By Brad Pilon
Flexible intermittent fasting is becoming a very popular way to use your body’s natural ability to burn lots of fat in a short period of time.
Here is a list of the ways that flexible intermittent fasting will turbo charge your fat loss.
1. Increases Fat Burning Hormones
Hormones are usually at the root of most of your metabolic functioning, and fat burning is no different. Growth Hormone is the most important fat burning hormone in your body. Fasting pushes growth hormone production into high gear and this makes your fat burning furnace start to work overtime. Fasting also decrease your insulin levels, which ensures that you burn body fat instead of storing it.
2. Increased Fat Burning Enzymes
Fat burning hormones need the help of fat burning enzymes to get their job done. Fasting will sky rocket the activity of two of the most important fat burning enzymes in your body. Adipose tissue HSL (Hormone Sensitive Lipase) is the enzyme responsible for allowing your fat cells to release fat so it can be burned as energy in your muscles. Muscle tissue LPL (Lipoprotein Lipase) is the enzyme responsible for allowing your muscle cells to take up fat so it can be burnt as a fuel. Fasting increases both of these enzymes to optimize fat burning – A perfect combination.
3. Burn More Calories
Short term fasting (12-72hrs) actually increases your metabolism and adrenaline levels. This causes you to increase calorie burning during the fast period. The more calories you burn the faster you can lose weight. The extra energy you get from the fast might actually help you through a workout or get more work done at work or around the house. When I did my first fast I was shocked at how awake and energetic I was. My fasting days are now my most productive days of the week.
4. Burn Fat Instead of Sugar
Fasting shifts your metabolism from burning blood sugar to burning mostly body fat. When you eat a meal your body likes to burn carbs first, then the fat from your food. Any extra fat that your body can’t burn in the few hours after you eat get stored as body fat. When you fast your body has no choice but to burn stored body fat. By the end of a 24 hour fast your body is burning way more fat than it would during a regular day of eating.
5. You’ll Find Out Why You Eat
The most surprising benefit people report back when they start fasting is a new found awareness of what causes them to eat. When you make a conscious decision to fast for a day your less than flattering eating motivations become painfully obvious. This is the first and most effective step to getting rid of bat habits for good. Knowing what your motivations are for poor eating choices is essential before you can change them and build better habits.
6. Builds Positive Attitudes Towards Yourself and Food
Each short fast is an accomplishment that can build self confidence and gratitude. At the end of a 24 hour fast you can feel good about your accomplishment and start feeling good about your relationship with food again. The positive empowerment from each fast builds on the last until you feel completely in control of your food choices.
7. Eat All The Foods You Love Guilt Free
Short term fasting allows you to lose weight and burn fat without restricting any of the foods you love to eat. With this style of eating you can consume any and all of the foods you like whenever you choose without feeling guilty about it and still lose weight. You will never again have to be sitting in a restaurant picking at a salad while everyone else at the tables indulges in their favorite entrée and dessert.
Eating for fat loss doesn’t need to be complicated and food should never be a source of anxiety or guilt. Mixing in a few 24 hours fasts to your week can liberate you from the dieting prison and allow you to enjoy food again.
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Brad Pilon is a nutrition professional with over eight years experience working in the nutritional supplement industry specializing in clinical research management and new product development. Brad has completed graduate studies in nutritional sciences specializing in the use of short term fasting for weight loss.
His trademarked book Eat Stop Eat has been featured on national television and helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat without sacrificing the foods they love.
Brad is currently offering a special deal, exclusively for my readers who are interested in checking out Eat Stop Eat.
Click HERE for the special offer.
09. Apr, 2011
at 12:08 pm #
I love intermittent fasting. As much as I like food eating can be a pain in the ass! I get A LOT more work done on my fasting days. Or as you say Jay “hustlin’”!
10. Apr, 2011
at 5:03 am #
Yeah, fasting IS great. No doubt of that. Plus, how much more you enjoy your food after 24 hrs of fasting!!!
11. May, 2011
at 4:49 am #
Christ, how cut is that AFL player in your picture?
I agree, fasting can be quite powerful. I like to use it a few times a year at least to test my mental strength, and to give my digestive tract a break.
13. Apr, 2012
at 2:24 am #
That cut AFL player is Ben Cousins. He recently fled the country after getting caught with meth…for the third time. He was on his way back to rehab. Completely ruined his career with drugs and put shame on AFL. Not that it has much going for it anyway.
15. May, 2011
at 7:39 pm #
The guy in that picture is Ben Cousins. One of the most hardest runners and ripped blokes you’ll ever see.
16. May, 2011
at 5:24 am #
Do you recommend fasting for hard gainers? I eat 4000+ cal/day for maintenance on training days and would have problems eating that in one meal (I’m 5’8″ 158 lbs.) Also, when/how often would you recommend a fast with noon time workouts?
16. May, 2011
at 11:02 am #
Just want to say that people should read number 7 VERY CAREFULLY.
It does not say an all out binge, at least I don’t think you mean that. But I have to admit that I am not very familiar of how you set up diets for your clients (BP), I’m more familiar with Martin’s.
I’m just saying this because some people will take it as an I can eat 10,000 of whatever I want then fast for a little bit.
18. May, 2011
at 5:03 am #
Great to see an AFL player make the picture list! And Filla your right…Cousins was one of the hardest workers ever to step on the footy field….unfortunetly he was one of the hardest workers off the field too if you know what I mean!!
