If I have three squares each day, I get to keep my weight at a decent level and I get to see my family – two bonuses!

Jen
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As far as when to eat or exercise I think the bigger concern is what to eat and what kinds of exercise. All too often we struggle with weight loss because we are eating the wrong kinds of food – you touch on the topic when you mention “we do tend to work against nature rather than with it.” That goes for food as well, if we eat “natural food” rather than over processed food obtaining our natural weight becomes much easier – plus we feel better too.
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Debate is always good. I don’t believe there is only one way to do most things, life can’t be that simple. What we all should be looking for is solutions to suit our personal circumstances.

You can probably tell, I’m a big believer in intermittent fasting and calorie restriction. It works, it allows me to really scale down cardio, and it has allowed me to stay in top shape, or lose weight when I gain it – without dedicating too much time to exercise.

I confess, I’ve never done the traditional dieting thing. I just can’t. When I was younger the only way to create a calorie deficit was to do huge volumes of training. That was okay then and actually kept me out of trouble. But at 35 years old, with a wife and two kids, lots of work and the pressure to make a good living, that doesn’t suit any more. Also, I have developed a huge aversion to training injuries and my challenge is to stay free from injuries while still in shape to compete at national level in martial arts.

Intermittent fasting works because it creates the same calorie deficit I used to get from 45 mins of running most days. However, the more interesting bit is the research emerging that intermittent fasting switches on “good” genes to slow ageing and physical decline by slowing the rate of cell replenishment and instead maintaining cells longer. In animal studies this slows susceptibility to cancer and extends lifespan by 30% or more.

I’m not interested too much in living for ever, but quality of whatever life I have is worth something. Besides, my religion teaches that we must respect our bodies and appreciate them.

Good luck with everything and I am open to debating this in more detail with you if you ever want to.

Take care.

Idai

A lot of bold assertations are made, some of which genuinely are rooted in scientific fact or can be proven – such as the comment about exercising in the evening. I think there’s lot’s of evidence to support this. However, the assertation that the best biological time to eat is in the morning is plain opinion. It cannot be proven scientifically and many would argue the exact opposite.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between. There is probably no one best time to eat apart from the fact that the best time for an active person to eat is around the time that they exercie. Other than that, you should probably eat when it suits you.

There are many athletes who now use calorie restriction diets and intermittent fasting and they are showing the same or better health markers than people following the eat in the morning culture that is now ingrained in physical culture. I’m not saying it’s wrong to eat a lot in the first part of the day, but it’s just a way of doing it. More than one method works and if you look at convenience, eating when it suits your schedule is probably the best method. What matters most is what you eat and how much. The fact that intermittent fasting protocols work is good proof of this.

Idai Makaya

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