The Skinny on Intermittent Fasting

When I wrote HCG 2.0, there was very little research on intermittent fasting (IF). In fact, even now there remains little research on it. That's the problem with weight loss, it's different for everyone and results are mostly anecdotal. What works for some, may not work for other.

That being said, IF seems has become a popular stall breaker in our private Facebook group. I was never much of a believer in it until I accidentally became an intermittent faster while I was recently working in Bogota, Colombia.

I was covering a high volume office for a Canadian doc I met while working in Peru. And when I say high-volume, I mean high volume. I didn't even have time for a lunch break. As a result, my first meal wouldn't be until we cleared the office after 7pm. My only calories prior to that were the tables spoon of coconut oil and a splash of milk in my morning coffee.

I wouldn't say that I have weight to lose, but in the same breath, I don't look like I did in my 20s. However, between walking a mile and a half to the office and fasting all day, I lost the belly fat or better said, the spare tire around my waist. I'm now a believer.

First, keep in mind this is anecdotal. It worked for me and it's worked for many in our private Facebook group, but it's not a science. With that in mind, below are some suggestions I would make in regard to IF...

1. It's not something I would recommend right out of the gate. Keep in mind that your body doesn't want to give up it's fat reserves. You have to outsmart it. You have to keep it guessing. You have to be a step ahead. This is why I don't recommend IF until the two week point at the very earliest. Prior to that you should be experiencing steady and quite exaggerated weight loss. So while it's not broke, don't fix it. However, you will start to notice a slow down or even a stall around the 2 week mark. This is when you should consider IF. This is the curve ball that allows you to keep your body off guard and out of starvation mode.
2. When you begin to notice your weight loss slow down around the day 14 mark, begin your IF by getting about 60-70 MCT calories in your morning coffee or tea. Kylene and the research of Dr. Fung may say not to, but hear me out. This is a 30-40 day plan. You don't want to show all your cards at once. It's all about staying ahead of your body's natural and innate desire to maintain fat reserves. These MCT calories in combination with your afternoon fast often is enough to jump start ketosis. In fact,I believe it fuels ketosis. If you're familiar with Bullet Proof Coffee, it's basically the same concept. Five to seven days later, you can play your last card and eliminate the morning calories. This should, once again, give your weight loss a little boost. Additionally, it will also help with hunger. If you don't kick start your metabolism with morning calories, you're less hungry throughout the day.
3. NO CARBS - Absolutely no carbs in the morning. After 8 hours of sleep, you'll wake in a very optimal state of ketosis. Any carbs will stop it in it's tracks. In my blog comparing coconut oil to MCT oil I explain that research is not showing that these odd fats chains (not Omega 3 or 6) tend to actually fuel ketosis and perpetuate it.
4. When you eat your first meal in the evening, make sure it's a good one. Make sure you get plenty of veggies and adequate protein. You don't have to eat ALL of your protein calories in this meal, but make sure you get some of them. And again, you may have to adjust your protein to fat ratios. Kylene's input on macros and protein-to-fat rations is good to read if you have questions about this.

In summary, let the HCG do it's thing for the first two weeks of your diet. Stick to the 2.0 protocol entirely. It works. If you notice your weight loss begin to slow down over a couple of days, begin the IF recommendations mentioned here. Also review the fat fasting section. Exchanging 20-25% percent of your protein for fat may work better for you. Again, the more you know of the what, the hows and whys, the better. You don't learn something until it becomes part of your vocabulary.

Intermittent fasting can be a powerful tool to combine with HCG 2.0. It took my losses from less than .5 pound average to almost a pound a day. Plus I truly believe it cured my diabetes. The inches I lost when combining HCG 2.0 and IF were astonishing. Even when my scale wasn't moving, my tape measure was.

How does intermittent fasting work?

At its very core, fasting simply allows the body to burn off excess body fat. It is important to realize that this is normal and humans have evolved to fast without detrimental health consequences. Body fat is merely food energy that has been stored away. If you don’t eat, your body will simply “eat” its own fat for energy.

Life is about balance. The good and the bad. The yin and the yang. The same applies to eating and fasting. Fasting, after all, is simply the flip side of eating. If you are not eating, you are fasting. Here’s how it works:

When we eat, more food energy is ingested than can immediately be used. Some of this energy must be stored away for later use. Insulin is the key hormone involved in the storage of food energy.

Insulin rises when we eat, helping to store the excess energy in two separate ways. Sugars can be linked into long chains, called glycogen and then stored in the liver. There is, however, limited storage space; and once that is reached, the liver starts to turn the excess glucose into fat. This process is called De-Novo Lipogenesis (meaning literally Making Fat from New).

Some of this newly created fat is stored in the liver, but most of it is exported to other fat deposits in the body. While this is a more complicated process, there is no limit to the amount of fat that can be created. So, two complementary food energy storage systems exist in our bodies. One is easily accessible but with limited storage space (glycogen), and the other is more difficult to access but has unlimited storage space (body fat).

The process goes in reverse when we do not eat (fasting). Insulin levels fall, signaling the body to start burning stored energy as no more is coming through food. Blood glucose falls, so the body must now pull glucose out of storage to burn for energy.

Glycogen is the most easily accessible energy source. It is broken down into glucose molecules to provide energy for the other cells. This can provide enough energy to power the body for 24-36 hours. After that, the body will start breaking down fat for energy.

So, that the body only really exists in two states – the fed (insulin high) state and the fasted (insulin low) state. Either we are storing food energy, or we are burning it. It’s one or the other. If eating and fasting are balanced, then there is no net weight gain.

If we start eating the minute we roll out of bed, and do not stop until we go to sleep, we spend almost all our time in the fed state. Over time, we will gain weight. We have not allowed our body any time to burn food energy.

To restore balance or to lose weight, we simply need to increase the amount of time we burn food energy (fasting). In essence, fasting allows the body to use its stored energy. After all, that’s what it is there for. The important thing to understand is that there is nothing wrong with that. That is how our bodies are designed. That’s what dogs, cat, lions and bears do. That’s what humans do.

If you are constantly eating, as is often recommended, then your body will simply use the incoming food energy and never burn the body fat. You’ll only store it. Your body will save it for a time when there is nothing to eat. You lack balance. You lack fasting.

Fasting offers infinite flexibility. You can fast for as long or short as you like, but here are some popular regimens. Generally, shorter fasts are done more frequently.

16:8

This involves daily fasting for 16 hours. Sometimes this is also referred to as an 8-hour eating ‘window’. You eat all your meals within an 8-hour time period and fast for the remaining 16 hours. Generally, this is done daily or almost daily.

For example, you may eat all your meals within the time period of 11:00 am and 7:00 pm. Generally, this means skipping breakfast. You generally eat two or three meals within this 8-hour period.

20:4

This involves a 4-hour eating window and a 20-hour fast. For example, you might eat between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm every day and fast for the other 20 hours. Generally, this would involve eating either one meal or two smaller meals within this period.

For the complete article and all the benefits of intermittent fasting go here: Intermittent Fasting