GODFIRE

Beginner's Guide to Intermittent Fasting:
A Step-by-Step Transition

IMF (Intermittent Fasting) is simply eating within a small window of time each day. When you do this your body gets a break from constant insulin spikes and the job of processing food. So, your body regulates, heals, and begins to let go of stored fat. 

The ultimate goal after this transition is moving towards a ketovore elimination diet to help reverse many chronic conditions which we are now finding out are caused by inflammation and insulin resistance from high-sugar, high-carbohydrate diets. If you want to jump right into the elimination phase read this article: The Ketovore Solution. But, if you're like the majority of people on the SAD (standard American diet) and have been overeating sugar and carbs for years, IMF is a great starting place for a gradual transition to awesome health.

In this article, we will discuss the best tips for intermittent fasting 20/4 success with a one-step-at-a-time guide to the 20/4 lifestyle (20 hours fasting, 4-hour eating window).

Move through these steps at your own pace, remember this is a lifestyle, not a fad diet. Take just one step a week and you should see amazing results, pretty quickly.

How to Start Intermittent Fasting

Step 1: Stop Eating 4 hours before Bedtime

It takes about 4 hours after your last meal for your body to stop processing food. So, to take advantage of the automatic fasting you get while sleeping, just stop eating 4 hours before you go to sleep. You can still have water, just no calories.

Step 2: Adjust Your First Food in the Morning

Our body is super sensitive to insulin after fasting periods (including sleeping) so breaking your fast with fat signals your body that your eating window is starting, but it doesn’t spike your insulin. So, it’s like telling your body, “I’m going to eat now, but you don’t have to hold on to the fat.”

Break the sleeping fast with 1/2 an avocado. You can have water, tea, or black coffee, with no sugar. More hard-core would be to take 1-2 MCT gels (coconut oil). Now, wait 45 minutes to an hour before eating a meal or drinking coffee with any calories other than fat.
 

Step 3: Drink Your Electrolytes to Avoid Withdrawal

At some point, as you begin these subtle but powerful changes, your body might start to experience detox or withdrawal symptoms, depending on your current eating and drinking habits. You can avoid this by supplementing with an electrolyte drink. 

Don’t suffer through unnecessary and possibly debilitating withdrawal (keto flu) during fasting or low-carb diets. It’s demoralizing and time-consuming.

• Water: 30-33.8 ounces of spring or filtered water for the best mix. Drinking water from the tap is not recommended.
• Powder: Add 1 scoop of electrolyte powder. Shake well. Pour over  ice. 
• Drink as much as you like and refill throughout the day. 

Step 4: Move Morning Mealtime Forward 1 Hour

It’s time to move on to narrowing your eating window. Whatever time you usually have your first meal now, start eating it an hour later. Or two hours. Whatever you can handle.

If that means not eating at the table with the family or not driving through Starbuck's on the way to work, just do it. Find a way to eat an hour or two later than your routine. Then eat your first meal.

Note: Family and friends may react negatively because they don't understand or agree with what you're trying to do. You do you.

Step 5: Modify Coffee Slightly

You can drink coffee while doing IMF. You just need a few modifications. If you drink coffee with creamers or sugar or something decadent from Starbucks, let’s move slowly…

• First, switch to a smaller size for a week.
• Next, nix the sugary toppings for a week.
• Now replace sugar with MonkFruit or sugary creamers with a couple of tablespoons of half and half and Monkfruit.
• Next, drop to the smallest size.
• Now, can you skip a few days a week?
• Last, can you live without it now? If not, it’s ok to drink your revised drink. After a few weeks you won't even crave the old (unhealthy) drink. Let’s lose weight AND get healthy!
   

Step 6: Move Morning Mealtime Forward Again

While you are implementing the coffee strategy, let’s move our morning meal forward again. Can you just skip breakfast and start your eating window at lunchtime? It’s okay to make lunch a large meal at first. This way of eating takes a mental and emotional adjustment. If you can’t skip to lunch that fast, move breakfast a little later each day until it starts at your lunchtime.

