of this tool is long term focused. So at least, you need to do 4-6 weeks of fasting to experience any material benefits based on your individual condition. The body that we neglected to look after for years in the right way at least deserves this amount of time to start its own healing process.
Although there is no set time for IF, the studies proved it takes 10 to 12 hours for our body to use up the sugars in our liver before start burning stored fat. So if you aim for 16 hrs fast, at least your body will get 4-6 hrs of healing time. It’s best to align eating time according to our body’s circadian rhythm which is to stop eating after dark.
I’m not a fan of following any particular diet in general. So my suggestion is to stick to your usual diet but incorporate more wholesome foods like fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins, carbs, and fats. Try to avoid excessive sugary and processed foods to achieve maximum benefits and not offsetting the results of IF.
Restrain yourself from snacking in between meals. During, fasting you can drink water, coconut water, black or herbal teas. However, I prefer only to drink plenty of water to keep myself hydrated.
It’s important to ensure you are maintaining enough daily calorie intakes (unless aiming for weightless) during the eating window. The aim of intermittent fasting is to prolonged the daily fasting window and NOT cutting calories or worse starving yourself. It must be balanced. Anything in extreme has a danger of not sustainable for the longer term. So focus on building lasting good habits and rituals.
Females who are in the pre or post-menopause phase, consult with your doctor about the effect of intermittent fasting on your hormone levels.