Even though you may have never heard of intermittent fasting (IF), you have probably heard that in order to lose weight, be healthy, and go through your day performing like a superhuman, you need to eat breakfast. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?
No. In fact, having breakfast was not really a popular thing until the 18th century, and it was only made popular by Kelloggs (who invented Cornflakes) later on. In the past, before this occurred, it was more likely that you would have only eaten twice a day. In some places, the chances of you only eating one meal per day would have been the norm.
As it turns out, it is perfectly okay for you to skip breakfast. I decided to write this article for the people who tend to feel guilty about the fact that they do not eat breakfast, and try to force themselves to do so.
Intermittent fasting is the discovery that can finally set these people free of the no-breakfast guilt. Perhaps you are one of them and try to force yourself to eat early in the day. You really do not need to eat breakfast for optimal health and to feel like a superhuman.
If you do not know exactly what intermittent fasting is, it is an extended version of time-restricted eating. With time-restricted eating, you limit your eating window every day to a nine- to twelve-hour window, and then you fast for twelve to fifteen hours a day.
Intermittent fasting starts when the fasting period starts exceeding 16 hours, which is when people who tend to naturally skip breakfast often start to eat.
As someone who struggles to fast for longer than 14 hours, I envy those who have always naturally incorporated fasting periods into their lives without even trying.
There are many benefits of intermittent fasting for becoming superhuman and improving your health, but here are only a few of them:
Practising Intermittent Fasting Stimulates Autophagy
The body’s own wonderful natural cell-recycling process, known as autophagy, is enough reason to consider adding fasting to your routine. By taking regular breaks from eating, you can trigger the body to clear out any cells that cause inflammation and other negative health complications, such as cancer.
One of the most exciting benefits about fasting on a regular basis is that it can slow down the ageing process. By simulating autophagy, your cell regeneration process can speed up. When this process starts to slow down, ageing speeds up and wrinkles start forming.
If you want to age like a superhuman, IF might be for you.
Enhanced Cognitive Performance, Developing a Superhuman Brain
Many people practice intermittent fasting as a way to improve their productivity and boost mental sharpness.
Those who fast for 16 hours or more often claim that they have improved mental clarity and focus, and that they can be more productive in the morning when fasting.
Intermittent Fasting Helps with Weight Loss
Weight gain usually occurs when we eat more calories than we consume, as well as when insulin levels become too high.
Another fact that I found scary was that each time you eat, your insulin levels go up. When insulin is elevated, in most people, it will be hard to access fat for energy. By intermittent fasting, you can lose weight far easier, as you will not spike your insulin as often, which will give you more hours in a day in which you can burn fat.
It also makes it easier to not consume too many calories in a day. By limiting your eating window, you also limit the window in which you can eat junk food or overeat, therefore reducing the number of opportunities for you to mess up in a day.
People who love eating large meals and tend to overeat can also find intermittent fasting to be a good way to still allow themselves to eat more at each meal, which will also be more satisfying. As I prefer to have large meals, reducing my meals down to two or three allowed me to indulge more (in healthy foods), without eating too much in total throughout the day.
It Helps the Body Adapt to Stress
Fasting is a type of stress on the body, and when not done in excess, the stress can be beneficial for the body. This beneficial stress is known as hermetic stress.
By fasting, you are putting your body in a state of stress, but over time, it will become easier, and your body will be better able to handle not only that type of stress, but other types of stress as well.
There are even benefits of it for your mental state. By showing yourself you can restrict your eating window to ten or even three hours a day, you will show yourself that you are capable of doing the things you want to, and might be able to do even more challenging fasts like those lasting for 24 hours or more.
You adapt to the stress both psychologically and physiologically.
It Gives Your Digestive System a Break
If you have leaky gut issues or other problems with your gut health, taking longer breaks from eating can give your digestive system a break, so that you can get some needed relief.
It also gives your gut lining a chance to heal itself, especially if you are also following a healthy diet that is aimed at improving gut health.
- Consume enough fibre to feed the good bacteria.
- Starve the bad bacteria by cutting out sugar and processed food.
- Consume collagen in dietary form through bone broth and gelatin, and/or supplement with collagen. You need vitamin C to absorb collagen, however.
- Add probiotics to your diet through eating fermented foods like yogurt that still contains live bacteria, sauerkraut, kombucha, and kimchi.
Intermittent fasting is highly beneficial when you want to become superhuman. If you are interested, give it a try, but it is optional. Becoming superhuman is about finding the ideal healthy lifestyle for you.
