Intermittent Fasting - My No Diet No Exercise Weight Loss Secret

Intermittent Fasting - My personal journey to an effective No Diet weight loss and a healthy lifestyle

This is my personal experience of how I started, the motivation, how effective, easy weight loss program (seeing a 3kg reduction in 3 weeks) and most important inexpensive (you virtually do not need to spend anything at all it might save you some money too) Intermittent Fasting has brought to me.

I have a stable weight of 72kg (plus minus 1kg) and for years it has been at that weight. At 172cm my BMI is slightly over the scale of healthy. During each blood screening test, I was always been adviced that my ideal weight is 68 kg. 

I have 2 option which my family has been pestering me to take up; the first is to do some exercise to reach that ideal weight and secondly to reduce my food consumption (which to me this is the most difficult to do as I love eating delicious food especially as my part-time hobby is a Malaysian Food Blogger which you can see all my food post at this blog.

In January 2018, my wife started this Intermittent Fasting and have encouraged me to join her for this program. She has shared some link on what is Intermittent Fasting all about. Initially, I was a little sceptical as that would mean to have dinner latest by 6pm daily which is almost impossible for me as a food blogger as we have many foods review at night and usually ends at latest 10pm. 

As usual, I did not really take it seriously until a video she shared with me that all we need to fast for 16 hours regardless when we had the last eating meal of the day. That's all although ideally, you should have a fixed schedule.

According to Wikipedia; there are 2 most popular categories of Intermittent Fasting; whole-day fasting and time-restricted feeding (TRF).

Time-restricted feeding (TRF) involves eating only during a certain number of hours each day. A common form of TRF involves fasting for 16 hours each day and only eating during the remaining 8 hours, typically on the same schedule each day.  As long as I can fast 16 hours a day regardless when my last meal is. This would be easy to follow as there are times when there is food review at night, I usually have light breakfast and skip lunch. For many years I am used to skipping a meal for the day.

So, after the Chinese New Year big feast celebration in February 2018, I have decided to start this Intermittent Fasting for a number of reasons. 

The first one is the weight loss benefit. My wife is always complaining about my rounded 1 Pack especially after our food review. I believe this is also caused by the lower metabolism rate as this year I am 55 years old. I thought to myself; at the rate that I am eating, I soon will have major weight and health issue that be can be worrying in the next couple of years. 

No Exercise No Dieting Weight Loss Program

For me, doing exercise and dieting is really out of the question as I am the lazy type which does not enjoy doing a regimented exercise program or go on a strict diet program. 

The result is astonishing to me as 3 weeks into the program that is 10th March 2018, I took my weight; it is now at 69kg which is a reduction of 3 kg in 3 weeks. I have also read that the result is more promising at the beginning of the program (i.e. greater weight loss and as you progress the weight loss is smaller). I must say, that I am extremely happy with this result and I will be updating my weight in the coming weeks or months at this blog post; so stay tuned.

The second reason for me is for the health reason. Through the blood screening test; it shows that I have a high GGT reading of 116 (a fatty liver condition) 3 years ago. Despite taking some liver supplement, the reading only fell slightly to 112.  Also, my Total cholesterol level is at 6.12 which is way above the 5.2 scale which I should be (I am also taking some Fish Oil to control this). I plan to take another blood test in the coming months to see whether this Intermittent Fasting works for me or reduce these readings.

How Intermittent Fasting Work?

To understand how Intermittent Fasting works and leads to a fat loss we first need to understand the difference between the FED state and the FASTED state.

Our body is in the fed state when it is digesting and absorbing food. Typically, the fed state starts when you begin eating and lasts for three to five hours as your body digests and absorbs the food you just ate. When you are in the FED state, it's very hard for your body to burn fat because your insulin levels are high.

After that, your body goes into what is known as the Post Absorptive State, which is the time your body isn’t processing a meal. The Post Absorptive State lasts for 8 to 12 hours after your last meal, which is when you enter the FASTED state. It is much easier for your body to burn fat in the FASTED state because your insulin levels are low. When you're in the FASTED state your body can burn fat that has been inaccessible during the FED state.

Because we don't enter the FASTED state until 12 hours after your last meal, it's rare that our bodies are in this fat burning state. This is one of the reasons why many people who start intermittent fasting will lose fat without changing what they eat, how much they eat, or how often they exercise. Fasting puts your body in a fat burning state that you rarely make it to during a normal eating schedule. (Source - The Beginner’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting). The last part is what motivates me to try this out.

How I Did My Intermittent Fasting Program?

For some of you, it might be a challenge to start this 16 hours fasting; but my advice to you is to start with 12 hours (although there is no burning of any fats yet but training your body to accustom to it) and gradually increase it to 1 hour more and so forth. You might not see the result of your weight loss so sudden but it will be a good start.

No Exercise Weight Loss Program

For this program to work just take note of the time of your last meal of the day example if your last meal of the day is 6pm then you can start eating at 10am the next day. Similarly, if the time of your last meal is at 10 pm then your next meal will be 2pm on the next day. Of course, ideally, you should follow a fixed schedule on a daily basis but for me as a person who enjoys good food, I am using the guide below to monitor my daily last mealtime and when my breaking fast will be.

Please take note: During the FASTED state,  you consume no calories. However, water (the best), black coffee, calorie-free sweeteners, diet soda and sugar-free gum are permitted. (A splash of milk in your coffee won’t hurt, either.).

For me, this is the best weight loss program as firstly I don't need to do NO EXERCISE (of course if you do exercise you will have an even more effective fat burning process (best done right before you break the fasting) and NO DIET (for better result you can reduce your intake of carb and sugar), I can continue to enjoy all my favourite food without feeling guilty on the extra kg that I would gain.

New Study 

People on the intermittent fasting diet live longer - study

 - Watch this Video 

If you find it successful, please share this blog post with your family and friends; also please COMMENT on your successful weight loss journey in this blog post. Thank you and I wish you great success in your weight loss program.

Intermittent Fasting During Lockdown - How You Can Survive 2020 Lockdown Movement Control Order (MCO)? - This Is What I Do?