Shocking Results (and “before & after” pictures) from Skipping Breakfast…
I know sometimes it’s hard to accept change when we’ve programmed to adhere to silly dieting rules for so long, but I’ve actually skipped breakfast now for 4 to 6 days of the week over the past year to prove the validity and efficacy of the new Intermittent Fasting trend.
Am I crazy? Kind of.
The end result? It’s much easier for me to stay lean, I have more energy, I get more done, I eat less junk food and I haven’t lost ONE ounce of muscle. Best of all, I’m only eating 3 or 4 times a day now.
Here are the results from my year-long experiment:
I want to be 100% transparent and let you know that the before picture (taken on February 7th of 2011) was after a ten day vacation of eating bad and partying in Jamaica, so it was the perfect time to take a “before” picture and test out this new method.
But this isn’t about me. Who cares about me? This is about YOU.
And I’m not here to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. I’m here to educate you and let you know how “IF” has worked on my clients and myself.
In my opinion, Intermittent Fasting is easier to adhere to than trying to ram in 5, 6 or even 7 small meals a day.
So first, let’s look at the reasoning behind the “IF” strategy and why it makes a lot of sense. Then you can make an educated decision to see if this approach is a good fit for your lifestyle.
Intermittent Fasting or “IF” (in case you don’t already know) is essentially not eating or drinking anything that contains calories for a set time period. Generally this time period is between 16 and 36 hours.
Believe it or not, research actually proves that your metabolism won’t slow down for up to 36 hours of fasting. And even though we’ve been told over and over again if we don’t feed ourselves every 3 hours our metabolic rate will slow down, it’s simply not true.
This is something John Romaniello and I discussed in detail when I interviewed him about his new Fat Loss Forever Program.
Based on this approach, you’ll also be skipping the traditional time of day you would normally consume breakfast.
Although there’s a lot of solid research indicating breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you have to keep in mind what the word breakfast means – literally.
Let’s look at the word itself. “BREAK-FAST” or to “break” your “fast” is the true definition of breakfast.
Keeping that in mind, the research hasn’t really looked at the timing of that meal. Instead, it’s all about the actual food choices you make to start your day or “break” your “fast”. So we’re not really “skipping” breakfast. We’re just changing the time of day breakfast is consumed.
Now I will be the first one to admit that I held up a cross like a vampire was attacking me when I initially heard about this strategy a few years ago.
And although it goes completely against the grain of traditional approaches, the science and real world results can’t be denied.
When applied properly, intermittent fasting is not only great for your metabolism, it’s also a killer way to break bad food habits or shock your body mentally and physically.
Physically, it helps drain your muscle and liver of glycogen by forcing your body to use up stored calories and energy. It also lowers insulin, increases growth hormone release, and raises catecholamine levels by ramping up the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). More on this below.
So in many ways Intermittent Fasting actually “mimics” high intensity exercise.
Every hormonal trigger activated by Intermittent Fasting seems to help you burn more fat and preserve muscle.
Mentally, it can break you of bad emotional habits or negative neuro-associations you may have with food and provide you with new found energy and focus.
As always, with any great tactic, more is not better.
If you abuse this strategy your body may start shedding lean muscle to slow down the metabolism and the end result is no weight loss at all. Essentially, your body thinks you are starving yourself so it will have to use amino acids from precious muscle tissue to survive.
Research shows this only happens if you overdue it. Over the past year, I’ve found that the 16/8 (16 hours of fasting, 8 hours fed) protocol works best and is easiest to adhere to for most of my clients.
For example, you could start your fast at 9pm and end your fast with a noon workout the next day. Then you would go ahead and consume your largest meal of the day after your workout – around 1pm.
So this would be considered your real “break-fast” or your first meal of the day.
Remember, after intense exercise your body is highly sensitive to nutrient uptake and protein synthesis. So when you break your fast with a high intensity workout you should eat your largest meal of the day within 30 to 60 minutes after.
Now don’t freak out about this. I guarantee it’s a lot easier to follow and more effective than you can ever imagine.
I personally start my fast at around 10pm and workout at 1pm so I’m eating my post workout meal and breaking my fast right at 2pm, which is the 16 hour mark. So I eat 3 or 4 larger meals between 2pm and 10pm, then I fast from 10pm until 2pm the next day. Rinse and repeat for 3 to 5 days of the week.
