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How To Lose Weight With Intermittent Fasting: A Beginner’s Guide

If you’ve heard a bunch of friends or family members mention how they lose weight with intermittent fasting, and would like to know a bit more, then this article is just for you!

Intermittent Fasting

I don’t know about you, but I grew up being told by everyone that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

“Breakfast of champions!”

“Get your day started off with a manly breakfast!”

“Breakfast is the single most important meal of the day.”

And so on it always went.

I’m sure it’s sounds familiar, right?

But then as you become an adult and life gets in the way, you never have the time to actually cook yourself a breakfast everyday.

Maybe you just have time for a banana and a coffee, or maybe eventually you just have a coffee.

The thing is, this can actually be a lot better for you in so many ways!

I accidentally started skipping breakfasts all together a few years ago, and the results were really good.

After studying a little into the benefits of skipping meals, I found out I was actually practicing intermittent fasting.

And since then, I have paid huge amounts of attention to this fasting method.

And maybe you should too.

How To Lose Weight with Intermittent Fasting

Lose weight with intermittent fasting

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For the past few years, I have managed to keep my body in good shape. Especially considering that I never really workout longer than 20 minutes a day.

I don’t exactly eat super healthy foods all the time.

And I do enjoy a cold beer or two at night.

I owe a huge part of this to intermittent fasting. And like I said earlier, I kind of stumbled upon it by accident.

Back in 2014 I started backpacking my way through the world.

Naturally, with backpacking comes quite an unhealthy diet. It usually consists of bread, beer and anything cheap enough to fill you up.

To cut a long story short, I figured out that by skipping meals I could save some money on a daily basis. And for me breakfast seemed to be the easy and obvious choice to skip.

Months went by, and I began to feel good physically. I was amazed that I was keeping a decent physique too.

So I did a little digging, and found out that I was pretty much practicing something known as intermittent fasting.

And since then, it has been an active part of my daily life!

So if you think you can lose weight with intermittent fasting, then you might just be correct.

Keep reading to find out more!

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is where you allow your body to have zero intake of any foods for a certain period of time everyday.

This fasting period can vary, depending on the type of intermittent fasting you choose.

It pretty much throws the conventional idea of ‘breakfast, lunch and dinner’ out the window. You do still eat 3 meals a day, maybe even more. But the time frame in which you eat is a lot smaller.

The goal is to go long enough without any calories, then to break fast and eat within a smaller window.

What are The Types of Intermittent Fasting?

lose weight with intermittent fasting 3

There are a few variations of doing intermittent fasting. Some being more easy than others.

Ones such as the 5:2 method where you fast for 24 hours twice a week.

Or there’s the the alternate day fasting, where you fast every other day.

Also you can do the warrior diet. Where you fast during the day, and eat a huge meal at night.

A few are quite difficult to implement, so for this article I want to focus on the easiest method which is the method I use.

The 16/8 method.

This is the most popular by far, and the one which I do.

You basically fast for 16 hours a day, and eat for 8 hours. Simple as that! I try and complete dinner by 8pm, then eat my next meal at midday.

I only want to focus on this method as it should be one that everyone starts out with.

Now you don’t have to jump straight into fasting for 16 hours.

You can start off slowly.

For example, if you already eat breakfast at 8am everyday, try and push it back an hour or two this week. Then next week push it back further. And eventually you’ll be able to cut out breakfast completely.

You’ll often hear famous people who are in shape talk about fasting. Guys like Dwayne Johnson, Terry Crews, Hugh Jackman and Joe Rogan all live by this way of eating.

I recently got my dad to start as he has spent his entire life eating breakfast at 6am and having dinner at 8pm, and he has also started to lose weight!

Tips for Practicing Intermittent Fasting

Luckily for me, I wasn’t an overweight guy who used intermittent fasting to get in shape. But I did use it to maintain my weight at a really good level, whilst exercising less.

It has made me super aware of not only what I eat, but also HOW I eat.

If you are a busy man who doesn’t have hours to dedicate to health and fitness, then fasting might just be the best approach you can take.

It’s really easy to implement, and you’ll feel a lot better if you stay disciplined.

But remember that just because you fast doesn’t mean that you can stuff yourself full of junk food and sugar.

You need to double down and consume healthy foods where possible.

Below are a few tips to get the maximum benefits out of intermittent fasting.

1. Be patient. Like all good things in life, fasting benefits take time and discipline. Beginning to skip breakfast can be hard on your mind. Trust me, even I still have days where my stomach feels completely empty by 9am. As time goes by, you will be able to get through these periods of hunger easier. Just have a cup of herbal tea or a coffee when you feel hungry!

2. Eat well. As I said before, when you do eventually break fast, then make sure to do so with healthy foods. I try and make sure I break fast with something wholesome. Maybe even some fruit before lunch. Then I try eat a normal, well balanced meal.

3. Exercise. I find that working out during my fasting period helps supress the hunger. Normally I’ll workout mid morning. I love working out on an empty stomach. So train hard and your hunger will go away!

4. Ease into it. Don’t start off all guns blazing. Ease into it slowly. Start off with a 13 or 14 hour fast, and take it from there. See how you feel, and adjust it as the weeks go by.

5. Stay disciplined. It may seem like an almost impossible task at first, but soon it becomes ingrained into your daily lifestyle. I don’t even have to think about fasting anymore. It’s just part of who I am.

6. Don’t overeat. It is possible to overeat when fasting. Especially since you will subconsciously feel that because you skipped a meal, you need to make up for it. Be wary of this, and keep your portions reasonable.

7. You can slip up. Even after years of fasting, I do still occasionally have a breakfast. Especially if I am out with friends or celebrating a holiday or birthday. Allow yourself a break here and there!

Final Thoughts

Intermittent fasting might not be for everyone, but it sure as hell is worth a try.

It’s changed the way I eat and take care of my body in a huge way, so I highly recommend it to anyone. Even if you are already a super healthy dude.

Just remember a few basics and you are good to go.

Watch what you eat and how much you eat. Stay on track with your fitness and workout schedule. And keep disciplined!

We here at The Bald Brothers love finding ways to be able to always keep in shape and as healthy as possible. It’s what we preach to all balding men (and other men, too).

So if you want a new angle to add to your health routine and lose weight with intermittent fasting, then you should definitely try it.

Cheers,
Richard