Once it sheds the shackles of the overbearing triple digit. The Motivation To Lose Weight By Joshua Wayne, MA We all know diets work. Every book, article, regimen, fitness plan, you name it works as long as you actually do. Established in 1991 as a small environmental drilling contractor with one rig, Connelly and Associates, Inc. Fasting for Fast Weight Loss, Better Health, and Supreme Fitness. I stumbled across a fascinating article on something crazy called Intermittent Fasting (IF). Consisting of regular 1. What is Javita Weight Loss Coffee? To start, Javita Weight Loss Coffee is a metabolism boosting drink that contains coffee, yerba mate and garcinia cambogia. Ron Chapple studios/Hemera/Thinkstock. In the last two articles, I explained how a Paleo diet can help you lose weight without trying, and why it Intermittent Fasting has been shown scientifically to help achieve fast weight loss, better health, and increased fitness levels. As a student of Optimal Living, I knew I had to dig in and learn more. And thus began an incredible journey down the path of intermittent fasting, towards my craziest challenge so far. The Evolutionary Perspective. Before I begin this story, let’s take quick walk up our family tree, all the way back to our hunter- gatherer ancestors, to understand this whole Intermittent Fasting concept. Now these guys, the hunter- gathered, they didn’t eat 3 meals at day at regular intervals like most do now. No, instead they went hunting & gathering, sometimes for days, before finding something good. As leading neuroscience & ageing expert Mark P. Mattson tells us, “our ancestors consumed food much less frequently and often had to subsist on one large meal per day, and thus from an evolutionary perspective, human beings were adapted to intermittent feeding rather than to grazing.”Hmm interesting. Could it be that modern society has put the human specie “zoo- like” environment, and our eating patterns have become progressively less optimal? And more importantly, what happens if we start eating the way we’re evolutionary programmed to? The answer, it turns out, is “amazing things”. The Mind- Blowing Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting. Here are the scientifically proven benefits of doing regular fasts of 1. Increased Fatty Acid Oxidation (Body burns more fat as energy, leading to fast weight loss)Increased Cell Resistance (Slowed down ageing process, improved immunity)Increased Insulin Sensitivity (Less fluctuation in blood sugar levels, more constant energy & mood levels)Reduced Cortisol Production (Lower stress levels)Reduced Inflammation (Faster body healing, repair, and recovery)Reduced Cancer Cells Proliferation Rate (Reduced incidence of several types of cancer)Reduced Cognitive Decline for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Reduced Incidence of Heart Disease. Not bad eh! And you haven’t heard the craziest part yet: most people start experiencing these benefits within 2 weeks of starting to fast! Oh, and if it weren’t enough, here’s a study that simply blows my mind: In the. On average, the worms on the IF cycle outlasted their counterparts on a regular diet by 1. The life- span extension of these worms was the equivalent of keeping a man alive for 6. I know these are only worms, but still. My Thoughts As I Discovered This. This was all phenomenal stuff, no doubt about it. And as someone who loves experimenting, often with the goal of optimizing body, mind, and health, it was very alluring. However, there was one major issue separating me from these incredible benefits. I had to FAST to obtain them! I had to abstain from my beloved food for 1. How the hell was I supposed to do that? To put you in context, I’m like the anti- fasting guy. I usually eat every 2 hours, and I’ve always been a big believer in the 6- small- meals- a- day concept. I bring snacks everywhere I go. The Asian girls in my classes always giggle when they see me peel and eat hard boiled eggs in the middle of a lecture to get my protein fix. The other problem is that when I go without food, I feel like crap. As soon as hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) sets in, my energy drops and I get cranky.“Yeah”, I thought, “You know what? Screw this fasting thing. I love food too much, and this is crazy anyways”. Turning Point: The Universe Gets Involved. Later that night, something strange happened. I grabbed the Men’s Health magazine issue next to my bed for a little pre- sleep reading. After weight loss, changes in the circulating levels of several peripheral hormones involved in the homeostatic regulation of body weight occur. Whether these changes. Both Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem restrict the dieter's caloric consumption. Both plans encourage dieters to consume diets high in fiber. 