How To Start Intermittent Fasting (Beginner's Guide) Pt.1
- Richard J Yun
- Dec 2, 2019
- 2 min read
Intermittent fasting has been around since the 1940s and is currently one of the most popular health and fitness trends. Whether you are trying to lose weight or improve your health, intermittent fasting can help you achieve that.
Many studies show that it can have powerful effects on your body and brain and may even help you live longer.
The unique feature of intermittent fasting is that there are no specific rules on what NOT to eat, however, when you should eat them.
As Kris Gunnar mentions in his blog, "Intermittent fasting is not a diet in the conventional sense but more accurately described as an eating pattern."
Way back in 1945 it was discovered that intermittent fasting extended life in mice. More recently, this study found that alternate day intermittent fasting led to longer lifespans.

3 Popular Fasting Methods
The 16/8 method: Also called the Lean gains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 1–9 p.m. Then you fast for 16 hours in between.
Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.
The 5:2 diet: With these methods, you consume only 500–600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days.
(Kris Gunnar)
Way back in 1945 it was discovered that intermittent fasting extended life in mice. (Here's the study.) More recently, this study found that alternate day intermittent fasting led to longer lifespans.

Summary
- I started intermittent fasting after watching Dave Asprey's "Top 5 FREE Biohacks". I was skeptical at first because I've never tried dieting or any type of fasting, but I decided to give the 16/8 method a shot. I haven't experienced weight loss, however, I have noticed a significant increase in productivity. I'm not feeling burnt out by the afternoon, and I feel more focused than ever. Even if you are practicing other methods right now, I recommend everyone try intermittent fasting.
In the next blog, I will go more in-depth on the health benefits of intermittent fasting and how it affects our body.
I'm a UofT student and this is a student exploration project sponsored by KiImpact.com
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