Stay Hungry, Stay Focused
Intermittent fasting has gained popularity in recent years, often marketed as a tool to reduce body fat, increase lean muscle, and promote other health benefits. Its positive effects are cited several studies, but it has also been a subject of debate. The information is either too overwhelming or too vague to help anyone decide on whether they should do it or not. What's helped me to make decisions regarding such experiments is to know personal experiences, rather than relying on controlled lab studies. That's how I stumbled upon IF. I'd like to do the same for those who find such approach useful—hence, sharing my experience with IF to possibly make it easier for you to decide if you would like to try it.
Intermittent fasting, or time-restricted eating, as the name implies, is the practice of staying in a fasted state for a certain number of hours (usually 16) and consuming all calories in the remaining hours of a day. There can be multiple ways of defining a 'fast' itself, but to put simply—it's a state when you're not taking calories in solid or liquid form. There are different approaches to IF, but the most common is 16:8, where one restricts caloric intake to an 8-hour window and fasts for the remaining 16.
I have been practicing intermittent fasting for the past 3 years, applying a slightly tweaked version of the 80:20 rule to it—doing it on at least 90 percent of the days and keeping my eating patterns flexible for the remaining 10 percent. On a usual day, I have a black coffee in the morning, first meal of the day around 1 PM, and the last one by 8 PM (17:7). Though I've managed to keep a decent body fat percentage (<12%) for the last 4-5 years and consider myself healthy enough based on the some key health metrics, I believe these stem from a combination of some essential habits that complement IF—an active training regimen and a decently healthy diet.
One area where I clearly notice the benefits of fasting is an improved ability to focus. When fasting, I usually feel more calm and productive when it comes to handling cognitively demanding tasks—which is usually a part of my work. I'm less likely to get distracted, and don't have to grapple with changing contexts in my mind, which is common when I have an early breakfast. I find that eating anything makes me feel less energetic, likely because some of the body diverts the resources and energy towards digestion. But what if all of this is a placebo? Well, after trying it for years, I am confident that it's not. And even if it is, I'm happy to continue with it as long as it produces positive results and no negative side-effects.
Over the last few years, I tried with different approaches to IF—16:8, 18:6, and 17:7. I've also tried some fun experiments for pushing my limits, like hiking 25k while being fasted for 20 hours. As a next experiment, I plan to include a 24-hour-water-only fast once a month and observe its impacts. I am hoping for positive outcomes, but we'll see.
What's worth noting is that many successful people have incorporated fasting into their daily routines for years—some even for decades. Their examples are easy to find for anyone interested. Three years ago, I started IF as an experiment after digging through some examples and it has proven to be a great tool. If you feel equipped with enough information to try it, it might just become a permanent tool in your toolbox too.