5 Tips for Weight Loss after Thyroidectomy I opened the magazine randomly in the middle. The article that was in front of me? A piece on Intermittent Fasting titled “The World’s Most Effective Diet”. Wow. I’m a big believer in the flow of the universe, and that signs are the universe’s way of hinting us the right direction. As I read the MH article, I was moved by the great insight the author provided as he related the day- to- day lifestyle of an “intermittent- faster”, and describe all eloquently all the ways it had improved his life. I couldn’t help but think the universe was telling me something. This article was no coincidence, it was a sign. I pondered on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s wisdom that “all life is one big experiment. The more experiments you do, the better.” and right there and then, I made a decision: “Intermittent Fasting for 1. Let’s do it.” Boom! I turned off the lights and closed my eyes, hoping to sleep for as long as possible. I wasn’t allowed to “break fast” until 5: 3. I had solid 7. 5 hours of no- food time ahead of me. All righttttt! I thought about it, and couldn’t even recall the last time I’d gone more than an hour before having my morning smoothie. I remembered wondering what I had gotten myself into, but I had committed to this little project and there was no way I was backing out. I did a little yoga, took my (cold) shower, and prepared my “copious” breakfast: a liter of green tea. I headed over to my computer, knowing full well that the key to this whole operation was to keep myself busy all day. I started working on my upcoming e. Book. I immersed myself in it, and before long I had an hour of good writing under my belt, and it was time to make more tea. Over the next few hours, I had little waves of hunger come in and out, but overall I felt focused and achieved a great state of flow. After 3 hours of solid creative work, I decided to step outside and enjoy the afternoon sunshine. I got on my bike, and went cruising around Perth, enjoying life. I couldn’t believe how well this experiment was going. When I got back from my bike ride, I remembered I had to do something. It was Sunday 4pm, the weekend market was about to close, and I didn’t have my groceries for the week. That’s right, I had to go grocery shopping. I had to go buying large amounts of delicious food after 1. The stakes had just been raised. I walked into the market, and my nostrils were immediately flooded with the wonderful aromas of fresh baked bread and croissants. I felt this sharp pain in my stomach, and thought about turning around. But no, this was a challenge, and pushing myself through this could only make me stronger. I got everything I needed, paid for my stuff, and even managed to remain courteous to the cashier despite my advance state of hunger. As I walked out, I looked down at my watch. I just had to go home, put the groceries away, then I would cook one hell of a feast. I felt a bit woozy driving home, my mind was a bit foggy as I unpacked my groceries, but before I knew it, my i. Phone alarm went off. A proud smile beamed over my face. I had just crushed this fasting day, put myself out of my comfort zone, and come out a bit stronger on the other side. Best feeling ever. And then, it was time for some fooooood!!! On fasting days, I appreciate my food SO MUCH more. That first bite of food after 1. I experience a high level of mental clarity, as more of my energy is being using for cognitive activities instead of the digestion process. I’m more productive and get more stuff done, because I spend less time preparing & eating food. It’s making me mentally tougher, it’s increasing my self- control. While cold showers give me a “let’s do this”- type mental toughness, fasting helps me remain focused & persistent over a longer period of time. Both are equally important part of getting my mind where I want it to be. Stepping Things Up: Training in a Fasted State. On the 1. 0th Day of Fasting, I celebrated by pushing the envelope a bit. Stepping things up if you will. I was chilling at the beach, and eventually got restless from too much reading & journaling, so decided to get up and go for a run along the water. This would be my first ever “fasted training session” and besides being fun, this run would serve 2 purposes: 1. Put my body under more “stress”, thus possibly “supercharging” the benefits of the fast. Allow me to enjoy the sights provided by the return of Australian summer & bikini- season : )The workout was amazing, I felt light and fast. I didn’t get tired, my mind felt clear, and I even received a few smiles from the ladies. Overall, great success. That night, happy with my first fasted training, I found myself thinking how I could take this Intermittent Fasting experiment to the next level. The very first article I found, on Fasted Training, absolutely blew my mind. This article by Intermittent Fasting expert Martin Berkhan looked at a groundbreaking study that looked at 2 groups of subjects, and put them on a cycling training program for 4 weeks. One group would do the training in fasted state, while to other group would have food before training. At the end of the 4 weeks, when comparing the results 2 main findings were discovered: 1. The fasted group increased VO2. Max by 9. 