Representing a tradition with more history behind it than you might realise, intermittent fasting means going for extended periods of time without eating a single bite. Not to be confused with starvation, this is a regimen that requires a concerted degree of control over what you eat and when you eat it. If it sounds odd, consider the fact that you already practice fasting every 24 hours. After all, you don’t eat for 10-12 hours between dinner and breakfast (hence the term “break fast”), and that’s a pretty long stretch of time. Intermittent fasting extends the process into result-oriented dieting, the kind of which delivers a slew of reported health benefits. Also worth noting is that you’re free to drink water, tea, coffee, or bone broth whenever you’d like.

As a citizen of the modern world, you’re probably aware that we humans like to eat. In fact, we like it so much that we frequently consume more food than necessary. That causes insulin levels to spike, and the body to store excess calories as either fat or sugar. When we continue to eat without burning through the stored calories, the sugar and fat pile up inside the body. The outcome can be something as simple as weight gain or something as complex as Type 2 diabetes. Neither result is desirable, to say the least.

It doesn’t take the word of a health expert to know that eating less food—or no food at all—will cause you to lose weight. In other words, intermittent fasting for weight loss is a worthy pursuit, indeed. And while some men might wonder if the practice will negatively impact metabolism, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Putting the whole metabolism thing aside (since that’s a subject best left to scientists), there are other concerns one might have in regards to intermittent fasting for weight loss. For instance, men might wonder if they’ll experience low energy, find themselves unable to concentrate, get sick, or simply collapse due to lack of calories. And during the first few days, those concerns will seem justified.

Here’s where we get to the good stuff, i.e. the benefits of intermittent fasting. These can be observed in those who commit fully to the intermittent fasting regime, whilst maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

First and foremost, you can expect to lose weight for obvious reasons. However, certain experts will attest that weight loss is merely one among numerous benefits achieved by intermittent fasting. This is in part why the practice itself goes all the way back to ancient times, when weight loss wasn’t exactly mankind’s most prevailing concern.

According to some reports, the benefits of intermittent fasting can also include mental clarity. The lack of heavy food and strain on your body to digest calories and energy may allow your body to regulate healthy brain function. A clear system may lead to a clear mind.

Eating often throughout the day continuously puts our body and metabolism in a cycle of digestion. Each time you consume calories, your body must work to break down carbohydrates and turn them into blood sugar. Eventually, this is used for energy or stored in cells for later use.

Some reports also suggest that intermittent fasting can improve our insulin resistance. This, in turn, could lead to a 3-6 per cent drop in blood sugar and a 20-31 per cent drop in insulin levels. This can culminate in greater protection against type 2 diabetes.

Certain studies have shown that intermittent fasting may lead to reductions in markers of inflammation.

Additionally, there are numerous practical benefits to consider. For example, intermittent fasting can drastically simplify your life. To that end, it’s unlike most contemporary diets in that it requires you to eat nothing, and drink just water, tea, coffee or bone broth for extended periods of time. How can things get any simpler than that?

Speaking of the practical benefits, intermittent fasting also saves you money by cutting down on food costs, saves you time that would be otherwise spent cooking, allows for cheat days (presuming you can handle your vices), allows for variables, and accommodates any lifestyle. Last but not least, if you feel sick or like you simply have to eat, pressing the pause or stop button is as easy as putting a piece of food in your mouth.

Remember how we said that intermittent fasting for men was about as simple as a diet could be? Well, we might have to throw a small asterisk onto that assertion. That’s because there are a variety of ways to partake in the practice, prompting the question: what is the intermittent fasting method that works best for you?

Reaping the benefits of intermittent fasting means taking that first step toward this game-changing practice, and then sticking with a plan. This might sound simple in concept, but it can be downright difficult to execute. Since we can’t personally coach you through the process, we’ll cover the basics. Here is how to begin intermittent fasting: