If you’re a man over 50, have you thought about Intermittent Fasting for losing weight?
Intermittent Fasting
Is fasting a good idea for men over 50?
Does it work?
Yes and yes, at least for me.
And the more you do it, the easier it gets.
As we get older, our metabolism slows down.
We aren’t as active as we were in our younger days, so we need to make changes in our eating habits.
You can’t keep eating like you used to.
You should always check with your health care professional before starting a new eating lifestyle or diet.
What Are The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent Fasting is an eating lifestyle.
Some studies have shown that it can improve health and negate diseases.
Fasting is basically going without food for a set period of time.
Over the years people have fasted for religious or political reasons and some have just wanted to lose weight.
Some people call it “Skipping Breakfast”.
16 and 8
16 and 8 is normally going without food for 16 hours.
Then you have an eating window of 8 hours.
During these 8 hours, you should eat nutritious food such as meats, fruits, and vegetables.
You still want to maintain a healthy diet while fasting and healthy eating should be your daily goal.
That means stay away from processed foods as much as possible.
If your goal is to lose weight, then you need to be in a caloric deficit.
Caloric deficit is a fancy way of saying burn more calories than you eat.
By fasting you’re giving your digestive system a break.
In today’s society, three meals a day has been the normal eating cycle we grew up with.
Science has shown us that giving your body a 16 hour fast may be the way to go.
18 and 6
OK, let’s not make this hard.
This is what it sounds like.
You fast for 18 hours with a 6 hour feeding window.
18 and 6 gives you two more hours of burn time on your fast.
Dr. Ted Naiman, M.D. performed a study that said the “the sweet spot for intermittent fasting” is around 18 to 24 hours of the fast.
You can play around with these methods and see what works for you.
Alternate Day Fasting
Some people choose Alternate Day Fasting over Intermittent Fasting.
This means they eat normal on one day and fast the next day.
You can also check out OMAD – One Meal A Day, meaning that you eat only once each day.
Burn The Fuel Stores
Glucose is what your body uses for fuel and is produced when your body breaks down carbohydrates in the food you eat.
So if you go for a longer period of time without adding calories, autophagy will take place.
Autophagy means “self eating” and on a cellular level, it happens when the body needs to get rid of damaged cells.
Autophagy happens when you are in your fast for a longer period.
Dr Jason Fung MD, uses an old car analogy, so I will use a kitchen.
If you are going to remodel a kitchen, get rid of the old cabinets and install new ones.
Fasting cleans out the old proteins and cells, while stimulating Human Growth Hormone (HGH) which adds new clean cells to the body.
At this point your body is burning the fat stores.
How do you fast?
Well, here’s how I do it. I wake up around 5:30 AM every morning, even on weekends.
I drink black coffee and water until 10:30 or 11 AM.
You can also drink tea without anything added.
The key is not to increase your insulin level which will make your body burn any outside calories you’ve taken in.
So if I put cream and sugar in my coffee, it would raise my insulin level.
I sometimes go until noon before eating, but usually around the 10:30 area, I’ll eat a small bowl of oatmeal, with a banana and frozen blueberries or strawberries.
I get fresh berries from the store and put them in the freezer and add as needed.
Then, I’ll eat lunch a couple of hours later.
I usually eat healthy, but stray off the track every once in a while.
I don’t feel guilty about it either.
My last meal for the evening is usually 8 hours from when ever I started that morning.
Just Get Started
When you first start Intermittent Fasting, you may want to ease into it.
Start out by eating maybe an hour later than normal or just skip breakfast.
Then you can increase this period until you get into a routine you are comfortable with.
Drink plenty of water throughout the day, but especially when you wake up!
This gets your system going.
Think of water as flushing out the toxins in your body.
Then grab some plain coffee or green tea and drink it until you break your fast.
I really enjoy coffee in the morning, so that’s my go to drink.
It’s a good idea to increase minerals when fasting.
When you first start intermittent fasting, it is natural to feel hungry.
Your insulin levels will be decreasing and your body will try to hang onto sodium and other minerals.
By increasing sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, you can satiate your hunger.
Why on earth would you want to fast?
It’s simple, to lose weight and build your immune system.
It will also boost your Human Growth Hormone (HGH) levels.
Where do you fast?
You fast where ever you are and if you want to take a day off?
Do it!
There aren’t any hard and fast rules here.
If you want to break your fast with a meal replacement smoothie, try this Smoothie Diet recipe.
I will say this. I don’t need a “cheat day” because I’ve gotten used to this eating lifestyle and it’s no big deal.
It’s probably more like a cheat meal, meaning I’ll eat earlier than I usually do.
Foods to Eat
Proteins, Fats, and Carbs
Proteins : Meat, Fish, Eggs
Carbs: Spinach, Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, cucumbers, Broccoli, and Cauliflower. You know, those vegetables your Mom made you eat.
Fats: Try to get your fats from Olive and Coconut Oil.
These are healthy fats.
Try Jocko Greens powder for a complete daily dose of vitamins and minerals.
It has 20 fruits and vegetables and 9 Billion Probiotics for healthy digestion.
Coconut Oil
Just a note on Coconut Oil.
It’s been getting good and bad press lately because it’s a saturated fat.
According to an article from Harvard Medical School it’s somewhere in the middle of being good or bad.
If you use it, just keep it in moderation.
Stay away from soft drinks, chips, and other junk food.
Conclusion
Start your intermittent fasting lifestyle tomorrow.
Get into a good Calisthenics program. WALK daily, if possible. Drink plenty of water.
I noticed that if I purposely drink water, my hunger kind of goes away.
Cut down on alcohol.
It turns to sugar in your body and will make you fat if you don’t burn it off.
Hey, I like my beer too, but need to cut back from time to time.
Remember, losing weight is all about burning more calories than you eat and intermittent fasting can help you get there.
Try to eat healthy foods.
The Smoothie Diet recipe plan may be worth a try.
You have to find out what works for you and stick with it.
Again, if you have a medical condition or have questions about Intermittent Fasting, check with your Doctor before trying this lifestyle.
SOURCES
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4250148/#r5 . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6478699/. https://www.healthcarebusinesstoday.com/give-a-boost-to-the-hgh-human-growth-hormone-naturally/ . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC329619/ https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/glucose-diabetes https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/drinking-water-in-the-morning https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/alternate-day-fasting-guide https://www.dietdoctor.com/renew-body-fasting-autophagy https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-there-a-place-for-coconut-oil-in-a-healthy-diet-2019011415764 https://medium.com/better-humans/the-sweet-spot-for-intermittent-fasting-9aae12a2158c