We often complain about having too little time to get to the gym or otherwise find time to exercise, but in all honesty, we know that just isn’t true.
We also know that regular exercise is important for good health and general well-being.
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Weekly round-up #13
When it comes to health and fitness, the Internet is a mixed blessing. Yes, there is great information out there, but unfortunately, the good (useful, accurate, valuable) material is outnumbered 1,000,000:1 by inaccurate, misleading BS.
If you are to truly make progress on your goals–be that getting healthy, improving strength or shifting visceral bellyfat–you’ll need to start following people that can actually help move you in the right direction. Here’s excerpts from just three of the people I follow on a regular basis.
Intermittent Fasting: It could just be the difference
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is a style of eating, not a diet. It is also not the silver bullet to fat loss that some might claim it to be. It IS, however, something you should know about, research and ultimately try for yourself.
Three quick sources for you to do some homework:
- Adam Bornstein is an advocate of this eating style and wrote a nice summary of fasting approaches for Livestrong.com. IF is also core to the eating strategy presented in Adam’s book, Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha.
- James Clear has also experimented widely with IF and found it highly complimentary to his lifestyle and lifting goals. You can read about his experiences on his blog.
- If you want the science behind the IF regimen I personally follow (16/8), you need to go to the father of IF, Martin Berkhan and leangains.com.
For me, IF works. In fact, it almost works too well and an eight hour eating window makes it hard to get all the calories I need when trying to gain muscle. However, when I am trying to lean out, combining an IF regimen with a healthy diet, balanced macros and a good training program makes a big difference. As a bonus, the IF protocol has hidden benefits:
- More free time to do more things; less time thinking about and planning eating.
- You care a lot more about what you put in your mouth when you’ve been fasting for 16 hours.
- You learn to appreciate your food more and associate being hungry with being healthy.
Closing thoughts: Don’t dismiss an approach or idea without doing your homework. Also, be prepared to invest some of your own time in trying and evaluating a diet or workout regimen. What works for one, may or may not work for another — but you won’t know unless you try!