Intermittent Fasting
Late last year I had my annual physical. In general I’m in good health, but my doctor did point out that my cholesterol is high. Not incredibly high — but higher than it should be at my age. I also have a family history of heart disease and high cholesterol. He gave me a year to get my cholesterol down before he was going to put me on medication.
That was a bit of a wake up call for me. I’m not in the greatest shape these days, but I generally get a decent amount of exercise and I’ve been quite happy to maintain my weight and not add on any more pounds as I’ve gotten older. Apparently, those efforts were not enough. So, I decided to really focus on becoming healthier in the new year. There have been many parts to that — eating healthier (more vegetables, more fish, less meat and less processed foods), working out more regularly (100 pushups and 100 sit-ups every day in addition to my occasional runs). However, one element that has been incredibly successful for me has been to adopt intermittent fasting.
I am by no means an expert on intermittent fasting. However, the basic philosophy is to allow the body to enter a fasting state by going long periods of time between some meals. This typically as the benefits of (1) reducing total calorie intake and (2) encouraging your body to burn stored fat instead of a recently eaten meal for energy. You can read a bit more about intermittent fasting at [Nerd Fitness](https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/).
There are lots of ways to implement intermittent fasting, but I picked a simple approach: I skip breakfast. That’s it. I typically eat dinner around 6:30, and just don’t eat again until around noon the next day. The goal is a 16 hour fasting window, so I can grab a snack at 10:30 or 11 if I’m feeling hungry, but I often don’t.
The results for me have been great. I’ve lost nearly 10 pounds, and have become noticeably more lean. I also feel great and have more energy (though I think most people would tell you I was never lacking in energy). I was somewhat worried about being particularly hungry (and more dangerously, hangry…) in the mornings, but I haven’t found that to be the case as at all. It’s been pretty much universally positive for me. If your’e looking for a simple way to feel better and healthier and lose some weight, I highly recommend it!
