According to Science Direct, Intermittent Fasting can be very helpful for weight loss, but it is not better than other diets that restrict calories. This means that there aren't any benefits to it from a fat loss standpoint if calories are all equal.
I agree with this entirely. The law of calories in vs. calories out will always determine fat loss and fat gain. HOWEVER... most studies surrounding Intermittent Fasting are comparisons between it and other diets.
Ultimately, this does not necessarily mean that Intermittent Fasting might not be efficient for you. All diets could potentially work... but you need to find the best diet that works for you.
So let me give you reasons why I LOVE Intermittent Fasting, and why I prefer to utilize it.
Now if you look at prior articles, you can see different viewpoints from one another. My reasoning for this is to show you that all diet styles and methods work for some people... but not everyone.
But I wanted to talk to you as to why I love Intermittent Fasting, and provide you more anecdotal reasons rather than the science surrounding it.
Fasting has been around for centuries. If you look at our history, you can see that most societies would feast in the evenings because food wasn't readily available.
Here are some examples of civilizations of the past and their uses of fasting:
With that being said, let's dive into other anecdotal reasons.
Intermittent fasting is the KING of physical & mental satisfaction. You just almost ate 1500 calories in one sitting - you are feeling FULL.
Fat loss has always been easier for me when I fast, because I ultimately skip breakfast, and allow for big calorie meals in the evening.
This is physically and mentally satiating because of the following reasons (some are personal):
Now obviously some of the previous statements require a little bit of discipline and self-control.
“What kills the creative force is not age or lack of talent, but our own spirit, our own attitude.” - Robert Greene
If you do a simple google search about the "spiritual benefits of fasting", you will find 4.3 million results - from religious to philosophical.
From a philosophical standpoint, I feel my most creative during fasting. My best social media content, strategies, and business decisions are made while fasting because I feel "in the zone".
This is what I call spiritual performance: your attitude of how you look at life, it's energies, and more. Whether you believe in a religion, Mother Nature, or a philosophy like Stoicism, you know that the "spiritual" is something that we find hard to explain in modern times today.
Even writing this, I can see how some could view this as silly.
However, we all have a unique philosophy or attitude towards life. That creativity allows us to break boundaries that we have never thought possible... and the most creative & flexible individuals are the most successful.
In this last section, I wanted to make this point: my Intermittent Fasting is never on some strict time window. It's flexible. I like to combine the Flexible Dieting "philosophy" with Intermittent Fasting to reach my fitness and lifestyle goals.
With that being said, here are a few suggestions and things to consider when implementing Intermittent Fasting:
With that, I want to leave one final note:if you have underlying health conditions, you should always consult a diet or physician in regards to fasting. Fasting can prove to be difficult for people with cardiac issues, diabetes, or other health conditions.
There you have it: my reasonings as to why I love Intermittent Fasting. To you, it may be unique. It may be odd.
But to me, the best diet is the one you can ultimately follow.
Adherence is the key to success in fitness - whether it is exercise or nutrition. If you can't stick to the nutrition or exercise program, the program is broken for you.
Ultimately, Intermittent Fasting is not a diet... but a system, similar to what Flexible Dieting is. I truly believe combining the two allows me to live my greatest potential through exercise.
Now whether or not it works for my career and personal development, I have yet to find out if it truly pays off... but time will tell.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at Tony@reforgedperformance.com. Due to excess amounts of email spam as a result for putting my email on every blog post, if I don't get back to you, message us @thereforged.
Until next time, Reforged Legion!
A few years back, it was very common to see various fitness competitors get in trouble for banned substances - because of supplements.
I remember one in particular competed and got disqualified because of one of his Pre-Workout products containing DMAA, him unknowingly realizing that it was a banned substance. This sadly ruined his reputation for quite some time.
We don't want things like that to happen to you.
So in this short post, we are going to dive into recommendations tactical and performance athletes should consider when taking supplements.
Let's dive in!
As you may have noticed, our supplements are VERY POTENT.
They're efficaciously or clinically-dosed (following scientific studies).
Therefore, it's imperative that if you take supplements to consider the following (ESPECIALLY with ours) by reading this post!
New Year, New Us.
Everyone is ready to make big lifestyle changes for the New Year (especially after 2020)... but as always, not everyone is prepared to make significant changes with their lifestyle.
We tend to underestimate our goals because we are completely optimistic and excited for the New Year. Without a coordinated strategy or direction, a lot of us end up failing because we never know how to get there.
In this post, we are going to give you 8 tips to conquer your fitness goals in 2021. After reading this, it is our hope that your mindset will be shifted to conquer your goals.