Sunday, July 25, 2010

Intermittent Fasting: A Primer

Lets get one thing on the table right off the bat... Breakfast is NOT the most important meal of the day.

Your metabolism does NOT start as soon as you start eating. Quite the Opposite!

Your metabolism only slows down when your overall caloric intake doesnt meet your bodies needs for an extended period of time, not a day, but weeks.

If you skip a meal, you wont Starve!!!

We store Fat for a reason. To use later. Its our built in Rechargeable batteries. Why in the world would our system decide if we aren't Constantly charging the batteries that they would not provide the juice to our systems?

The truth is, our body is supplying energy via stored fat almost all the time. Its our go to. Heres the kicker. As soon as you eat, your body stops pulling from stored energy and converts over to using (and storing) the incoming food. Eating also releases Insulin, your "Storage and Growth Hormone", which means your body is charging the batteries, rather than pulling from them...

If weight loss is a goal, the less time in Storage Mode the better.


Hunger is the real roadblock for most. The best I can recommend, until your body is used to running on stored fat for longer periods of time, is to move gradually into it.

Delay Breakfast.
Skip Breakfast
Delay Lunch
Skip Lunch.

personally almost every single day I skip breakfast, its easier. then depending how ive been eating lately, I choose to skip lunch or have a breakfast lunch(eggs and bacon!) at lunchtime. Depends how much ive decided to eat lately and my weight/fitness goals. I eat more when Im working out, I eat less if I notice ive gained some weight. I generally dont eat if im not hungry. Generally a 16-18 hour fast, or the days I skip lunch, a 24hr fast.

Martin Berkham over at Leangains.com has a TON of information about Intermittent Fasting if you want more information to read about.

also below Ill post a Number of studies talking about the weight loss and other benefits, but honestly, the list goes on and on far beyond what im sharing here.




Studies show that meal frequency is unimportant. In addition, eating less often and therefore spiking your insulin less often, results in improved insulin sensitivity. Meaning your body is better able to understand when to start and stop storage, signal when you should eat, control hunger, and give you a lower setpoint.

Meal frequency influences circulating hormone levels but not lipogenesis rates in humans - 
Peter J. H. JonesCorresponding Author Contact Information, Gayle L. Namchuk and Raymond A. Pederson
Effect of meal size and frequency on the thermic effect of food- 
Ph.D.Amy Z. Belkoa and M.A.Teresa F. Barbieri
Influence of Diet Composition on Nitrogen Balance and Body Composition in Meal-Eating and Nibbling Rats1-AYSEL OZELCI, DALE R. ROMSOS AND GILBERT A. LEVEILLE
The Human Body May Buffer Small Differences in Meal Size and Timing

during a 24-h Wake Period Provided Energy Balance Is Maintained1-Ulf Holmba, Arne Lowden,Mats Stridsberg and Anders Forslund

The Effect of Meal Frequency on Preprandial Resting Metabolic Rate-Abby Goodman-Larson, Kristine Johnson & Krista Shevlin
Effect of the pattern of food intake on human energy metabolism-BY WILHELMINE P. H. G. VERBOEKET-VAN DE VENNE', KLAAS R. WESTERTERP' AND ARNOLD D. M. KESTER'




Heres a Study showing Intermittent Fasting lowering Inflammation.

Interleukin-6, C-Reactive Protein and Biochemical Parameters during Prolonged Intermittent Fasting- Fehime B. Aksungara, Aynur E. Topkayab, Mahmut Akyildizc

Alternate-day fasting and chronic disease prevention: a review of human and animal trialsKrista A Varady and Marc K Hellerstein 

Calorie restriction (CR) and alternate-day fasting (ADF) represent 2 different forms of dietary restriction. Although the effects of CR on chronic disease prevention were reviewed previously, the effects of ADF on chronic disease risk have yet to be summarized. Accordingly, we review here animal and human evidence concerning ADF and the risk of certain chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. We also compare the magnitude of risk reduction resulting from ADF with that resulting from CR. In terms of diabetes risk, animal studiesof ADF find lower diabetes incidence and lower fasting glucose and insulin concentrations, effects that are comparable to those of CR. Human trials to date have reported greater insulin-mediated glucose uptake but no effect on fasting glucose or insulin concentrations. In terms of cardiovascular disease risk, animal ADF data show lower total cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations, a lower heart rate, improved cardiac response to myocardialinfarction, and lower blood pressure. The limited human evidence suggests higher HDL-cholesterol concentrations and lower triacylglycerol concentrations but no effect on blood pressure. In terms of cancer risk, there is no human evidence to date, yet animal studies found decreases in lymphoma incidence, longer survival after tumor inoculation, and lower rates of proliferation of several cell types. The findings in animals suggest that ADF may effectively modulate several risk factors, thereby preventing chronic disease, and that ADF may modulate disease risk to an extent similar to that of CR. More research is required to establish definitively the consequences of ADF.

Corn Oil and Vegetable Oil...will Run your Car....

Photo courtesy of ethanolpics

Corn and Vegetable Oil can be put in Gasoline and Diesel respectively and run a car...

They are similar chemically and have similar reactions...

Would you cook with Gasoline or Diesel? ...

The Easy Oxidation is the reason these work well as fuels. Its also why these go so quickly TOXIC when you cook with them.