We were raised to believe in 3 meals a day! But studies suggest otherwise now. It looks like these habits have contributed to obesity, diabetes, high insulin levels, chronic inflammation, and chronic diseases. It seems our ancestors and some current cultures show less disease and better overall health when they practice(d) eating less often. They also ate mostly fat and protein and almost no carbs or sugar. (Once again read The Ketovore Solution if you want to jump to that plan).

Step 7: Narrow the Window Again

Where are you now? Eating from lunchtime through dinnertime? This is great! Time to hone in on your favorite and optimal time to eat and take the final step.

Step 8: Narrow Your Window to 4 Hours

Either eat lunch later or dinner earlier. Or try combining them to OMAD (one meal a day).

Your stomach will have shrunk somewhat by now and one decent-sized meal at around 1000-1500 calories, should fully satisfy you until the next meal. Of course you should make healthy choices (low-carb, low sugar, more protein) when you can.

Ultimate Results: Get Hardcore a Few Days a Week

Most people will see the shrinkage of fat stores and feel more energetic by now. And as you narrow your feeding window, you will at some point reap the benefits of Autophagy, which starts after about 17 hours of fasting. Autophagy means “self-eating” and is a benefit of the intermittent fasting protocol.

Note: It might not be a good idea to do calorie-restricted or extended fasting periods without adding electrolytes. 

Maintenance

Alternating between the 20/4 window and the 18/6 window can be a healthy weight management system for life. You can eat normally both in a four-hour eating window or in a six-hour window and not feel hungry following the steps in this guide. The ultimate goal is still to move on to The Ketovore Solution, but even if you just maintain with 20/4 and 18/6 you should see drastic overall health changes over time.

Stick with it! But if you have a fail day, don't be too hard on yourself. Tomorrow, get back in your groove and keep moving forward.

The great thing about this being a lifestyle is once you have the basics down and you’re on track to taking off extra pounds or are at your happy weight, you can vary or take a day off. Then just return to the standard plan without losing much ground.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

• Improved Insulin Sensitivity and Decreased Insulin-Resistance
• Lower Blood Pressure
• Less Risk of Cardiovascular Disease, Heart Disease
• Less Desire for Binge-Eating
• Self-Repair of Damaged Cells (Autophagy), including Cancers
• Better Metabolic Health, Weight Loss
• Lower Blood Sugar, Reversal of or Improvement in Diabetes
• Improved Overall Health and Wellness
• Better Attitude
• Longer Life

More General Tips

• Any time you can choose less carbohydrates in a meal, do it.
• Snacking is not something you need! Snacks are misinformation and also may be an emotional habit. (See medical disclaimer.)
• Fast diet miracles that claim instant fat-losst arenot  healthy or sustainable.
• Bodies need healthy fats so make sure you include some, especially avocado and coconut or olive oil (STAY AWAY FROM SEED OILS!)
• Whole foods and raw foods instead of processed. Processed foods are toxic, disrupt hormones and can cause insulin resistance.
• Whatever you choose to eat each day, eat it with joy and gratitude.

Cabbage Soup Recipe:
1/2 chopped onion
3 stalks chopped celery
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
1 teaspoon course salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes (optional, but tasty)
1/2 bag of baby carrots
1/2 container fresh sliced mushrooms
32 oz Chicken Broth
6-8 brussel sprouts (cut the dark ends off) or 1/2 head of organic cabbage
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 can tomato sauce
1 can black beans, drained

Turn Instapot to saute. Add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and let heat for 1 minute.
Add onion and celery. Cook, stirring once, 2 minutes. Add spices. Stir.
Add carrots, 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, 2 minutes. Turn off Instapot.
Add Chicken Broth.
Add brussel sprouts and stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and black beans

Set Instapot to pressure cooker with lid on and settings at high for 16 minutes.