Jump Start Ketosis: Intermittent Fasting for Burning Fat and Losing Weight

Introduction In a world that seems so desperate for answers about how to get rid of fat, we seem determined to overlook the most obvious solution: spend some time not eating. In my professional experience as a dietitian, and my personal experience experimenting myself with weight loss strategies I recommend for clients, intermittent fasting is a very efficient way to lose weight. It’s also very good for your health, and saves you a great deal of both money and time. If you can exercise, all the better. Fasting for weight loss makes so much sense that it seems almost unnecessary to write a whole book on the subject. And yet, you’ve probably heard these familiar adages: “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

“If you skip a meal, your metabolism will slow down, and you’ll end up gaining weight.”

“If you don’t eat every few hours, you’ll be very hungry, and you’ll overeat at your next meal.”

“You have to fuel your body (with carbs) before your workout or you won’t have the energy to exercise.”

“If you don’t eat every few hours, your blood sugar will drop, and you’ll become faint and weak.”

Most of us actually believe that something bad will happen to our bodies if we fast—probably because we have absolutely zero experience with it. But fasting doesn’t make you weak, tired, mentally cloudy, or any of the other things people worry about before they try it. Nor does it slow your metabolism—actually, it does the opposite of all these things, for reasons we’ll explore in great detail in the chapters ahead. Millions of people all over the world fast regularly as part of religious or cultural practices, and reap the benefits of improved physical health and emotional well-being.

But in our society, fasting is almost forbidden. The message we get again and again from nutrition authorities (not to mention every health and fitness magazine out there) is that the body needs small, frequent feedings throughout the day. Snacks are encouraged, and meals must never be skipped. As a result, we have literally convinced ourselves that we must eat all the time in order to avoid gaining weight. Does that really seem right to you? I find the idea absurd, and I think it has done a lot of harm to a lot of people. I suspect you’re questioning it too, or else you wouldn’t be ready to try intermittent fasting.

My goal in this book is to demonstrate to you that intermittent fasting is a very effective and safe way to lose weight—and specifically to lose body fat while retaining muscle mass. I aim to put to rest any fear you may have that skipping meals is bad for your body or will cause you to gain weight instead of lose it. I’ll guide you with practical advice on how to integrate intermittent fasting into your life, and tips to make your fast go smoothly. I hope to have you so convinced of the benefits of fasting and the ease with which you can practice it that you commit to trying your first 24-hour fast before you finish this book.

If you’ve been fasting for a while then you already know that most people start out thinking they couldn’t possibly do it and end up loving it so much that it becomes a permanent part of their life. If you haven’t yet tried it and are worried about what it might be like (Won’t I be hungry? Aren’t we supposed to eat six meals a day? Can this possibly be good for me?), don’t worry—by the end of the book you’ll have read the personal stories of people just like you. People who thought they would never be able to go a day without eating, and who now practice all different styles of intermittent fasting that work with their busy schedules 6