Hour Diet FAQ: Men's Health. In this chapter, I’ve rounded up some of the most common questions—questions you yourself may share—and explain in detail just what happens when you follow The 8- Hour Diet. What is a low carb diet, really? When can a low carb diet be beneficial? Should everyone follow a low carb diet? Or, can a low carb diet ruin your health? Do I have to eat in the same 8- hour time span every day? Not at all. The 8- Hour Diet can be easily adapted to any sort of hectic, changing lifestyle. The key to success is simply to alternate 8 hours of feasting with 1. As long as you stick to that pattern, you’ll realize all the benefits. So, for example, a 9- to- 5 type can break her fast at 1. Presto, that’s 8 hours, and she can follow that pattern from week to week. But if a work event, dinner date, or party arises, she can just shift that first meal later in the day, so the 8 hours are 1 pm to 9 pm. And of course, many of us are shift workers who may need to eat our first meal at noon on one day and at 5 pm on another. Fortunately, the plan still works, as long as you observe the 8- hour feasting pattern.
I only want to follow the plan 3 days a week. Should I do my 3 days all in a row, or is it better to alternate them? Whatever is most convenient for you. For example, some people say they find it easier to wake up late on Saturday and Sunday, enjoy a leisurely morning, and then eat a delicious brunch around noon. But if your weekends are hectic, you might want to forget about trying to follow the diet and instead do it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Or Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. The Promise. The opposite of those extreme plans that call for fasting, The 3-Hour Diet by fitness expert Jorge Cruise requires you to eat five times a day, including.Or whatever. As long as you hit your times, you’ll change your body—and your life. Can I eat as often as I want during my 8 hours? Yes! You’re free to eat what you like, when you like. If you want two big meals at lunch and dinner and that’s it, fine. If you want to graze through the whole 8 hours, that’s okay, too. It really depends on your lifestyle and your favorite foods. Am I allowed to have coffee or tea during the fasting period? And can I put milk and sugar in it, or is that cheating? Coffee and tea are absolutely encouraged because caffeine is an appetite suppressant. But it’s also a mild diuretic, so make sure you’re taking extra fluids to compensate. As for the milk and sugar: Yes, that’s cheating, but your secret is safe with us. It’s a minor intake of calories, but if it makes your favorite beverage go down easier, go for it. Just try to keep the additions as light as possible. Can I have milk, juice, soda, sweetened coffee drinks, or bottled iced teas during the fasting period? Hell no. There’s really only one way to screw up this diet, and it’s by drinking lots of extra calories during your fasting times. And it’s an easy mistake to make. The average American drinks a whopping 4. For example, let’s say you want to stay hydrated during your fast, so you reach for a bottle of flavored water—in this case, Snapple Tropical Mango Antioxidant Water. What could be bad about that? It’s got antioxidants, for goodness sake! But in fact you’re drinking 1. H2. O. Drinking just one of these concoctions a day in place of plain water will add 1. And worse, you’ve broken your fast with these junk calories, so bye- bye health and weight- loss benefits! For the maximum benefit, stick with calorie- free drinks. Shed extra body- fat and improve your health in 8 hours a day. Pick up The 8- Hour Diet now! I’m a competitive runner. Is this diet suitable for athletes or for other people who work out regularly? It’s not only suitable, it’s encouraged. The fat- burning effects of fasting will be multiplied by strong workouts. Look at it this way: The NBA Hall- of- Famer Hakeem Olajuwon regularly fasted during the basketball season. He was once named “player of the month” during February, when he fasted for Ramadan. If he could play that well at an elite level while fasting, you can, too. What if I need a snack? Hunger and thirst are both registered in the hypothalamus, so when you’re tempted to eat, have a drink instead. Sparkling water with lime. Pick your favorite no- cal beverage and tank up. Your belly will be full, and the hunger will pass. Am I really allowed to eat as much as I want during my 8 hours? I have a pretty large appetite. Yes and no. Live your life as you see fit. But if you expect to have results on this diet plan, don’t go crazy on us—slow down, and eat until you’re sated, not stuffed. Unless you substantially increase the amount of food you’re eating each day—hard to do that as long as you’re eating within the prescribed time period—you’re going to see dramatic results. But why not use this plan as a reason to reconsider consumption? Stay within the boundaries of the 8- Hour Powerfoods and the 8 hours. It could be the start of a whole new you. Everything I’ve read about weight loss says I shouldn’t skip breakfast—how can fasting in the morning be healthy? There are plenty of ways to lose weight, and eating a solid, high- protein