As I’ve mentioned before, I have flirted with intermittent fasting at a few points in my life. The current version is, in my opinion, perfection and will be lasting. The first version was way back in 1992.
I was in college and was really putting on the pounds. I was single and going to a natural resources school where the student population heavily leaned to the male side. I was struck with the idea that I needed to lose weight, and fast, if I was to be attractive to the opposite sex.
I had no idea it was intermittent fasting. Hell, I had no idea that that was what it was called until just a few months ago. But, essentially, I had the eating pattern down pat right from the start.
I called it the 10 and 2 diet. I ate at 10am then again at 2pm then didn’t eat a thing until the next day. The standard is a 16/8 pattern, meaning that you ‘feed’ over an eight hour period during the day and fast for 16 (much of that is while you’re sleeping). At that time, it worked out to a 20/4.
My nutritional knowledge was no where near what it is now. My budget was even lower. Sadly, my day would consist of two meals of two hot dogs each. On pieces of bread. With ketchup and mustard. Other days, I would split a single can of spaghetti or ravioli over the two meals.
That was pretty much it. No veggies or anything else healthy, for that matter. I was a college student. I was starving myself for the prospect of love! My exercise regimen consisted of plain pushups, situps and a ton of walking. Oh, I do believe I was going through a faze of smoking at the time. I was probably also heavily into drinking Diet Coke, an addiction I held for a good portion of my adult life.
But, boy, did I lose weight! I was 70’s rock star skinny. My parents picked me up for the Canadian Thanksgiving in October after not seeing me since the end of August. They thought I was sick. And, considering the actual nutrients I was taking in, I probably was.
Did It Work?
Well, yes. And, I stayed skinny for a few years after. I went back to a more reasonable eating plan but the period of intermittent fasting seemed to make a change in my system that allowed me to keep off the weight. Perhaps, it was just because I was in my early 20’s…
Fast Forward To 2020
My latest lifestyle shift (the one that’s permanent) began in October. I guess you could say it was for a girl again this time. No, I’m not looking for a new squeeze! But, I wanted to ensure that I wouldn’t be a health burden on my wife. I wanted to be someone she could still be attracted to. I wanted to be someone that made her still feel that she’d made the right choice!
It’s December 2. My goal in mid-October, when I started out on this lifestyle shift, was to weigh in at 180 on December 31, 2020, a loss of 30-35 lbs. At the start, I thought it was a lofty goal. I had thoughts that I would plateau and the weight would stop dropping. I was actually okay with that, as long as I didn’t return to an unhealthy lifestyle.
Well, today I weigh in at 182. I have nearly a full month to lose two pounds and achieve my goal. I’ve actually increased the food I eat at my two meals (9am and 3pm). My 16/8 is certainly not a 20/4 but more like an 18/6. That’s the important part, though. It’s that daily fasting time that does the magic. In your six, or eight, or four hours of fueling up, quantity isn’t the number one variable. But, make sure that the fuel is optimum.
I am still, and will continue to be, eating fully vegan. Most meals are based in either beans (thoroughly soaked and cooked to neutralize the lectins) or lentils. Mushrooms are a must for taste and for their high vitamin D count. After that, it’s a steady rotation of healthy vegetables with a focus on the ‘super foods’ like onion, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, etc.