One of the worlds top intermittent fasting experts – Brad Pilon
“is fasting really right for everyone?”
Keep in mind in this discussion we’ll talk about 16-hour fasts, 24-hr, 36-hr, etc… and to be clear, a 24 hour fast doesn’t mean that you don’t eat for an entire day necessarily… for example, in a 24-hour fast, you can have dinner at 8pm on a given night, and then eat your next meal at dinner at 8pm the next night, thereby completing a 24-hour fast, even though you ate a large meal on each day.
To answer your question – No, absolutely NOT!
When used properly intermittent fasting is an unbelievably effective weight loss tool and it’s a great way to lose fat without losing muscle, but it’s a tool nonetheless, and just like any other tool there’s a right way and wrong way to use it.
In my opinion far too many people are using I.F. the wrong way – and that is by layering it on top of other diets that are too strict and workouts that are too exhausting.
Some people are also fasting too often and for too long.
Here are my basic guidelines (Feel free to share)
Obviously, since I’m the creator of the Eat Stop Eat method, I prefer people doing one or two 24 hour fasts per week. From my research this is the easiest and most effective way to reap the rewards of fasting.
And, while ‘one or two’ may be a bit confusing for some people, this is how I use fasting when I’m getting ready for a photoshoot:
For the first couple weeks (when I need it the most) I fast for 24 hours once every 2-3 days.
Then when I’m starting to look and feel much leaner and lighter, I cut back to once every 3-5 days.
Towards the later stages when I start to get very lean and all the abdominal definition is fully visible I’ll cut back to once every 7 days.
The key here is to realize that fasting is a tool (like I said before) so I use it less the leaner I get because I need it less (after all, the goal isn’t to get to 0% body fat).
There would be no reason for me to fast any more often than once or twice a week during this process, and I always make sure that I’m eating a good amount on the days I’m not fasting (with the Eat Stop Eat method you eat ‘to maintenance’ on all the non-fasting days).
So those are my general eat stop eat guidelines – once or twice a week, never more, and never longer than 24 hours. And the leaner you are, the less often you fast.
If you’re still interested in fasting but Eat Stop Eat doesn’t quite sound like your cup of tea, there are lots of other styles of fasting you can try.
Here is my one overriding guideline about Intermittent Fasting: The more frequent the fast, the shorter the fasts should be.
You can use the following guide to help figure out the right style of fasting for you.
• Daily fasts – 12-16 hours long
• Every Other Day Fasts – 16-20 hours long
• Once or twice a week fasts – 20-24 hours long
• Once a week fasts – 24-36 hours long
With these guidelines just about anyone can use Intermittent fasting to lose weight while preserving their muscle.
Just remember, it’s a tool, and there will always be some people who fasting simply ‘doesn’t jive’ with such as people who are already exceptionally lean, and people who are chronically exhausted. But for the vast majority of people there is definitely a form of fasting that they will find to be beneficial.
Brad
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If you want a very effective tool at losing body fat faster, priming your insulin sensitivity, and maintaining lean muscle, then Brad’s Eat Stop Eat method may be perfect for you to try!
However, it’s important to note that anyone who has adrenal fatigue (if your cortisol or DHEA are not optimized), then intermittent fasting is NOT a good idea for you. Work on stress reduction and balancing your hormones first if this is the case.
But otherwise, there’s lots of emerging research showing the health benefits of various forms of intermittent fasting.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer