Intermittent Fasting — Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?
- Kris J. Simpson
- Apr 13
- 12 min read
My Intermittent Fasting 14-Day Review
First of all, what is intermittent fasting? It’s a relatively new trend, but it isn’t exactly a diet; rather, it focuses on scheduling when to eat and when not to eat. You could say it’s about transitioning from feasting to famine. This practice has been part of human history since prehistoric times; it’s quite natural and normal.
But here’s a better question for you: if you haven’t tried it yet, why would you want to? There is emerging evidence that is still inconclusive, yet it shows many positive signs for aiding weight loss, first and foremost. This relates to something I’ve been discussing for years: it’s math first, science second. This topic warranted its own chapter in my book, The All Inclusive Diet.
You see, this approach is probably the easiest way to decrease your caloric intake for the purpose of calorie restriction. We know, of course, that there’s a lot of science we need to understand, but fundamentally, we do know that calorie restriction — meaning consuming fewer calories — greatly increases your chances of losing weight. This method is undoubtedly the simplest way to achieve that, as it involves fasting, meaning you’re not eating at all. Therefore, controlling and restricting your caloric intake is quite straightforward if you want to lose weight.
The second point is that it can boost your energy, particularly your mental energy, cognitive skills, clarity, and overall mental sharpness. Considerable evidence shows that during fasting periods, we tend to be much more mentally alert compared to times when we are eating.
The third point pertains to digestion. Many people who experience digestive problems are using fasting or intermittent fasting to manage these issues effectively.
Lastly, it could improve long-term health. A study conducted on rats indicated that they lived significantly longer when subjected to periods of fasting or intermittent fasting. Subsequent studies were performed with fruit flies and monkeys, all demonstrating anti-aging effects while these animals and insects engaged in intermittent fasting.
That’s promising if we want to maintain our vitality into old age. Additionally, it suggests we might actually control Parkinson’s, dementia, and Alzheimer’s with intermittent fasting as well. This is very positive news for maintaining our cognitive skills as we age.
Another point is that, in terms of long-term health and diabetes prevention, intermittent fasting effectively regulates insulin levels. This presents yet another potential long-term health benefit of intermittent fasting. However, it’s worth noting that all evidence remains inconclusive at this stage. The research is relatively new, but it appears very promising for long-term health.
I experienced seven distinct things during my test period with I.F. (intermittent fasting). I enjoy experimenting with various diets; I’m likely a professional dieter, having transitioned from my bodybuilding days many years ago when I employed extreme dieting techniques. For one show, I actually lost 50 pounds in 16 weeks, so I’m no stranger to diets, weight loss, and rapid weight loss. I consider myself an expert in this area, especially while I helped others achieve similar results, although not as dramatically as I did as a bodybuilder- more sustained weight loss. That’s where intermittent fasting may be beneficial.
Let me share with you the seven things that happened to me when I tried intermittent fasting for a 14-day period. The first thing I noticed was that I was hungry. I was extremely hungry. I haven’t felt hunger like that since my bodybuilding days, and it was quite distracting for me. I know that many people around the world struggle for their next meal and may not even have water. Therefore, I feel very fortunate and grateful for the food I have at my disposal, but I must say that enduring these hunger pains during my fasting periods was quite uncomfortable.
I want to let you know that I practiced intermittent fasting known as the eight/sixteen method. This involves fasting for sixteen hours and eating during an eight-hour window. It can be done at various times. My preferred eating window was typically from 12:00 or 1:00 pm until 8:00 or 9:00 pm, after which I would fast until the next day, starting to eat again at 12:00 or 1:00. That was the cycle of the eight/sixteen method that I followed.
There are many different ways to practice intermittent fasting. In fact, there’s even a method called ADF, which stands for alternate day fasting. This approach involves fasting for a 24-hour period, followed by resuming your regular eating the next day, and you would do this once or twice a week, resulting in two days of fasting.
The second thing I experienced was that my coffee consumption increased by about 30 percent. I am a coffee drinker and truly enjoy it. However, I realized I was drinking much more coffee, likely because I felt mentally and physically low in energy and was seeking a boost. More importantly, I know from my bodybuilding days that caffeine is definitely a hunger suppressant. In fact, some bodybuilders back then even used nicotine for the same effect to suppress our hunger.
The third thing I experienced was significantly more mental clarity, which was one of the benefits I had anticipated. This clarity allowed me to concentrate deeply on my work at the computer. However, there was also a flip side to this; my levels of irritability increased. This was not something I was aiming for, nor was it what anyone else around me desired.