There are also many days where I workout first thing in the a.m. at 6 or 7am. I just make sure to consume 10 grams of amino acids before and after. Then I wait until 1 or 2pm until I break my fast (“break-fast”) with the largest meal of the day.
I highly recommend you consume 5 to 10 grams of amino acids every 3-4 hours during your “IF” and make sure to consume 10 grams of aminos directly before and after exercise, if you’re in a fasted state.
This will help prevent hunger pangs, preserve muscle, and make the whole fasting process more tolerable, especially if you’re a beginner.
I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but the aminos REALLY help. The first week or two can be tough, so the amino acids will help you get through it and keep your muscles happy.
(Side Bar: If you love breakfast food (like me), just move your breakfast food to the afternoon. I cook up omelets, turkey sausage, breakfast potatoes and even healthy pancakes in the middle of the afternoon or even at night.)
What About Other Intermittent Fasting Methods?
Many fitness professionals recommend different time frames for intermittent fasting.
Brad Pillon pioneered the 24-hour fast a few times a week with his “Eat-Stop-Eat” method and it’s something my friend and fitness expert Jon Benson has been recommending for several years now. The science and logic behind the 16/8 (fasted/fed) intermittent fasting protocol comes from a guy named Martin Berkhan and his Leangains blog.
The Leangains protocol recommends ending the16 hour fast with your workout (like I mentioned above) because it serves as a powerful time of fat-burning.
According to Berkhan and other experts, fasting (and training) this way means:
More blood flow to fat cells increases (blood flow is critical in order for fat to be burned, especially stubborn fat)
Concentrations of epinephrine and norepinephrine increase dramatically (these hormones have been shown to help “break apart” stubborn fat cells to help release fatty acids into the blood stream)
Metabolic rate goes up slightly
Insulin levels remain very low (this sets up a fat burning environment inside your body)
Free fatty acids are released for energy (so more fat can be burned)
The theories of this approach are backed up with multiple studies. Many of which are published in scientific journals. Although there is some debate and most of the research has been done on animals, this stuff seems to be legit.
With this approach, Berkhan reasons you get fat-burning during one long, 16-hour stretch of the day and lean muscle building with recovery during the 8-hour feeding stretch.
Additionally, it can sometimes be beneficial to fast for 24 to 36 hours straight. I find the best time to do this is the day after a cheat day when hormones (specifically thyroid and leptin) have been reset to higher levels and your body is perfectly “primed” to burn an insane amount of fat.
I also want to give you a quick heads up on a few minor side effects that I experience. First, you may get the chills and feel your body temperature drop during the fast. I get the chills periodically so I keep a sweatshirt at my office. This experience is rare and only happens to a small percentage of people.
Also, when I get extremely lean (below 8 or 9%), I’ll typically bust into a sweat the minute I break my fast with a meal. It’s wild to see how the body responds to fasting and fed states.
You might also experience some hunger pangs at first. Consuming things like no calorie bullion, black coffee, zero calorie green or black tea and even water will help, but I’ve found that the amino acids really do the trick.
Additional Hormonal Theories About Intermittent Fasting
I also noticed after a few weeks of using the 16/8 intermittent fasting protocol, that I NEVER got hungry anymore. In other words, over time fasting has become a lot easier and skipping breakfast doesn’t even faze me anymore.
After looking over the new Fat Loss Forever System along with the research Roman and Dan have done, I discovered that this phenomenon I was experiencing was because I had “retrained” my hunger hormone Ghrelin.
Simply put (to save you from all the techie jargon), Ghrelin is the hormone that controls your body’s hunger response to food. It’s secreted when you’re about ready to eat. In other words, you can reprogram Ghrelin to respond at a different time of the day. This process only takes a few weeks (sometimes less) with intermittent fasting.
Also, Ghrelin is a potent stimulator of growth hormone. So if you combine the growth hormone release that occurs naturally during fasting with your body’s ability to “re-train” Ghrelin, you get a potent one-two GH punch.
Final Thoughts on Intermittent Fasting
The first couple weeks of fasting, whether you use it as a lifestyle approach or just decide to try it a few times a week for health reasons (which I highly recommend), is the hardest.
