Intermittent Fasting Yes or No?

The unexpected reason I am sticking with it

I’m a week into the 16:8 Intermittent Fasting eating plan. By now I’m sure you’ve heard something about this eating plan, it is all the rage. Celebrities like the recently married Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are practitioners. A search on Medium.com yields hundreds of testimonials, and one nay-sayer.

For those few who haven’t heard of this trend, the 16:8 plan is basically restricting your eating to two meals within an eight-hour window of time. It is typically referred to as feeding time. The most common plan is 16 hours fasting (nothing but water, sugar-free tea, and black coffee) then all your daily calories within an 8-hour window.

Knocking out one meal a day’s worth of calories could account for some of the weight loss of course. Researchers, however, have found a restricted feeding time puts your body into autophagy. Autophagy is when your body burns fat for energy rather than relying on your regular intake of carbohydrates and proteins for fuel.

I was skeptical of this trend — all trends frankly. However, when I read that one of the benefits is reduced inflammation and arthritis relief I was tempted to try. I had just come off a particularly painful month of arthritis pain in my feet and ankles.

My research on testimonials indicates most people seem content with skipping breakfast. Eating lunch around 12:00 PM and dinner at 6:00 then nothing but the aforesaid beverages until 12:00 the next day.

Skipping breakfast plan did not work for me. I decided to skip dinner. So my fasting time starts around 3:00 pm and goes until 7:00 AM. You are cautioned that results won’t appear for 10–14 days. I, happily, saw immediate results after day 2. The inflammation in my feet and ankles, along with accompanying pain, were significantly reduced.

Typical Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Better Than Dieting-no food restrictions Helps You Lose Weight Reduces Body Fat Easy to Incorporate into schedule Boosts Metabolism Improves Heart Health Regulates Blood Sugar Promotes Mindful Eating Resets Hunger Hormone Promotes Longevity Prevents Some Types of Cancer Helps Maintain Lean Mass

If any of those benefits manifest for me I’d be happy! However, the reason I’m sticking to the plan has nothing to do with the health benefits. It’s pure economics. I’ve saved $35 dollars in a week by not eating dinner.

I plan on sticking with this eating plan up to the Holidays. Nov-Dec? We’ll see how that goes. The average cost of a home cooked dinner in the USA is $5.00 per person. By Thanksgiving I will have saved nearly $500 dollars. If I keep it up for a year I will save $1850.00. If all the research is correct-I’ll likely need that savings for a new wardrobe. If nothing else I’ve saved a few bucks!

WARNING: The surge in energy as your body burns fat in the middle of the night will initially disturb your sleep.

Here is a link to a researched based article explaining the health benefits. You may also like to read the article where I gathered the 12 benefits from.

This article by Dr Mehmet Yildiz triggered my research into this eating plan and helped convinced me to give it a try.

Be advised

I am not a medical doctor, and this is my experience with this eating plan so far. You are advised to consult with your medical professionals before embarking on Intermittent Fasting or any eating plan/diet.

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