Its pretty amazing how these AFL guys are so strong and athletic while still being able to run 7-10 miles per game as well as taking bumps and hits with no padding. In my opinion the greatest sport on the planet (strong bias of course being Australian)
13. Apr, 2012
at 2:26 am #
Haha. They can only tackle players by grabbing them around the waistline. Rugby League are the true impressive athletes. Taking constant shoulder barges to the head and getting spear tackled only to get up and keep playing. AFL are a bunch of softcock pansies.
18. May, 2011
at 5:38 am #
Haha thats right Adam, but then again if you read his book he worked just as hard off the field (on things not relating to footy).
AFL = greatest sport on the planet agreed. I think those blokes could slip straight into a lot of other sports, whereas you probably couldnt say a lot of players from other sports could drop straight into AFL.
19. May, 2011
at 2:23 am #
Up until recently I had never tried fasting, even though I have been training for a long time and like to think that my knowledge of nutrition is pretty advanced (but still always learning). Read eat stop eat a few years ago and even though it made a lot of sense, I just wasn’t prepared to give it a go (I love me food and when I say that I don’t mean crap food, I just like eating good wholesome food!).
However I am currently working with the UK’s leading personal trainer doing his 28 day training program which involves intermittent fasting and I must say I am impressed by it and it isn’t as hard as you might think (as long as I am on plenty water and herbal teas LOL) and by the end of 24 hours I actually feel great and my body fat levels are decreasing, which is do do with the fasting and keeping carbs low from after post workout to meats, oils and veggies.
26. May, 2011
at 3:41 am #
Great article, Jay.
and the guy in the pic? Ben Cousins: yea he IS seriously cut and ripped…and a damn good australian football rules player (aussies, I would be quite an oafish american if I called it rugby, correct?)
26. May, 2011
at 10:26 pm #
@Ryan: haha yeah correct mate. AFL and rugby are pretty different, mainly in just that AFL is much better :D
30. May, 2011
at 7:47 pm #
@Ryan:
Totally would Ryan ;)
Rugby is a completely different game. In fact, there are two (main) versions of it.
Rugby guys tend to be a lot bigger and thicker than AFL players, because they aren’t running as much distance wise.
For example, David Pocock who plays for the Western Force, was recently featured in the Australian Men’s Health with a 210 kg squat, 170 kg bench press, 240 kg deadlift and the ability to do muscle ups at a bodyweight of around 104 kg.
26. May, 2011
at 11:24 pm #
Good point, Eric! I’ve read Eat Stop Eat & it emphasizes how the 24-hr fast shouldn’t be preceded or followed by a binge of any kind. That would totally defeat the purpose! The fast should simply be thought of as taking a break from eating, then going back to how you would eat normally when you resume eating. I started at 1 fast/week, increased to 2/week & now am doing 3/week for the final push to get below 10% body fat for the summer. Love it! I find it much easier to do it this way rather than count calories & keeping my daily calorie intake below a certain level.
30. May, 2011
at 8:07 pm #
I’m a hardgainer, 130lb at 5’9″. Would you still recommend intermittent fasting for someone like me?
I started fasting a couple times per month and I lost weight. Used to be 138lb. It might have had something to do with a leg injury that prevented me from doing squats.
31. May, 2011
at 7:16 am #
Sounds great but what about muscle loss…
07. Dec, 2011
at 3:08 pm #
You won’t lose muscle
22. Dec, 2011
at 10:11 am #
If you’re gonna do intermittent fasting I would add a healthy dose of BCAAs on you fasting days.
I only fast on my training days and will take BCAAs before and after workout. That way my muscles stay intact.
Intermittent fasting is amazing. I just implemented it about 3 weeks ago and started seeing my abs for the first time in my life!!!
02. Jun, 2011
at 9:40 pm #
Is the intermittent fasting only meant for fat people (above 18% body fat) or is it still a good thing if one has below 10% body fat?
02. Nov, 2011
at 10:18 pm #
Over the last 5 weeks I have implement intermitent fasting for a 24hour period once a week. I am actually shocked by how well it works. Without altering any of my training or nutrition I have managed to drop from 12% to 10% body fat. All while still making strength gains in the gym.
07. Dec, 2011
at 3:08 pm #
Nice
07. Dec, 2011
at 3:08 pm #
Intermittent fasting is great for anyone.
05. Feb, 2012
at 11:24 am #
I fast every day a minimum of 16 hours. 6 pm until 10:00 am or 11:00 am
I lose weight every week, fat guys like me can lose weight every week pretty easily if they want to.
16. Mar, 2012
at 9:37 am #
Thank’s
?-If I train around 5 pm after work, when do I eat?If before I train should I have a shake (shake has bcaa)or a apple?
If I do eat on off days when should I eat?morn,noon?
do I count calories on this program?
28. Mar, 2012
at 12:11 am #
Ah, Sweet site.. I happened to stumble upon and noticed it was quite a gem.
I didn’t seem to see it, but how do you determine the calorie maintenance.
I know for lean, we’re doing a 15% to 20% deduction and a reverse for gains.
Is that how you usually deal with it?
04. Apr, 2012
at 9:36 pm #
It’s hard for me to grasp this intermittent fasting concept but I am eager to try it out for myself. I will let you know how it goes. And maybe I will have read Eat Stop Eat by then. Thanks for the info.
26. Apr, 2012
at 5:54 am #
This is totally wrong, it will mess up the metabolism long term. The body wants to burn fat ? I don’t think so.. it takes to long to burn & besides the energy from burning fat isn’t that great & is short lived, you body won’t even let you burn fat at your command. To much fat burning leads to muscle loss, your also messing with the body structure. Sure your body heat will increase by fasting, growth hormone may blast off & all the other goodies but in the long term, it just isn’t worth it.