7% vs 2. This means that the fasted had a significantly greater fitness improvement. The fasted group increased Glycogen Storage (how much energy is stored in the muscles) by a whopping +5. This is of particular interest for endurance athletes because it allows for greater energy reserves. Think of it as a bigger fuel tank on a racing car. The article also taught me something very interesting: Kenyan runners, arguably the best endurance athletes on the planet, are known to do most of their training in a fasted state. Wait, what? Researchers then compared the subjects’ post- fasting blood samples to those taken after a day of normal eating. The scientists observed that the male participants’ levels of human growth hormone (HGH) were 2. HGH? WHAT?? For those who don’t know what it is, HGH is pretty much the “superhuman” hormone. It’s a commonly used substance in illegal doping protocols by high- level athletes. Muscle Weighs More Than Fat?(Sometimes a reader will. This is one of those times.)QUESTION: I’m trying to lose fat, but I seem to have reached a weight loss plateau. My weight has remained exactly the same for about 4 weeks straight even though I’m eating right and working out. Is it possible that I’m still losing fat but just gaining equal amounts of muscle? I’ve heard muscle weighs more than fat, so I figured the muscle I’m building is replacing the fat I’m losing and it’s causing my weight to remain the same even though I’m still losing fat just fine? Is this what’s happening? ANSWER: Boy do I love this question. It contains 2 elements that I love (a mostly silly idea and a meaningless saying), and this gives me a chance to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. But right now I want to look at the specific cause this person referenced in their question. They claim that despite eating right/working out with the intent to lose weight, they aren’t. In fact, it’s been 4 weeks since they’ve lost any weight at all, which means they have officially hit the dreaded weight loss plateau. Now, since “weight” can be a few different things besides just fat, IT IS possible that they are losing fat, but that “fat weight” is being counterbalanced by the gain in some other form of weight. For example, weight loss and weight gain can happen as a result of: fatmusclewaterglycogenpoopall of the above. So sure, there is a possibility that a pound of fat was successfully lost in the same period of time that a pound of something else was gained, thus making it appear as though you’ve hit a fat loss plateau even though some fat WAS actually lost (which means you’re just experiencing a weight loss plateau, and now you can see the difference between the two). This is why it’s a good idea to monitor your progress using more than just your body weight (for example measurements, body fat percentage, pictures, mirror, etc.). Daily, weekly and even monthly (if you know what I mean, ladies) fluctuations in body weight as a result of some of the items on the list above can skew actual fat loss progress. No doubt about that. But let’s get back to this person’s exact question? Is it possible that they are losing fat but just gaining muscle at an equal rate? Let’s see. Probably not. You’re Not Gaining Muscle. Fat loss is too of course, but it absolutely destroys muscle growth in terms of the rate and quantity it commonly occurs at. I mean, the average natural male who is past the beginners stage and doing everything right might gain 0. The average female fitting the same description might gain half of that. On the other hand, the average person with an average amount of fat to lose will typically lose it at a rate of 1- 2lbs per week without a problem. So the clear message here is that in most of the cases where you see NO weight loss for an extended period of time and think it’s because “muscle weighs more than fat” and you’re really losing fat but just simultaneously gaining an equal amount of muscle at an equal rate. And by “probably,” I mean you’re wrong 9. And when you take into consideration that women are capable of building muscle at about HALF the speed of men, you’ll understand why it’s so extra funny. And let’s also keep in mind that if you’re truly losing fat, it means you’re in a caloric deficit. And with the exception of fat beginners, steroid users and those who are regaining lost muscle, the majority of the population will not be building ANY muscle in a caloric deficit (let alone exceeding the best- case- scenario numbers and gaining muscle at the same rate fat is being lost at). So yeah. Um, No. And please, for the love of God, can we all stop saying this nonsensical phrase? Muscle weighs more than fat. I got 2. 0 bucks that says they will both weigh 5 pounds. What’s that you say? Problem is, as someone who has watched people use this phrase for 1. I can tell you with absolute certainty that 9. This is just some silly saying/excuse that people throw around to try to make sense of their weight loss plateau or really just their inability to do what’s needed for fat to be lost (sort of like “starvation mode“). Here’s an exaggerated case in point? You must be building muscle! You know what they say. Keep up the good work!”Sorry Sally, but you’re just failing to create the caloric deficit that is required for fat loss to take place. Eat less calories, burn more calories, or do a combination of both. I got another 2. 