Friday, September 25, 2009

Don't Meet Me for Breakfast

A while ago, I stated that longevity advice shouldn't be taken as gospel from the world's oldest people. These people have received great genetics which have likely been enhanced by solid health habits, but it's impossible to isolate and prove those positive habits. With that said, an article on the current world's oldest person, Walter Breuning (113 years old!), inspired me to update a topic I had written about previously.

Walter switched to eating two meals per day 35 years ago (at the young age of 78). As you may recall from early in the summer, I moved away from eating 4-6 meals in favor of 2 meals (Walter eats breakfast and lunch, and I typically eat lunch and dinner) with a water-only fast of at least 14 hours per day. The results have been very positive. In total, I have lost ten pounds and am currently at my lowest weight in six years.

The research I have seen on the topic, up to this point, seems to support the results. Here are the studies:
  1. People who ate 1 meal per day lost more fat and had greater improvements in triglycerides, blood sugar, and HDLs than those who ate 3 meals per day.
  2. Days consisting of 2 meals and fasting of at least 15 hours more effectively used stored fat for energy than eating 7 meals per day did.
  3. Eating 2 meals per day showed no significant difference in metabolic rate change from those who ate 3-5 meals per day after testing at two and four weeks.
  4. Men who eat less than 3 times per day experienced colon cancer about 50% less than men who ate 3-4 or more than 4 times per day did.

If you are looking to lose fat, improve your gut health, or enhance your cardiovascular numbers, perhaps you should consider a move to 1-3 meals with a fast of at least 14 hours each day.

1 comment:

mrfreddy said...

I did IF for over a year... at first I my weight dropped about ten pounds, then most of it gradually crept back... For some reason recently, I decided to start making giant killer protein shakes in the morning, and I noticed an immediate improvement in my weight room efforts. And my weight didnt change.

So, no more IF'ing for me!