fasting, which is just what it sounds like. And then there’s the 8-Hour Diet, in which you eat for a set time period—it’s the easy way to accomplish the same goals.
Caloric restriction means routinely consuming a fraction of the normal food and energy intake to maintain your health; if the standard diet for a woman is 1,800 calories, restrictors would take in 1,100 or so. It’s also known as the “perpetual suffering” diet and is very hard to stick to. Disordered eating refers to an out-of-control pattern of bingeing and starving, often under psychological duress; bulimia and anorexia nervosa are examples. Eating disorders are emotionally and psychologically driven and wouldn’t be “caused” by intermittent fasting, which is, by its nature, a controlled pattern of eating. Disordered eaters have no control over their eating patterns; that’s why they need to seek psychological counseling to regain control.
I get woozy when my blood sugar gets low, and I’m often told it’s because I didn’t eat. Will I pass out from fasting?
Everyone should have a primary-care physician who knows their general eating and exercise patterns. Before you undertake any major change, it makes sense to talk to your doctor first. That’s especially true if you have a blood-sugar disorder—diabetes or pre-diabetes, for instance—in which case you can run into trouble if you are restricting food intake or altering your eating patterns.
For the rest of us, however, there is always sufficient glycogen stored in the liver to meet immediate energy needs; if you do burn through that, the body switches to burning fat.
I’ve been sticking to the fast, but sometimes I get hungry before it’s time to eat. Any tips for how I can curb the cravings during my fasting window?
The key to sticking with the fast when you’re hungry: distraction. Don’t sit still, obsessing about food. Get on your feet. Take a walk. Visit a coworker for a chat about some big project you’re working on. Watch a funny video on YouTube. Then watch another. Go for a workout. Run an errand. Most hunger pangs last 10 minutes at most, so occupy your body and mind for that length of time, and often the hunger will simply pass. (Check out Chapter 9 for a hundred such strategies for curbing cravings.) Also keep in mind: You’ll get better at this as the weeks go by, so stick with it now, and you’ll master it soon enough!
Can I still take my usual vitamins and supplements while I’m fasting?
Go for it.
What if I need to skip a week?
The 8-Hour Diet is all about the real world. So during your week off, see if you can keep to it on a modified basis, say 10 hours of eating, 14 of fasting. Do your best while you’re off the wagon, then clamber back on as soon as possible. In fact, this diet is very flexible; if you stick with it most of the time, you’ll receive benefits most of the time as well. The closer you are to 8/16, the better it’ll work. But it’s not a failure if you aren’t quite up to that mark.
I’m a vegetarian/vegan. How can I make the 8-Hour Diet work for me?
First of all, congratulations. You’re starting from a better place than the rest of us omnivores. Simply adapt the eight Powerfoods as needed. Obviously, you won’t be eating meat, so use your best protein swaps to meet that category. Ditto the bean-curd variations (soy milk) for dairy, if you’re not doing the cow thing. Otherwise, you’re good to go green and still get lean.
BONUS CHAPTER!
TURN ANY DIET INTO AN 8-HOUR DIET
How to take your favorite weight-loss plans and make them even better
T he worst thing about the diet-book industry: If you go with the most popular eating plan of the moment, you’ll be changing your diet as often as most teenagers change their socks. In with the Lemonade Diet, out with the Brown Fat Revolution. But wait, here comes the Cookie Diet. If only there were a Glass of Milk Diet to go along with it!
In a funny way, that’s exactly the point I want
Caloric restriction means routinely consuming a fraction of the normal food and energy intake to maintain your health; if the standard diet for a woman is 1,800 calories, restrictors would take in 1,100 or so. It’s also known as the “perpetual suffering” diet and is very hard to stick to. Disordered eating refers to an out-of-control pattern of bingeing and starving, often under psychological duress; bulimia and anorexia nervosa are examples. Eating disorders are emotionally and psychologically driven and wouldn’t be “caused” by intermittent fasting, which is, by its nature, a controlled pattern of eating. Disordered eaters have no control over their eating patterns; that’s why they need to seek psychological counseling to regain control.
I get woozy when my blood sugar gets low, and I’m often told it’s because I didn’t eat. Will I pass out from fasting?
Everyone should have a primary-care physician who knows their general eating and exercise patterns. Before you undertake any major change, it makes sense to talk to your doctor first. That’s especially true if you have a blood-sugar disorder—diabetes or pre-diabetes, for instance—in which case you can run into trouble if you are restricting food intake or altering your eating patterns.
For the rest of us, however, there is always sufficient glycogen stored in the liver to meet immediate energy needs; if you do burn through that, the body switches to burning fat.
I’ve been sticking to the fast, but sometimes I get hungry before it’s time to eat. Any tips for how I can curb the cravings during my fasting window?
The key to sticking with the fast when you’re hungry: distraction. Don’t sit still, obsessing about food. Get on your feet. Take a walk. Visit a coworker for a chat about some big project you’re working on. Watch a funny video on YouTube. Then watch another. Go for a workout. Run an errand. Most hunger pangs last 10 minutes at most, so occupy your body and mind for that length of time, and often the hunger will simply pass. (Check out Chapter 9 for a hundred such strategies for curbing cravings.) Also keep in mind: You’ll get better at this as the weeks go by, so stick with it now, and you’ll master it soon enough!
Can I still take my usual vitamins and supplements while I’m fasting?
Go for it.
What if I need to skip a week?
The 8-Hour Diet is all about the real world. So during your week off, see if you can keep to it on a modified basis, say 10 hours of eating, 14 of fasting. Do your best while you’re off the wagon, then clamber back on as soon as possible. In fact, this diet is very flexible; if you stick with it most of the time, you’ll receive benefits most of the time as well. The closer you are to 8/16, the better it’ll work. But it’s not a failure if you aren’t quite up to that mark.
I’m a vegetarian/vegan. How can I make the 8-Hour Diet work for me?
First of all, congratulations. You’re starting from a better place than the rest of us omnivores. Simply adapt the eight Powerfoods as needed. Obviously, you won’t be eating meat, so use your best protein swaps to meet that category. Ditto the bean-curd variations (soy milk) for dairy, if you’re not doing the cow thing. Otherwise, you’re good to go green and still get lean.
BONUS CHAPTER!
TURN ANY DIET INTO AN 8-HOUR DIET
How to take your favorite weight-loss plans and make them even better
T he worst thing about the diet-book industry: If you go with the most popular eating plan of the moment, you’ll be changing your diet as often as most teenagers change their socks. In with the Lemonade Diet, out with the Brown Fat Revolution. But wait, here comes the Cookie Diet. If only there were a Glass of Milk Diet to go along with it!
In a funny way, that’s exactly the point I want
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