CHAPTER 9
How to Eat When It’s Time to Eat Intermittent fasting is only half the fun. The other half is intermittent eating! And when you eat, you must eat well. On your eating days, eat to satisfaction! I often see people get so excited about their progress and the fact that they’re able to go a whole day without eating that they think to themselves, “Oh, I’ll just go light on this meal,” and the next meal, and the next. Or they avoid fat when they eat because it’s calorie dense and they think that keeping calories low all the time will speed their weight loss. Or they find some other strategy that amounts to alternating bouts of fasting with bouts of calorierestricted eating. This is a mistake! This approach will result in the dreaded slowdown of metabolism that causes weight plateau and regain. Instead, focus on getting a wide variation in energy intake—from no energy one day while you’re fasting, to lots of energy the next day while you’re eating. I’m not going to dive into a big explanation of why you should eat mostly whole, unprocessed foods. Collectively, we are very aware that the average American diet based on processed foods and lots of sugar is making us fat and sick. If you’ve read this far into a book about how to lose weight and improve your health, then you’re already highly motivated to jump off that bandwagon. It’s especially important to eat a robustly nutritious diet when you practice intermittent fasting because you have to get all your nourishment in a shorter window of time. To do this, eat what you want, as long as what you’re eating has been grown on trees, from the ground, or in the seabed, or was once a living animal, and hasn’t been altered much on its way to your plate. Whatever you’re eating, put salt on it. Most people would benefit from eating more fat and fewer carbs. Don’t overdo the protein. Avoid processed and packaged foods at all costs. And don’t eat anything cooked in “vegetable oil.”
Eat a Good Amount of Fat Fat is satiating, so you stay full longer after a meal with fat than one without it. Fat doesn’t increase insulin levels, so it won’t contribute to insulin resistance the ways carbs will. If you’ve struggled with weight loss on a low-fat diet in the past, or you have poor discipline when it comes to carbohydrates, then focus on getting more fat and pushing some of the carbs off your plate. There are different types of fats, and optimal health is achieved by eating a variety of fats. Here’s a quick review: Monounsaturated fats are found in high amounts in avocados and olives and their oils, and most nuts and seeds. These fats are a cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet and are linked to lower risk of heart disease. As a rule of thumb, it’s good to eat more monounsaturated fat.
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