I have been preaching the power of weight loss fasting ever since I discovered how incredible it works. When I find something that works as good as fasting, specifically intermittent fasting, I just feel that I need to tell you guys about it and pound it in to your heads. In my mind, it is the best way to not only lose fat, but also to control your weight for good.
I really feel that I never have to worry about what I can and can’t eat, or count calories, or do any of the pain in the ass diets that never work ever again. Weight loss fasting, such as the way that Brad Pilon explains in his groundbreaking program Eat-Stop-Eat, has literally changed my life. This summer in my neck of the woods, Pittsburgh, Pa, it has been amazingly hot and sunny. This is not always the case for us and I have been enjoying the great outdoors more this year than ever. So far, I’ve camped, went on my kayak, went to cookouts, drank a ton of margaritas, and so much more all the while eating whatever I wanted. By the way, I am a big, big fan of margaritas!
[There is nothing better than lounging on the beach with a frozen margarita! I work hard at my business and my body and I love to let loose a little from time to time and reward myself with one of these babies! I mean the margarita, not the girl! Honest, honey!]
Weight loss fasting doesn’t make me a miserable prick!
If I was still trying to watch what I ate or was on some lame diet, I would either be miserable or I would of gained a bunch of weight these past few months. I am actually leaner than I have been since 1997, when I did a natural bodybuilding show. (Don’t ask me why, it wasn’t pretty, and I didn’t do very well!) But regardless, I remember dieting for that show and being a miserable prick to my wife, my oldest son, and anyone else that made eye contact with me. I was restricting my calories so much that I was always tired and weak.
I am now very lean, not as tight as I was for that show but very lean, especially for 41 years old, and I am not miserable or moody like I was before. With intermittent weight loss fasting I can control what my body looks like and still eat pretty much whatever I want. I am now down to 170 lbs at 5″-10″ and don’t want to get any lighter because I really don’t have much more fat to lose. I only fast a few times a month, instead of twice a week like I did when I was dropping weight, and only do it just to keep me on track. If I gain a few pounds, I can easily lose it again, if I want to. Intermittent weight loss fasting is such an incredible tool that has given me the freedom to never worry about food or dieting again. I wrote a post a few months back about fasting and my trip to Vegas, check it out to see how I was able to really let loose with minimal weight gain afterward.
[This video has some amazing pictures of beaches on it. I love vacations and I love the beach. It is a great feeling to be able to go on vacation and really indulge in the finer foods and drinks out there, without paying for it later!]
To be honest, I actually eat fairly well now and definitely limit my carbs. This keeps me within striking distance of my target weight and prevents me from needing to fast more often. I suggest that you try and eat as good as you can also, not only for weight loss, but for overall health reasons. It is just nice to know that if you get a little wild on the weekend or at a party, you can easily get back on track. If you want to learn more about weight loss fasting, you really need to check out Brad’s program, Eat-Stop-Eat.
It is definitely the best out there and he is so good at explaining it and also all of the health benefits associated with weight loss fasting.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Kelly,
I like that you keep pounding the Eat Stop Eat program into our heads. Plus I see you 3 days a week in the gym and have seen your weight loss from fasting. Your fat loss results have made me eat healthier and cut back on my portions (mostly carbs) and the weight has been coming off. This past January I was 230lb at 6′ tall. Now I weigh 207lb and getting leaner. I would like to lose 20 more and I think the intermittant fasting is the way to go. Keep up the great posts!!
See you soon
Tim
Hi Kelly
I’m still trying out the intermittent fasting method. The one thing that still worries me is how very quickly I put on weight if I cut loose a little! As you mentioned your Vegas trip, I went away for this past weekend to beautiful Cape Town (I live in Johannesburg, SA) and we ate out at so many restaurants, food I normally don’t eat as I eat pretty clean most of the time. Mostly I enjoyed it, but I do find I sometimes feel a little ill afterwards…..can’t eat much of some things! The thing that bothered me is that I weighed 1.6kg more the day after we returned and body fat% was up by 1% as well.
I guess that I expected it after what I ate, but I did fast on two days the week before I went, and I decided due to my weight gain, I’d fast 3 days this week, Monday, Wednesday & Friday. The fasting this week has been tough….yesterday I had a chronic headache for most of the day and broke my fast off 2 hours early. Today I have been eating my small portions….no headache.
My question is: do you have to fasst for 24 hours at a time for it to be effective? How about fasting from 7pm to 2pm the next day?
I seem to sound obsessive I know, but I so want to get this right, and am aiming to drop my body fat down lower than it’s ever been….I seem to need to do drastic things to achieve this! I would love to be where you are now and not have to continuously count calories and struggle like I’ve been doing!!
Thanks for your previous input!
Natalie
Tim,
Like I tell everyone, if you try fasting and give your body a chance to get used to it, you will definitely lose the weight. Most people are so used to being in a “fed” state for around 18 hours a day or more and never experience what it is like to be in a “fasted” state. It’s kind of like going through withdrawal from all of the calories, sugars, carbs, etc. Once you get used to the feeling of fasting, it will be a piece of cake (not literally) and when you start to drop the weight, it will become addicting! You will never worry about dieting or what you are “allowed” to eat ever again.
Natalie,
Thanks for stopping by again! I know that some people get headaches when fasting because of the withdrawal the body goes through from not having as much calories, sugars, and carbs in their system. I read that women actually are more susceptible to this happening for some reason. I think that if you give it some time and take it slow, it will pass. Obviously I am not a doctor and don’t know how severe the headaches are for you. You can take some type of pain reliever if you want while fasting.
