The Secret to Eating What You Want And Losing Weight: Part Two

In this post, I shared my experience of eating all the food I wanted during the holidays, all without gaining weight. And let's be clear: I ate many more calories during the holidays and I was able to maintain my weight.

The secret: it's called Intermittent Fasting or Time Restricted Eating. I'll get into the details, but first, a story.

Story Time

The year was 2009. I had gained a decent amount of weight and wanted it to come off. This was the time in which P90x was really big. Remember when it was all over TV and the interwebs? I bought the DVD's and started the program.

A few weeks later, I did notice I was getting stronger, but I wasn't losing any weight. In fact, I was gaining weight. I told myself, "well, muscle weighs more than fat, so it's ok. Just have to keep going." But I wasn't really noticing a difference in how I looked. I wanted to trim down on the fat around my face and sides, but it wasn't happening. All the while I felt like I needed to fuel my workouts, so I ate large meals, some of them after I worked out around 8 pm at night.

Nothing really changed.

A few years after that my weight had gone up even higher. There were several friends of mine who encouraged me to start running, so I did. I also signed up and started training for the Chicago Marathon. After several months of training, I did start to lose weight—it was inevitable due to the number of calories I was burning—but it was grueling work.

I ramped up my training slowly following a plan. I did the half-marathon training run. Check. I then did the 15-mile training run. Two days after I had a throbbing pain in my foot. I could barely walk. After going to a specialist, he gave me some bad news: I was on the verge of a hairline fracture of my foot. I had to pull out of the race, and it took about two years for my foot to fully heal. Two years. Some people are blessed with perfect biomechanics and can run all day every day without injury. Evidently, I am not part of that group.

There had to be a better way to lose weight and get in shape.

Lessons I've Learned:

1. Have a goal weight

What do you want to get to in your weight? If you don't have a goal, you'll never get there. My goal is based on two things. First, I want to get back to my college weight. I had some muscle and was in shape in college. Over time, and particularly after our family started having kids, I started to gain weight. Second, I want to be within the appropriate BMI (Body Mass Index) recommendation for health. Here's a chart you can use to check your BMI.

2. Track your weight

When I first started this journey in earnest I was at 186 pounds (84 kg). Mind you, I'm 5 foot 8 inches tall (1.73 meters). That's too much weight for my frame. I have a Fitbit, and the app makes it really easy to input and track your weight. I try to weigh myself every morning after waking and after using the bathroom. At the moment, I'm at 163 pounds.

3. Acknowledge that losing weight is more about what you eat than how much you exercise

More and more studies are coming to the conclusion that exercise is for health and wellness, and diet is about losing weight. Note this resource by Vox and accompanying video below.

4. Reject the notion that you are doomed to a certain weight because of family genes

Are there physiological issues and diseases that predispose people to gain weight? Absolutely. But for most people, they gain weight like their family and have the diseases of their families because they eat like their families.

Ok, a little break in the middle, here. What I just wrote above is a little bit of a preamble. Now, we'll get into the nitty-gritty.

5. Eat within an 8-hour window

This is the crown jewel of the system. There are so many diets out there. Some recommend only eating special foods that you have to order. Some recommend eating zero carbs. Some recommend counting points. I get dizzy just thinking about all the different kinds. This one is simple. Eat within an 8-hour window. That's it.

Some call this Intermittent Fasting and some call it Time Restricted Eating. There are some incredible benefits to eating like this:

-Losing weight, while gaining muscle mass
-Helping control blood sugar and decreasing risk of diabetes
-So many others. Check out this article and this one.

Physiologically, there's something powerful that takes place when the body is made to fast for 16 hours. Check out this article from the Wall Street Journal: "A Diet Strategy That Counts Time, Not Calories."

So let's review the time frame again. You eat within an 8-hour window. The clock begins when you put something other than water or an herbal tea into your system. Do you drink coffee with cream or some sweetener in the morning? The clock starts as soon as you start drinking it.

If that begins at 6 am, in theory, it means that you wouldn't eat anything past 2 pm. Ok, I know what you're thinking. That's impossible! But I've learned that it's not impossible.

If you're tempted to stop reading here because you could never possibly stay within an 8-hour window, wait for my last point. Keep reading. I have good news for you.

6. Ideally, eat a plant-based whole food diet, but it's not absolutely necessary for losing weight.

This is the healthiest way you could eat. Period. Hands down. What does it look like? Don't eat processed food. Eat real foods like brown rice, beans, and vegetables. Eat fruit. I do eat bread, but I try to only eat Ezekiel or similar bread. By the way, have you heard about Blue Zones?

All that being said, apparently you can still lose weight, even if you don't eat healthily. It's all about the fasting period. Check out this video. This guy talks about how he eats cheeseburgers and pizzas all the time but still loses weight by only eating within an 8-hour window.

7. Tell yourself: this is the last meal of the day, and it will be ok

Eating differently is a habit. You can develop habits over time. And it's something you can teach your body to abide by. For example, when I have my last meal of the day, around 2 pm, I make sure to eat well. I eat until full. At that point, I tell myself that this is the last meal of the day. And that it will be ok. Over time, my body has become accustomed to it. Remember, we generally put way too much food into our bodies. We don't need that much.

8. You need to have cheat days

It's important to have cheat days. For me, it's generally Friday evening and Saturday evening. I let my guard down. Sometimes I'll do the cheat day on a different day if something comes up. I try to not be too dogmatic about it.

Ok, are you ready for the good news? Do you feel discouraged by any of this?

Studies are showing that even eating within a 12-hour window is greatly beneficial. So that means that if you have a hot drink with cream at 6 am, you wouldn't eat anything past 6 pm. Does that sound a lot more doable? For sure. Of course, the longer the fasting period, the greater the benefit and faster the weight loss.

How about trying a 10-hour window? Nothing past 4 pm.

I'll let you in on a little secret. I've mentally opened myself up to eating within a 10-hour window. Like I said, I try to eat really well for breakfast and lunch. If I'm able to eat a later lunch at around 2 pm, then I'm not hungry at all at 4 pm and can continue the rest of the evening. But if I have to take an early lunch, I'll just make sure to eat something by 4 pm to top off if I need it.

The point of all of this is that you need to find a rhythm that can become a lifestyle. Diets never last. Right now the 8-10 hour window is working really well for me.

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