Intermittent fasting has been very popular in recent years. But what’s the best way for men to begin intermittent fasting?
It’s claimed to help with weight loss, metabolic health, and maybe even to extend lifespan.
Not surprisingly, given the popularity of intermittent fasting, several different types or methods or plans of intermittent fasting have been created.
Every method can be effective (if you could only follow some of them), but there’s one method which I consider to the best. (Save time — scroll to the end of the article to find out which intermittent fasting method is the best, in my view. And I think you’ll agree.
Here are some popular ways to do intermittent fasting.
The 16/8 Method: Fast for 16 hours each day
In this plan, you basically skip breakfast. You eat within an 8-hour window. In practical terms, that means you eat lunch and dinner.
The problems, in my view: You can pack in a lot of calories in two meals. Also, many men LIVE like this already, skipping breakfast, eating huge lunches and dinners, and steadily gain weight. Not good.
The solution? Save time and scroll to the end of the article to get the BEST way to begin intermittent fasting.
The 5:2 diet: Fast for 2 days per week
This is exactly what it sounds like. And exactly as impractical. You fast for two days out of the week — for 24 hours.
Problems: It’s difficult. It causes you to get into and out of an eating routine. It can happen at VERY inconvenient times. (Valentine’s Day? etc.) Also, you can EASILY more than make up for those calories by overeating the other five days per week.
Solution: Save time. You only live this day once. Don’t spend it overthinking how to begin Intermittent Fasting. Scroll to the end of the article and get the BEST way for men to begin (and continue) intermittent fasting.
Alternate-day fasting: Fast every other day
In this plan, you limit yourself to 500 calories (or zero calories) every other day.
This has so many problems, from a mental/emotional point of view, that it’s virtually impossible for any normal person to follow. You’d have to have an iron will. And if we had an iron will, we wouldn’t need to intermittent fast in the first place. We wouldn’t have eaten all of those donuts.
Problems: When you’re limiting yourself to 500 calories a day, without a specific schedule, it’s the same as a strict diet. That’s not a fast. It’s a drip feed diet. It’s HARD.
Solution: Scroll to the end of the article and get the easiest, most effective, most sustainable plan for intermittent fasting.
The Warrior Diet: Eat small amounts of fruit and vegetables during the day, eat a huge meal at night
The Warrior Diet was popularized by fitness expert Ori Hofmekler.
It involves eating small amounts of raw fruits and vegetables during the day and eating one huge meal at night.
Problems: This is not fasting. It’s a diet, because you’re eating throughout the day. When you start a fire, the fire will continue to burn. When you start eating fruit and vegetables during the day, your blood sugar will spike up, then swing low. That will cause you to eat — or to suffer dealing with extreme will power battles.
Solution: Stop rummaging around these inferior intermittent fasting plans and scroll right down to see the best, mentally and emotionally easiest, low-suffering, easiest way for men to begin intermittent fasting.
And even better: it’s best way to begin intermittent fasting, and the best way to continue. You really can’t improve upon it. Here it is:
The Best Way to Begin Intermittent Fasting: Eat Only Dinner — Nothing Else
Incidentally, that’s also the best way to continue. It’s a beginner’s diet. It’s a veteran’s diet. It will do for anyone.
And: don’t follow any such plan off the Internet unless you’re a physically, medically, mentally, psychologically, and emotionally healthy person.
I recommend this only for men, not to exclude anyone, but only because I’m not comfortable giving women eating advice.
And if you’re a healthy man (physically, medically, mentally, psychologically, emotionally), then give it a try. Monitor your psychological and physical health. If eating disorders run in your family, just don’t do this.
And you’ll see the weight drop off of you.
Why it works so much better than any other plan out there:
- Mentally, it’s far easier to skip all meals except one, and skip all snacks, than it is to unknowingly spark your appetite with little bits of food — even fruits and vegetables — throughout the day. When you eat a little, it makes you hungrier than if you didn’t eat anything. But if you just don’t eat anything except dinner, you’ll hardly feel hungry during the day after about three days. Counterintuitive but true. As anyone who has fasted can tell you.
- You eat the following every night: a full big meal of 1 to 2 servings of protein, 2 to 3 servings of vegetables, a serving of carbs (beans, potato, whatever), some fat (butter or cheese or whatever). Optional: a small dessert, and you can even have a drink. No big deal. No overcomplicating things. Just eat a good meal. Eat your fill.
- You can even use fast food if that’s your thing. Just make sure you meet all the requirements in item #2 above. And eat plenty.
- You can drink coffee or tea, or decaf coffee or tea, throughout the day. You can drink water of course. Just don’t eat any calories, or drink any calories, throughout the day until dinner.
- That’s it. It’s simple. Anything else is only complicating matters. (I’m assuming you’re intermittent fasting to lose fat, not because you want to make an interesting hobby out of it.)