I would limit your fasts to twice a week if i were you. you will definitely see the results with two fasts a week. You don’t want this to be so obtrusive in your normal lifestyle that it turns in to a diet for you. The reason that diets don’t work in the long term is because they come with a whole set of rules that you have to stick to. Don’t do that with this. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. The great thing about fasting is the freedom that it gives you, and the results too! You are doing great and I can tell how passionate you are about this. Give it a chance to work and before you know it, you will be like me and have to limit your fasts so you don’t lose too much!
This is a short excerpt from the Eat-stop-eat book that will answer your question about fasting less than 24 hours better than I could answer it.
“The answer is two fold.
First: According to the research, the 24-hour point is right in the middle of the maximum adaptation for fat burning.
Second: Through trial and error, I as well as many of the initial test subjects on the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle, found that 24 hours was the least intrusive to their daily lifestyle. A 24-hour period made the most sense from a practical and scientific stand point.
In actuality you’re body begins to burn significantly more fat after approximately the 18
hour mark. This effect begins to level off after 30 hours. If you don’t quite make it to the
24-hour point some days don’t sweat it, you’re still getting a benefit.
I do not recommend extended fasts by a considerable amount past the 24-hour mark
because I believe they become too intrusive on a person’s lifestyle. There is nothing wrong
with cutting a fast short at 22 hours, or extending a fast to 27 or 28 hours if it fits into
your schedule. However, if you end up fasting for 40, 50 or even 70 hours I simply do not
see how this CANNOT become intrusive on your life. By extending your fasts into the
range of 2-3 days, you lose the flexibility that makes Eat Stop Eat so effective as a longterm
weight loss solution.”
Hope this explains it a little better for you. Let me know how you are doing and stop back soon!
-Kelly
Kelly,
I’m right there with you preaching the effectiveness of fasting. It’s helped me lose a lot of fat with no lifestyle sacrifice. Plus, in some weird way, it’s actually resulted in me eating healthier too…aside from my cheat day on the weekends.
Dave
Dave – Fitness Training Tips´s last [type] ..How to get washboard abs Do plank exercises- no more crunches!
I totally agree fasting does work, I don’t like feeling hungry but when its time for a fasting period my mind resets to OK here we go. ( i usually fast for 2 days over 3 per month).
another advantage; its great for the body to stop digesting for a while and gives it a break it takes so much energy to consume food.
Raymond
Raymond-ZenMyFitness´s last [type] ..MMA Training Zen Style – A Guest Post by Aundre of MMA UK Blog
Kelly, sounds like a great summer so far. I think 5’10” at 170 is a great weight ot be at, especially if you have sufficient strength.
Cheers,
Yavor
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Dave,
It was the same for me with eating healthier! I think once you start to lose fat and get leaner, you want to keep the momentum going and lose even more, so you start eating healthier in between fasts. I know I sound like a broken record talking about fasting, but It is so rare that something actually works as good as advertised, and this definitely does.
Raymond,
With me it got easier to fast after a few times, because like you say, you are mentally prepared for what it is like and you know what to expect. I haven’t fasted as much lately because I haven’t needed to. It’s great to know that it is there whenever I need it.
Yavor,
Yeah, 170 is about as low as I want to go for now. My strength levels are great at that weight. I think a lot of it is mental for me. I used to feel that I needed to be heavier to be strong, but I am fine at this weight.
I used to compete as a powerlifter in 1995 and 96′ and I was in the 181 lb class, so I wasn’t all that much lighter than now. I’m ok with sacrificing a little strength to be leaner, but I don’t really feel that I am losing much strength. To be honest, I am nowhere near where I was as far as strength goes from back when I was powerlifting. I haven’t trained that way for well over ten years, though. I play around with deadlifts now and then, but I just don’t have the will to do what I need to in order to get over 600 again. I deadlifted 610 while weighing 179.6 at my last meet in 1996. I haven’t even been up to 500 lbs since! I think my back thanks me for it, though!
-Kelly
I have tried fasting and really enjoyed it, I think that I will be getting my hands on eat stop eat sooner than later. The points you made are important.
Alejandro “The Fittest Vegan”´s last [type] ..Why You Need to Exercise Outdoors
Alejandro,
I think once you try eat-stop-eat, you will use it as a tool for staying lean for the rest of your life. It is one of those rare things that actually work better than advertised. Let me know what you think once you give it a try.
I’m onto my second week of ESE and have found it easier to do than in the first instance.
Both myself and my girlfriend are test-dummies for the program which ill write about on my blog as results come to hand.
Should be interesting as I’m combining it with visual impact.
Clint,
Between Eat-Stop-eat and Rusty’s visual impact, you are going to make some incredible progress! I really feel like I found something that I will use for a very long time with both of them. I am cutting phase three a little short on VI so I can try the bonus phase before summer is over. It would actually work better if I did phase 3 for a little longer, but I started VI a little later than I would of liked. I am going to post some pictures after the bonus phase to show how it turned out. Next year, I will definitely start phase 1 with VI a little sooner. Thanks for stopping by and don’t be a stranger!
-Kelly
Fasting can be super effective. A lot of people don’t know how to do it right though and it can be dangerous. As long as you know what you are doing you should be fine.
Interesting, I always thought that fasting was bad for your body. I would definitely be interested in doing more research on this method. Thanks for posting!
Love the video. Definitely makes me want to get my beach body back.
One of the most informative post I’ve read. Thanks for sharing this amazing information. Fasting is indeed a great way to lose weight while providing you with other health benefits.
Keep us updated
Water Fasting´s last [type] ..“Just wanted to express my gratitude for everything I witnessed at Tanglewood It truly was a divine life changing experience- and I am forever grateful” — Ryan Geoghegan
Do I need to keep off food and water or just food? thanks in anticipation
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