breakfast is one of them. But it isn’t the only way. We know from all of the studies we’ve gathered that the 8- Hour Diet will help you lose weight, regardless of when your 8 hours begins and ends. Skipping breakfast is how most of the experts we’ve spoken to prefer to manage their own weight, but you’re free to schedule your feeding and fasting times however you like. So if it’s easier for you, logistically, to break your fast at 8 am and eat until 4 pm, go for it. And there is an advantage there, because the end of your fast will come when you’re asleep. Plus, the classic breakfast foods—eggs, bacon, yogurt, whole- wheat toast, oatmeal—give you plenty of nutritional support. But fasting in the morning has its advantages, as well. Dinner is often the most sociable meal of the day, and you’ll probably want to join your loved ones at the table. Pick the daily schedule that works best for you, and enjoy your success! Can I have a cheat day? You can have four cheat days a week if you want. Following the 8- Hour Diet 7 days a week is hard to do, so I tell most folks to try it 3 to 5 days a week for starters. Four cheat days will still work for you, promise! But “cheat days” does not mean “strap yourself to the all- you- can- eat- buffet- until- you- pass- out days.” Try to make sure you “eat your 8” even on days when you’re not following the diet to ensure that you’re getting all the nutrition you need, and be smart about your food choices. I keep long hours, and I like to incorporate a protein shake or small snack before my early morning workout. Can I still have my shake or does that count as breaking the fast? Yes, you’d be breaking the fast, but then this plan is yours to design and retrofit in a way that works for your life. So if there’s no way to accommodate that protein shake along with your workout into your 8- hour eating period, go ahead and break the rules. But bear this in mind, as well: All the scientific evidence points to a strict fast as the best way to achieve maximum results. So the first, best option is to keep the fast; the second best option is to live your life as you need to and be as careful with your 8/1. I’ve been told that you have to eat frequently to retain muscle mass. If I fast, won’t I lose muscle? No, you won’t. Quite the contrary. One of the most surprising aspects of intermittent fasting is that it forces your body to burn fat preferentially instead of muscle. This is one factor that dramatically sets the 8- Hour Diet apart from other diet plans. Typically, reducing caloric intake—your standard“crash” diet—causes the body to burn muscle for energy. In the long run, that causes your metabolism to slow down, meaning that once you go off your crash diet, you wind up fatter than before you started it. This is why so many celebrities are walking examples of so- called “yo- yo dieting”—they dramatically lose weight for a role or photo shoot, but they come back bigger than ever, and not in a good way. Why is the 8- Hour Diet different? Among the first pieces of anecdotal evidence that researchers in this field began noticing was how popular fasting had become in the body- building community: It worked to help the overly buff achieve that cut, muscular look that won competitions—and didn’t erode muscle size or quality. In fact, muscle strength and athletic performance seemed to improve. While the exact mechanism is still being studied, we do know that intermittent fasting increases natural levels of human growth hormone, or HGH—the stuff that aging athletes inject illegally to help them stay young and strong. What it means to you: Limiting your food consumption to 8 hours a day triggers your body to burn fat for energy; standard dieting leads you to burn muscle. Take your pick. Doesn’t fasting cause your metabolism to slow down? No. It will actually accelerate it. If it didn’t, our species (and other carnivores like us) would never have survived into the modern era. Think of it: Your ancient ancestor is out cruising the plains of Africa during a time of food shortages. She’s hungry and needs a meal. If her metabolism slowed down, she wouldn’t be able to chase the prey she spots down by the water hole. But she is up for that chase, because her body, metabolically primed for the hunt, is burning stored fat in the absence of food, just like yours is on the 8- Hour Diet. Her pattern of feasting and fasting, just like yours, also maintains muscle mass—it aids in the hunt but also boosts metabolism for the big charge. Sure, if you try live on rice cakes, grapefruit, and Diet Coke for days on end, your metabolism will slow down—the fatal flaw of traditional diets. But that won’t happen on this plan. You should eat good food, and plenty of it—but just within the allotted 8 hours. Don’t our bodies store fat in response to periods of hunger? No, but they do store fat in response to standard dieting. When you go on a standard diet, you may lose weight initially. But when your body senses that there’s a real dearth of food available—when you go day after day taking in fewer calories than your body needs—all that deprivation sets off a kind of hormonal panic in your body.
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