For readers who are not yet familiar with intermittent fasting, according to Wiki: Intermittent fasting is any of various meal timing schedules that cycle between voluntary fasting and non-fasting over a given period. Methods of intermittent fasting include alternate-day fasting, periodic fasting such as the 5:2 diet, and daily time-restricted eating
I am currently 32 years old, 180 lbs., and when I was 19 years old I weighed 180 lbs. ! 4 months later, my eating habits from previous years began to catch up with me. I went from 180-200, 200-215, then progressed up to 235 lbs.! I can still remember the feeling to this day, the negative shifts mentally and physically that I felt as my weight increased. My motivation towards well, EVERYTHING, separate from eating and playing Call of Duty had been depleted. I started eating too much, taking the bus to classes in college, and because I was no longer playing sports, due to injury, I was getting no physical exercise separate from the fact that I was willing to walk a mile to eat something delicious. My self-motivation and initiative had been replaced with unhealthy desires and poor habits. This lasted about 8 months, of which the last 3 of those months would change my physical and mental fitness forever. I give most of the credit to one of my closest friends who provided me with a wake up call.
Fast forward to June of 2011, I had moved home for the summer to serve tables at a local restaurant in Cleveland, TN. As I entered the restaurant I was greeted by an old friend, who is the now best friend I just referred to. He looked at me, eyes wide, and stated, and I quote; "What in the he** happened to you!". I had been trying to workout (the wrong way) for a few months and thought that I had seen some development/growth, but I realistically had only pushed my fat further out with the little muscle I had managed to build underneath! My response to him was, "What do you mean? I have been working out recently!". He looked at me with doubt and disbelief and said, "you have?". It may come across seemingly a bit shallow, but that moment started my fitness journey, and changed my life forever.
I will provide the candid, direct, cliff note version of the next portion to get to the point. Over the course of the next 3 months, my best friend showed me how to workout, and eat correctly. Over 3 months, I lost 60 lbs., 20 lbs. per month.. I still remember him holding my hips to help me achieve just 1 pull up, to being able to do 18-22 pull ups on my first set all the way up and down. My fat fell off, and once I lost the fat, I could eat just about whatever I wanted to. People could not believe it, and some did not recognize me at first, and some not at all. I became stronger than I have ever been, my blood pressure reduced, and across the charts I felt more positive and developed a higher energy level. I will admit, I still have high cholesterol, and need to lay off the cheese and bacon :).
What I did not realize until years later, was one of the most important details. I did not eat breakfast. Matter of fact, I did not eat until lunch! I would then proceed to eat the rest of the day finishing with a large meal right before bed. (Both of which, we are told are bad for you). I realized later that I had been unintentionally intermittent fasting. It worked for my schedule, and my afternoon crashed disappeared, and I was eating more than ever. Some days I could not eat enough! When I worked out in the morning after a cup of black coffee, I was then running on muscle glycogen rather than energy from food! It was not until 2020 that I stumbled upon the studies that were emerging and realized why it had been so much easier for me, than others. To this day, I still intermittent fast, and follow the same workout routines to maintain, and shock my body into changing for the better, and into achieving lean, healthy, MUSCLE! Please reach out to me anytime @ hamiltonhomefitness@gmail.com for anything you need and thank you for choosing Hamilton Home Fitness!