They are one of the worst ways to get Omega 6 fats, a misbalance  or oxidation of which leads to cancer and disease.

Just a little food for thought... tho I wouldn't dare eat it. I don't want my food to eat it either.

White Men can't Jump... because they can't squat.

White Men Can't Jump (Ws)

Besides a mildly humorous premise, When you take a look around the US and how we live and eat... This is true... but its not just White Men... Id say, Americans Can't Jump. Sure we have outliers. but by the time we are in our 30's if we aren't actively participating in sports or specifically training to jump... we just arent able to anymore... our kids don't seem to have a problem.. relative to their size of course.

Craig Weller from T-Nation did a great Article about the Third World Squat. I think its a great read about Sitting, Squatting and what we've forgotten how to do, here in America.

http://www.tmuscle.com/readArticle.do;jsessionid=931E7C67CC4D68CDD14935F00ADDDD39.hydra?id=1856085

The classic North American squatting down to grab something from a low shelf or play with his VCR is going to balance on his toes and shoot his knees forward. He's going to try and make the movement feel as much as possible like his natural environment, which is sitting in an office chair.
Home to many butts.
The hips and ankles are immobilized and because the force is being relegated mainly to the quads, the effect of the posterior chain is minimized. The musculature of the lower back will be overactive in order to support the weight of the upper body without much assistance from the glutes. The thoracic spine will generally be flexed forward into a kyphotic posture.

Our Swahili-speaking friend is going to keep his weight on his heels. His feet approximately shoulder width apart and pointed straight forward, with maybe a small amount of external rotation. His feet are in line with his knees, and he'll squat down placing his kneecaps neatly into his armpits. This isn't a skill that he acquired at some point, but simply one that he never lost due to a lifetime of immobility and office work.
An advanced trainee.
In this posture, the thoracic spine is neutral and can be easily extended depending on where the individual's attention is directed. The hips and ankles are able to move freely and remain mobile. The posterior chain is carrying the weight of the body, rather than the quads. When he stands, the power to do so will be generated through the glutes and hamstrings. The lumbar spine remains stable and is used primarily to transfer, rather than generate, force. 

Carrnivore or Herbivore.

Besides the obvious fatal flaws, Veganism is a Moral choice. Not one I would consider, because as much as I like animals... I like myself and my health more.


Theres just no way around it, our bodies are NOT adapted to eating only Vegetables.


We need Meat. Now don't get me wrong. I want Sustainable, Humane, Quality and Healthy Meat. not the CFA poison either.


Thats why I eat Wild Fish, Grass Fed Beef, Wild Forest Fed Boar, Free Range Non Soyfed Chickens and Eggs.


I look for this food to be local if possible, so that I can see how it lives on the farm. So that I Know whats going into my food.


That being said, I just wanted to leave you with 2000 words... Carnivore vs Herbivore, which would you rather be.


Image courtesy of Ianmichaelthomas

image courtesy of G1!7ch



Personally, Im sticking with a Highly Carnivorous, Nutrient Dense Diet with a Healthy Portion of Vegetables on the side... because thats what my body has adapted to live on.


Whole Health Source: Gluten Sensitivity: Celiac Disease is the Tip of the Iceberg

This link is too important not to share. Given my stance on wheat, this puts things into a little more perspective about whether you think you might have a Gluten Intolerance.

Stephan has a great blog over a Whole Health Source, and alot of great information despite the fact that I disagree with him about eating fermented grains... Id rather avoid them all together.
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/12/gluten-sensitivity-celiac-disease-is.html

I want to point out a few key pieces of information from his post.

It gets worse. Gluten sensitivity is determined in large part by genetics. A gene called HLA-DQ is intimately involved. It encodes a protein that is expressed on the surface of cells, that serves to activate immune cells when certain foreign substances are present. Different versions of the gene are activated by different substances. HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 are classically associated with celiac disease. Roughly 42% of the US population carries DQ2 or DQ8. According to Dr. Fine, every allele except DQ4 has some association with gluten-related problems! Only 0.4% of the U.S. population carries HLA-DQ4 and no other allele.

99.6% of the population of the US has genes that carry no known sensitivities to Gluten....
Thats good odds.

A betting man would assume they were part of that percentage.

Me personally, ive used the Elimination Test to determine my sensitivity. Eat absolutely no wheat, and I mean super strict, read every label, know everything you put in your mouth for 3 weeks. Then have some wheat for 2-3 days. then stop.

People report eliminating, Acne, Asthma, Weight!, Digestive Issues, Heartburn, Allergies, Fatigue and more! all from eliminating one poison thats directly attacking their immune system.

When you reintroduce it, pay attention to all these things to see if they return.
Personally I had Weight Loss, Better Digestion and much better Energy, all of which backfired when I eat Wheat. In fact, now that my gut is healed... if I eat wheat, I have Digestive Issues!

Stephan also explains why most normal testing doesnt pick up on the Gluten Sensitivity, besides, you can see for yourself the difference.

The immune system can be divided into two parts: innate and adaptive. The innate immune system is a nonspecific, first-line reaction to a perceived threat. The adaptive immune system is a more sophisticated, but slower system that produces a powerful response by particular cell types to a very specific threat. Antibody production is part of the adaptive immune system. Thus, if your gluten sensitivity test is looking for antibodies, it could still be missing an immune reaction to gluten mediated by the innate immune system!