0 bucks that says you’ll magically bust right through your plateau. Tips for Successful Weight Loss On a Paleo Diet. Ron Chapple studios/Hemera/Thinkstock. In the last two articles, I explained how a Paleo diet can help you lose weight without trying, and why it? Here are some great tips from @Chris. Kresser. 1. Keep your food simple. Studies have shown that eating simpler food leads to eating less, which in turn helps you shed pounds without effort. So how do you keep a Paleo diet simple? Stick to the basics of a healthy meal: a protein like meat or fish, plenty of non- starchy vegetables, whole foods carbohydrates from root vegetables or fruit, and some healthy fat. Although I love a delicious gourmet meal as much as the next person, it. Be sure to eat enough. Many Paleo newbies believe that less food is always better when it comes to losing weight. This belief causes you to deprive your body of the calories and nutrients it needs to function optimally and causes additional stress. Plus, decreasing your caloric intake too much lowers your resting metabolic rate (how many calories you burn just staying alive), which can cause weight loss to stall or even reverse. No matter what program you choose, dieting should never be about starving yourself. Calories do count, but when it comes to weight loss, undereating is just as problematic as overeating. What makes a Paleo diet special is that it is more satiating per calorie than other diets, which helps you eat less without fighting hunger or counting calories. Voluntarily restricting calories isn. This means you can eat meals that are satisfying without counting calories, and naturally eat less than you would on a typical American diet. This is one of the key reasons why a Paleo diet is a better choice for a weight loss diet than any of the popular methods out there. Eat enough carbs to support your activity level. Carbohydrate tolerance is highly individual, and I. Usually, the biggest factor is the amount and intensity of exercise the person is doing, as many of my patients trying to lose weight are participating in high intensity training programs, such as Crossfit, or spending many hours at the local gym. While I don. Not only can a mismatch stall your weight loss, but it can lead to instances of fatigue and muscle breakdown if you. Many even remove carbohydrates entirely, avoiding even small amounts of healthy choices like sweet potatoes and fruit. Unfortunately, this can often do more harm than good. If you. Move throughout the day. Sitting too much can reduce the benefits of an exercise program and stall weight loss. Unfortunately, if you work in an office, commute by car and watch a few hours of TV each night, it’s not hard to see how you could spend the vast majority of your waking life (up to 1. And unfortunately, exercise alone isn’t enough to reverse the harmful effects of too much sitting. When it comes to weight loss, getting active throughout the entire day, and not just the 6. There are many different ways to increase your movement throughout the day, and I outline several of them in my article about the dangers of sitting excessively. Getting into the habit of moving throughout the day can not only benefit your weight and promote fat loss, but it can also improve your overall health and reduce your risk for chronic disease. Don’t do it alone. One of the hardest parts about losing weight is trying to do it all on your own. Making major lifestyle changes without any social support is not only difficult, but often unsustainable. Having friends or family around you to encourage you, or even make changes along with you, can greatly increase your success in any major lifestyle change, particularly the switch to a Paleo diet. You can share recipes, plan partner workouts, and encourage each other on your journey to better health. Don’t know anyone locally who is able to support you? There is a large community of people following a Paleo diet and lifestyle on the Chris. Kresser. com forum, and many of them are folks just like you getting started on a Paleo diet and looking for answers to their general nutrition questions. Perhaps you’ll find a buddy there who can support you throughout the change process and keep you motivated! Address your whole life, not just diet and exercise. Did you know that there? For example, sleep deprivation makes us hungrier, and high levels of stress hormones cause us to eat more and store more fat, in turn reducing our ability to lose weight and keep it off. Studies also show that those with social support, a better ability to handle stress, self- efficacy, and those who assume responsibility in life are more likely to keep weight off once they lose it. Focus on managing your daily stress using mind- body techniques like meditation or yoga. Plan ahead using shopping lists and meal plans to help you reduce the stress that comes along with starting a big lifestyle change. Connect with friends and family, and get support in your weight loss efforts. Is there a strategy I didn? Share your experience in the comments below. Like what you’ve read? Sign up for FREE updates delivered to your inbox. I hate spam too. Your email is safe with me.
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