Intermittent Fasting

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Perhaps you're a big fan of the Australian heart throb, Hugh Jackman, or envied his muscles in Wolverine (which were carved out with IF). Maybe you have read on www.bodybuilding.com or another website about intermittent fasting. Some people swear by it, but what is it exactly? And how does it work?

How it works

Intermittent Fasting is not a diet. It's a pattern of eating. Some people eat every hour of the day they are awake (sometimes that's me). If you are doing intermittent fasting, then you only eat between certain hours of the day, for example; 16/8, since there are only 24 hours in a day, you choose that you will only eat during 8 hours, and the rest of the 16 hours in the day, you won't eat anything. At all.

Why Put Yourself Through This?

According the the books, intermittent fasting can help produce weight loss, and reduce oxidative stress (which damages cells and makes you age).

Intermittent fasting has been linked to:

• Reduced Cholesterol

• Reduced Blood Pressure

• Reduced Inflammation

• Reduced Oxidative Stress

• Increase in Fat Burning

• Increase in Growth Hormones

• Increase in Appetite Control, and even

• Increase in Effectiveness of Chemotherapy.

How Can You Do it?

There are several suggestions in the various books, websites, and blogs devoted to IF. The most common ways I've seen are eating only during certain periods of the day, or skipping two meals one day, to provide a 24-hour window without eating. This could translate to eating one day normally, than only eating one meal the following day.

Why Does this Work?

During a "fasting state," your body burns fat instead of carbohydrates. Inducing fasting states in yourself is good because it encourages your body to burn fat.

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