It reminds me of my bodybuilding days when we used to have a little contest. Whenever someone prepared for a bodybuilding show while in a relationship, we would say, "This person is only going to stay in this relationship while they’re getting ready for the show for maybe four weeks, maybe six weeks.” We would bet on the time frames and see who was closest because we knew that relationship was bound to be a disaster; a breakup was inevitable. This always occurred due to the irritability levels that typically arise when you’re fasting, when you’re essentially starving- that’s what is actually happening. Of course, a lot of anger accompanies that.
To provide some background, many hormonal changes occur during a fasting period, particularly related to our hunger, which promotes the release of norepinephrine and cortisol, two hormones you might recognize. This is essentially linked to the fight-or-flight response. It makes sense because if our body activates a starvation response to some extent, it will naturally release hormones that enhance our alertness and energy levels, enabling us to find food. This is a normal physiological response we can expect. While it can help us maintain focus at work, it may also make us less considerate towards our neighbors.
The fourth point is that my food consumption has decreased by about 25 percent. Referring back to my earlier point, focusing on math first and science second, I have definitely consumed significantly fewer calories. We can assume that if I consume fewer calories, I could presumably lose some weight. Of course, some science is involved, such as what you eat during those eight hours. However, remember that this is not a diet; intermittent fasting (I.F.) is simply a way of eating, a schedule of eating and fasting. It does not emphasize what types of foods to eat. You could be vegan, follow a paleo diet, or adhere to keto- many different diets can fit into a schedule throughout the day using an intermittent fasting approach.
What happened to me is that I ran out of time to eat my normal 2,400 calories; it just wasn’t feasible anymore. I started eating at one o’clock, and by the time it was eight or nine o’clock, I could only manage maybe three or four meals a day, whereas I would normally have about six. In that sense, it was great because I was definitely consuming fewer calories, and I was also able to control my hunger better. After a certain point in the day, around mid-morning or late morning, those hunger pains would subside, allowing me to not focus as much on my hunger, and my body adapted while I went on with my day.
Overall, it was a really positive change. However, I did notice that when I actually started eating, my first meal was again after 12 o’clock, sometimes even one or two o’clock in some cases, my energy would crash. When you have your first meal, especially if it is a large meal, you might experience an energy crash due to too much insulin flooding the system and the load placed on your digestive system. As we know, this load increases energy demand, as digestion requires a lot of energy.
It’s very important to consider what your first meal will be, and it should be a light one. You need to ease into it, much like you would with your regular day. Not many people eat breakfast like kings; usually, it’s a light breakfast. This is typically due to another hormone we know well: cortisol, which is very high in the morning and inhibits our appetite, causing a slow start to the day. The fifth observation was that I felt extremely thirsty- I’ve never experienced such thirst before. There are reasons for this, which are also hormonal because hormones regulate the electrolytes in our bodies. Consequently, we’re low in sodium due to a lack of food while fasting. This results in hormonal signals to the brain, prompting us to drink more water.
I was drinking a lot and going to the washroom a lot. If you don’t like to do that, if you’re in a job where you can’t go to the washroom a lot, then beware of that because it typically happens. There are some things you can do to work around this, such as having bone broth, which is acceptable during fasting periods.
The last thing that happened to me during the intermittent fasting test I did over two weeks was that I gained two pounds.
That threw me for a bit of a curveball; I didn’t see that coming. I really thought I would lose a couple of pounds during this testing period, but that didn’t happen. In fact, when I came off it, I gained another pound. So that’s a total of three pounds.
Now, to clarify my situation, I’m not overweight or obese. Because of this and because I’ve conditioned my body over the years using the grazing method of eating and scheduling, which means I typically have some sort of food, whether it’s a snack or a meal, every three to four hours. As a result, this whole meal scheduling of feasting and fasting really disrupted my body and my digestive system, affecting all my psychological and physiological systems, as well as the neurotransmitters and hormones that regulate them.
What that did for me is not exactly positive because I genuinely believe that the body relies on what we call homeostasis, or balance. It naturally prefers to establish a rhythm. When it enters this rhythm, it can effectively regulate our systems, much like a thermostat in a home. For instance, it can set a certain temperature, and regardless of external conditions- whether the temperature drops or rises- it adapts. Inside, the thermostat adjusts to restore balance, which is what we refer to as homeostasis.
As a result, I maintain a well-balanced and tuned body due to years of dedication to nutrition and fitness. Therefore, I might not be the ideal candidate for this type of meal scheduling. In contrast, someone who is overweight or possibly obese could experience a completely different outcome.
But one thing is for sure: calorie restriction (CR) and intermittent fasting yield pretty much the same results regarding weight loss at the end of the day. There are perhaps many more possibilities; we will see what the long-term research reveals about the health benefits of intermittent fasting that we may not get from typical CR, which is the existing norm.