Initially, fasting seems like a big pain in the butt, but remember to focus on the reward. You might have to sacrifice if you have an obsession with food or eating every 2 to 3 hours, but I considered it a welcome break from the burden of having to eat all the time.
Is intermittent fasting easy? Initially no. Is it worth it? A big fat YES.
And intermittent fasting becomes a LOT easier after the first few times. In fact, I find that many of my clients actually look forward to their fasting days.
Even though it requires some sacrifice, it actually becomes really fun when you understand how to properly apply it. Plus, the fat loss results from intermittent fasting are ridiculous.
Ultimately, “IF” is just another “tool” you should consider using to stay lean for the long haul.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating 5 or 6 small meals a day and using things like Macro-Patterning™ as your lifestyle. It’s proven to work. But if you’re tired of eating small frequent meals all the time (like I was), IF might be a welcome break from traditional fat loss methods.
A Quick Warning About IF…
It’s not the “Be All-End All” of fat loss, and it’s not a “magic bullet” or a quick fix.
If you’re not eating healthy or exercising, then IF is just going to be a temporary band-aid covering a bigger problem. However, if you’re a healthy eater and you exercise consistently – IF just might be the “shock” your metabolism is looking for.
Over the course of the next week you’re probably going to hear a LOT about Intermittent Fasting (IF) and the new Fat Loss Forever Program. You might be wondering if it’s “legit” or if it will work for you, so I filmed a quick video this past weekend with the creator of the program John Romaniello.
In today’s video we touch briefly on why…
It’s not necessary to eat breakfast when you wake up in order to burn fat and keep a healthy metabolism
It’s ok to eat before bed and have carbs late at night when you’re trying to lose weight
You don’t have to eat 5 or 6 times a day to keep your metabolism cranking
I actually did my own personal experiment over the last year following the Intermittent Fasting (IF) protocol. I’ll be posting my before and after pics here on the blog in the next few days so you can check out my results. I think you’ll be a bit shocked at these photos when I post them.
In the meantime, you can read more about how IF works by reading the article Roman wrote at this website:
NEW RULES Say It’s “ok” To Eat BEFORE Bed
(Even Carbs)
One of the most common methods for faster weight loss is to stop eating at 6pm or three hours before bed, which is actually just another silly rule that we should consider breaking or at the very least – modifying.
You can, you can’t, you can, you can’t. Jeeeeesh. When will it ever end?
I know. I thought the same thing until I looked at the research and applied it intentionally on my own body and some of my private clients for the last several months.
And I’ll be the first one to admit I promoted NOT eating before bed for years to all my clients. After all it was part of the “rules” of weight loss I was just supposed to follow.
Yet, I ALWAYS wondered about this rule because back in 1998 I dropped my body fat levels from 20% to 5% in only 90 days, yet I was consuming 75 grams of carbs every night before bed!
Even worse yet, these carbs were in the form of maltodextrin and dextrose! Two of the highest glycemic (insulin spiking) carbs you can find.
I know I was a lot younger, but how was this possible based on everything we’ve been taught about losing weight and burning fat?
Before you give me a double face palm, hear me out. Once you see “how” it’s done, it will all make sense.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was always consuming these high glycemic carbs about 1 to 3 hours AFTER my workouts, which means my body was still using those extra carbs to replenish glycogen (muscle energy) and recover from intense exercise.
In other words, my muscles would actively “suck up” these simple and complex carbs (and protein) and automatically limit fat spillover because of the post workout metabolic effect on metabolism.
Research proves your metabolism and muscle will do the SAME thing.
This is why it’s actually “ok” to eat BEFORE bed. Even carbs.
New research also indicates that cutting out carbs late at night is just another way of reducing calories. So it’s really just another method of “calorie-cutting”.
I’m not saying to go “pig out” before bed. But I wouldn’t worry or fret about it. In fact, if you’re working out late (like I used to do) eating carbs before bed could actually help you get better results.
And even if you’re not exercising a couple hours before bed, I would still make sure to get some high quality protein and friendly fats an hour or so before bed to feed your muscles and keep your body in an anti-inflammatory anabolic environment.
