The secret to winning the weight loss war
By: Ange Dim
Tags: Intermittent Fasting, Weight Loss, Fat Loss, Healthy Lifestyle, Lifestyle

It’s worth the weight…

What if I told you, that one easy, inexpensive strategy could see you achieving the following things?

Lose weight faster — without extravagant food deprivation Sustain weight loss (as long as you continue fasting as a lifestyle option, rather than a “quick fix.” Increases cellular repair — removing unwanted waste from cells Increasing human growth hormone — this hormone facilitates fat burning, muscle gain and other neurological changes. Decreases your insulin levels — which dramatically increases your fat-burning potential

Yes, this is real, and you can do this too, as I and others have done so too!

Depending on how much weight we have to lose, or what our diet history has been, fasting is either a quick fix or more of a slow, prolonged journey. Either way, it’s well worth the first few weeks of feeling a little uncomfortable, hungry and tired. This will all pass after a few weeks — so ride the tide.

When I began fasting about a year ago, it took me almost 3 months to notice any difference. I was frustrated every month, but my inherent goal was not entirely to lose weight — more so to help me heal my digestive issues and control all the allergic response to foods toxins I seemed to have developed. Each time I was training in the gym, I realised that my body shape was not altering. I did feel better as the weeks and months progressed, although I was still somewhat bloated and didn’t quite feel right. Slowly, I began trying out some other alternatives in between fasting. I had added carb cycling into the mix, as well as a bit of HIIT. A few dietary changes were put in place too, adding days of very low calorie, then pivoting between a re-feed, and extending my fasting times a little bit more. I believe adding these strategies really helped me to achieve my goal.

Eliminating bloating and water retention

The best result of fasting was decreasing my water retention and bloating. Because I give my digestion an extended break from food, it’s allowed more breathing pace to heal my gut and ease any stomach upsets I get because of acid reflux. It most certainly helps if you can space your meals a lot more. Eating too much in one sitting doesn’t agree with me at all. If there is one piece of advice I can give you, it’s to extend your eating as much as you can.

Energy abundance

One thing I didn’t expect from fasting was my increase in energy levels, and the laser-focused concentration I seem to have from it. The longer I fast, the more I experience this. My memory is sharp, all these ideas seem to flow to me, and I can stay fixated on a task until it’s complete. I save all of my complex and conceptual work during this time. I really love to do a lot of my article writing at this time, as I tend to tap into my emotions a lot more. Once I eat, though, the levels diminish somewhat. It takes my body a bit of time to re-focus and get back into the flow.

Building muscle & strength easier and faster

I’m from a competitive bodybuilding background, and I know the hard work involved in building muscle and maintaining fat loss. Because I use to do this consecutively, it was a huge struggle. When my hormonal shift occurred every month, I felt like I always took 3 steps backwards. It was a never-ending battle for me. With fasting, I noticed a constant building of muscle building and maintenance! I couldn’t believe that after all these years, of eating 6 meals a day and training so hard. Now, I train with less frequency, yet experience even more gains in muscle mass, and of course, strength! But this time, it’s consistent, and not altered by hormonal shifts. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to work hard and yet sustain your results. This is definitely the effects of Human Growth Hormone. Because I do train in a fasted state, I get even better results. A word of caution — this isn’t ideal for everyone. If you want to gain some serious muscle mass, then training after your feed is probably a lot more beneficial for you. I like to keep lean muscle mass, and training in a fasted state is more my style. Try it and see for yourself.

Final thoughts

What I love about fasting is that I can now eat the things I want, without feeling guilty or depriving myself. I spent so many years cutting carbs and not having the dessert I wanted — all because I was afraid of undoing all of my hard work. My insulin would raise in a matter of minutes after eating something high in sugar. I wondered why all of a sudden my body couldn’t take carbs or treats anymore. But, with fasting, I can have my favourite foods (in moderation of course) and know that my cheat meal wont break the hard work and commitment that’s been made within 90% of my week. This is something a lot of my fellow faster have mentioned too. Even though we all still have to be mindful of the choice we make, adding something of comfort isn’t gong to break the fat loss bank in any way.

I absolutely recommend fasting to anyone that is experiencing fat gain and who is willing to make a small sacrifice, not only for fat loss, but their health. I would never go back to any other way of eating again. For years I’ve tried every diet known to man, and this is the only solution that ticks all the boxes.

If you would like to follow my journey, and learn more about fasting and the other hacks I’ve implemented to fast track fat loss, please feel free to visit my blog, and follow me on Instagram. Feel free to ask me any questions or upvote my answer if you found it valuable. See you on the other side. :)