But just to let you know, if you’re trying intermittent fasting to lose weight and expect the scale to drop, it might not happen; in fact, it went up for me. That was quite a surprise. So don’t expect, even if you are overweight or obese, to experience drastic weight loss with this kind of eating.
Another factor to consider is protein deprivation. There are many theories about how much protein we should consume daily. Still, depending on your intermittent fasting (I.F.) schedule, it may be impossible to meet even the minimum protein requirement since your feeding window may be very small. The body can theoretically only digest a limited number of grams of protein per meal.
Protein deprivation can lead to other long-term issues, such as sarcopenia or muscle wasting. This is especially important for people forty years and older, as this age group has much more difficulty maintaining muscle mass and bone density. Both muscle and bone are among the two greatest predictors of longevity and health span. Dr. Peter Attia discusses this at length in his book “Outlive.”
I saw this firsthand when I was a teenager. I watched my brother’s muscles waste away after he had his jaw wired shut due to an accident while training a racehorse.
He was on an all-liquid diet, but it wasn’t very appealing, as you can imagine. Most of the time, he chose to fast rather than chug down a blended assortment of who knows what. Not only did he lose an incredible amount of weight very quickly, but the muscle loss in his legs, specifically, was staggering. Yet he was still left with a considerable amount of belly fat, which I found perplexing at the time but now understand.
Another point is that if you’re going to test this out, that’s exactly what I’d like you to do: test it. There are different methods for doing this. I mentioned that I was following the 8/16 method, which involves eating for eight hours and fasting for 16 hours. However, there are various ways to approach this as well. For instance, one traditional method is to stop eating at a certain time in the evening, maybe 6:00, 7:00, or 8:00 pm, and then fast until the next morning, around 7:00 or 8:00 am. That’s a solid 12-hour fast, too. We refer to that as the crescendo method of intermittent fasting. So, we’re going to increase the intensity gradually. This will allow your body to adjust, preventing too much shock. This way, you won’t experience excessive hunger, like I did, for example. Your body will have a bit more time to adapt.
Here are three quick tips for mitigating some of the negative side effects of intermittent fasting.
The first thing is, and I learned this about a week in, I wondered how I could curb these hunger pangs, which are really distracting and make me quite irritable. So, I used a supplement called M.C.T. oil, or medium-chain triglycerides derived from coconut oil. They process it in such a way that it becomes highly digestible into energy without triggering an insulin response. That’s what we aim to achieve with intermittent fasting: controlling the insulin response.
If you’re insulin insensitive, for instance, if you have issues with insulin sensitivity, which is really borderline type two diabetes, we want to ensure that insulin remains as low as possible for as long as possible. That’s the key component for the long-term health benefits. If you fall into the category of someone who might have issues that could lead to type two diabetes, M.C.T. oil may be a supplement for you to consider after doing your own research or consulting with your doctor.
The second thing is to drink plenty of water, as this can help you feel a bit fuller. It’s definitely a false fullness since it exits your system just as quickly as it enters, but it offers some relief in that regard.
The third tip I can give you to make intermittent fasting a bit easier and more successful is to exercise in the morning. If you’re fasting in the morning, I recommend exercising because what happens is that another hormone, known as endorphins — something you may have heard of, especially if you’re a runner — comes into play. That’s where the runner’s high comes from; endorphins are the natural painkiller molecules generated in our bodies during exercise. They are also a great way to alleviate hunger pangs and provide pain relief.
So, the verdict: thumbs down or thumbs up?
Sorry, but I’m giving intermittent fasting a thumbs up. Although it didn’t work for me regarding weight loss — I actually gained weight on this meal scheduling program — I can see how it might help someone control their hunger in the future.
Let’s face it, when we’re trying to lose weight, we will experience some hunger, and if we’re struggling with that, we’re likely to go through the rollercoaster or yo-yo effect of dieting, continually binging or dieting in an endless cycle.
I think this experience really teaches you that you can manage your hunger. You can get through it. To be honest, after the two weeks I followed this, it became my norm. Even though I completed what I consider a substantial test of 14 days, I didn’t want to stop. I continued because, once again, it simply became my habit. I got used to it.
Here’s another aspect: it gets a thumbs up from me because it’s easy. It does not require you to eat specific foods or avoid others. It doesn’t mandate a certain number of meals per day; there are no strict rules or regulations. It’s quite straightforward: either you’re eating or you’re not eating.
In the long term, I truly believe this could be substantial. As long as you can endure the period of feeling hungry and muster enough willpower to push through, it becomes normal for you. You won’t have to deal with what everyone else faces in traditional diets, which often involve a lot of effort.
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