Remember, EVERY fat loss plan (in one way or another) is designed to burn off more calories than you’re taking in. Avoiding carbs and other foods late at night or before bed is just another sneaky way to cut calories. Plain and simple.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t take into consideration healthy choices or hormones, but regardless – it’s still the facts.
Now if you’re skeptical about this post, I don’t blame you. It’s hard to accept something that’s been pounded into our heads for so many years is now a myth and not true.
So if you’re questioning the science and the research, my friend Roman dug up a few of the studies about this so-called “rule” and why you shouldn’t be afraid to break it.
It’s all inside a new free report he put together. If you haven’t grabbed it yet, click the link or image below and go look on page 16 to see what I’m talking about:
BTW…there are 4 MORE DIET “MYTHS” exposed inside this FREE report. And if you want an easier way to live leaner, I highly recommend you learn how to bust these myths.
If you had a hard time keeping an open mind reading today’s post, consider this. Obesity rates continue to rise and over 90% of all people who try to lose weight - gain all or MORE of it back in less than 12 months.
Additionally, the research and real world results can’t be denied.
Cool Insights About Eating More White Starches To Burn Lower Stomach Fat
Yesterday, when I gave you 9 lean lessons you can learn from a caveman, I let you know I’d be back today with why a caveman would add white rice and white potatoes to his plan if he was lifting weights or doing intervals.
But first, let’s discuss why other rice types are considered to be more healthy than the white stuff.
Why We’ve Been Told To Avoid White Rice
The main difference between white and brown rice is the processing and nutritional content.
In her best selling Diet Solution Program, my fitness friend and nutrition expert Isabel De Los Rios breaks it all down and gives you a complete crash course.
Basically, only one layer (the outermost) is removed when producing brown rice. When white rice is produced, everything is removed leaving only the starchy component.
This means pretty much all of the key vitamins and minerals in white rice are lost including the fiber. All of this is important when we’re trying to eat healthy balanced meals and keep blood sugar stable throughout the day.
However, there ARE times when all we care about is the pure starch.
This is especially true if we want to promote a healthy metabolism and burn more fat.
So sit back, relax, and let me explain young grasshopper.
When and Why You Should Intentionally Eat White Rice
(and other white starches)
As I discussed in yesterday’s article, today’s fake manufactured foods like concentrated fructose/sugar, high omega-6 vegetable oils, trans-fats, and even gluten wreak havoc on our systems and promote the storage of belly fat. And they definitely weren’t part of a caveman’s plan.
So obviously, removing these items from your plan will immediately help you get rid of more lower stomach fat.
But what about the pure “white” stuff? (Meaning food not contraband of course. Haha.)
You see, even though white starches like rice and potatoes really aren’t caveman foods, they provide the purest, most natural source of glucose than any other food.
In fact, glucose is one of the oldest evolutionary fuels on the planet. We use it as an internal fuel source and it’s the building block of foods that date back to the caveman days.
Now if you’re a sick diabetic, this isn’t going to apply to you because you have insulin resistance. So your best bet to lose weight is to simply cut out pop and white bread and you’ll probably lose a boat load of weight your first few months as long as you’re eating healthy and exercising.
But if you’re healthy, your body knows how to process and use glucose.
So if you’ve been losing weight and consistently strength training, over time you dramatically improve your insulin sensitivity.
This means as you start to lose weight and get leaner, your metabolism changes.
And when this happens you gotta “get smart”, which means you have to customize, tweak, and adjust your plan as to fight adaptation and keep your metabolism happy and burning fat.
This is when the pure white starches from nature will help you build muscle, boost metabolism, raise thyroid output, keep leptin levels in check, improve the free testosterone to estrogen ratio, and burn more lower stomach fat.
So along with lean protein, fibrous veggies, and friendly fats, white starches from nature should consistently be a part of your plan if you’ve already lost some weight and you’re exercising consistently.
They serve as awesome anaerobic fuel and promote anabolism, which helps with glucose metabolism, protein synthesis (absorption of protein), and muscle growth.
Also, many times the pure amylopectin starch found in the white stuff is less problematic than a starch containing gluten or lectins that you get from whole grain / whole wheat foods.
All of this means one thing: increased fat burning and a healthier metabolism. Ok, two things.
