Dieting. My least favorite word of all time. Ever. No really, I’m not a fan. But can you blame me? The word diet or even the thought of dieting invokes immediate fear throughout and I know I can’t be the only one.
You see, I love food. It’s no secret and it doesn’t need to be. I’m far from obese and I’d like to class myself in the healthy bracket, but that doesn’t mean I’m in the top 1% of health buffs – I could improve. But the thing is, I’m not sure I want to. Especially if it involved cutting off my love for food.
I’ve tried diets and they never stick. Not one ever has. I’ve done the whole low carb thing and even going a little big caveman (which isn’t as fun as it sounds). A friend of mine once gave the whole cabbage soup thing a go and I don’t think it went down all that well. Quite literally. Needless to say, I wasn’t all that interested in giving it a go for myself.
So, since the trials and fails, I’ve kind of stuck to what I know. Loving good, hearty food. I do okay, but I could improve. That old saying tends to pop up a lot!
Now I know I could do better, so I’m tempted to give it one last go. I know, I know, you’re thinking ‘famous last words’, right? But I really do think I might have found something that could be just what I’ve been looking for.
I want balance and I think Eat Stop Eat could give me just that.
Table of Contents
So What’s It All About?
In short, the whole concept of Eat Stop Eat is based around intermittent fasting. It sounds a little crazy, but after hearing the hype, I was interested enough to find out more.
Eat Stop Eat is also a book, written by nutrition expert Brad Pilon. Combining Brad’s knowledge, interest and years of experience in the supplement industry, he compiled Eat Stop Eat based around the IF principles.
Many people have criticized intermittent fasting, but, as Brad tells me, it certainly has its benefits. By staying off food, willingly, between 12 and 24 hours, our bodies have a bit of time to get themselves together, burn fat and clear out. Sounds good now, doesn’t it?
And while at first, I initially thought, what – time without food, I now get it. By fasting, our bodies are easily able to find calorific balance and get into a better fat burning state, which we all know is the key to losing weight the healthy way and keeping it off!
And How Does It Work?
It’s actually so much easier to understand than I ever thought. I do love my research and prefer to fully understand things before I get going and (especially when it involves not eating!) I had a horrible feeling that this would be tough. I was pleasantly surprised…
The intermittent fasting works to get fat burning going in the best way possible. It’s really hard for our bodies to burn fat when insulin levels are too high or we’re not producing enough growth hormone. But, when insulin levels decrease, and growth hormones increase, fat can actually be released and used up as fuel.
However, the research (including that of my own, over the years) has taught me that balance is important. On the non-fasting days, it’s really important not to overdo it on the food. We all know that will completely counteract the whole concept of Eat Stop Eat. After all, it’s not called Eat Stop Eat, Eat, Eat now is it!?
Does It Really Mean No Food at All?
On fasting days, yes, no food can be consumed. Some people even like to really keep the drink intake down or even just to water, but that’s not how you have to do it. There are some drinks that you’re allowed to have throughout the fasting days. This includes black tea and coffee, herbal teas and green tea, diet sodas, sparkling waters and other non-calorie drinks. So, that’s quite a lot to choose from.
It’s worth noting, not to go for too many diet sodas. It has been found that the chemicals in diet drinks can make you hungrier! Not something you need on a day where no food is allowed!
And, How Did It Go?
So far, so good. I’ve been following the Eat Stop Eat concept of intermittent fasting now for about 4 weeks. I want to be honest with you guys because, well isn’t that the point in these?! It was tough, really really tough to start with. On the first day of fasting, I had a few tumble rumbles and by midmorning not even coffee could stop me from feeling hungry.
But, I stayed strong and kept away from the food. I first went with 12 (waking) hours. I woke at 6 and didn’t eat until 6pm. I had to stop myself from making all of my favorite foods, but I was surprised how little I ate when I was allowed.
Then, I found the fasting days easier. Some days I ate after 12 hours and others I went a full 24 (including sleep).
Weight wise, I’ve lost around 10lbs and feel great. It really does feel like I’m cleansing my body and giving it a bit of a rest from constantly processing foods and working around the clock.
I’d have to give this one a 4 out of 5 because it’s tough, but it works. Give it a try (if the no food days don’t terrify you), you might be surprised with the results.