White starches (from nature of course) should serve as a primary source of anaerobic fuel and for creating anabolism, which ultimately equals better performance, a healthier metabolism, and faster fat loss.
Just make sure you do three things:
1. Time them properly
The best time to consume these pure glucose polymers from rice or potatoes is in your post workout anabolic window of opportunity, which is anywhere from 1 to 3 hours after high intensity training.
2. Prepare them properly
Steam your rice (don’t fry it) and bake your potatoes.
Unfortunately, chicken fried rice and a loaded baked potato (yummy!) aren’t part of this strategy. Save them for your cheat day.
3. Combine them properly
Always combine your post workout white starches with a hefty serving of lean protein and always limit your fat intake in your post workout meals. After a workout is the one time of the day we want to spike insulin (the storage hormone) to help shuttle nutrients to our muscles. White rice and potatoes will automatically help you achieve this desired effect.
This means you can workout in the afternoon, come home and eat white starches for dinner while burning more fat. Wow. Who woulda thunk it!
Just remember, during other times of the day the less “starchy” rice types (brown, black, long grain, etc.) and lower glycemic yams or sweet potatoes (rather than white potatoes) might be a better choice to keep insulin stable.
But I wouldn’t over analyze it. As long as you’re combining your starches with high quality protein, fibrous vegetables, and friendly fats you’ll be good-to-go!
And if you’re consistently performing high intensity exercise (sprinting, bursting, weight training, bodyweight circuits, etc.), go ahead and tear up those white starches.
They do the body good.
There you have it. Another fat loss myth – BUSTED.
But we’re not finished because I guarantee there are a half dozen OTHER “so-called” healthy foods you’re consuming that might be making you store more belly fat.
If you want to get a whole crash course on exactly what types of foods to avoid and which ones to consume, just check out this free video from my fitness buddy Isabel De Los Rios.
I’ll admit that I don’t agree with Isabel on her views about white rice (you’ll see why in my next blog post), but when it comes to making food choices and creating a fat burning lifestyle, there’s nobody better.
Make sure you drop a comment and hit the “like” button for me if you got something out of today’s post. And don’t forget to share this with friends and family. The fitness truth is the gift that keeps on giving!
Have a great day,
Shaun
P.S. I’ll be back in a few days with Part II of this post and we’ll look at the total opposite end of the spectrum. It’s an article called, “5 Rices That Fight Belly Flab”.
In the meantime, go check out this video that uncovers a laundry list of foods we think are healthy, but actually block our fat loss.
In Part 1 and Part 2 of my New Fat Loss Food Pyramid, I revealed how to use meal timing and food combinations to maintain an anabolic fat burning environment every minute of every day.
Today I’m back with part 3 which shows you how the size of your hands can help you burn more fat.
Ok, I know it’s sounds weird, but this is THE best way to monitor your food intake to consistently maintain a fat burning environment round the clock.
After you discover this method you’ll NEVER have to count calories or grams again. Ever.
You’ll discover how your fist, palm, and thumbs are directly related to how many calories and grams you should be consuming on a daily basis to burn more fat.
Just hit the play button and let me know how you like it.
IMPORTANTANNOUNCEMENT:
Next week, an awesome new system, 24-7 Fat Loss is going to be released by my good friends Joel Marion & Craig Ballantyne who are two of the most innovative fitness experts in the world.
A lot of the info inside this program is based on my philosophies, so if you’ve been following me for any length of time some of this material may sound familiar.
However, the majority of 24/7 Fat Loss is based on the latest research so it’s definitely cutting-edge.
Additionally, next week I’m going to be releasing my BRAND NEW guide:
PLATEAU BUSTERS: Advanced Interval Sequencing™
This is an 8 week progressive exercise guide STRATEGICALLY designed to attack and burn off stubborn body fat based on the latest research and science behind intervals and metabolic bursting.
I can assure you; this is unlike any type of interval training you’ve ever tried before.
The final result after 8 weeks: Defined upper (and even lower) abs and a lean toned stomach. I’ve been using this strategy with my local clients here in Michigan and the results are blowing people away.
Stay tuned for how you can get your hands on (no pun intended) Advanced Interval Sequencing™ for FREE!
As always, it’s been a blast putting this series together for you! If you dig it, just click the like button and pass it along to your friends and family.
