A Professional Reveals How to Use Intermittent Fasting to Lose Weight After 40
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Millions of men and women above 40 struggle to shed their excess pounds despite trying every type of diet under the sun and working out every week.
Today, we talk to Jeffrey Collins, a nutritionist based in Boston. He will share with us how to drop weight for good using intermittent fasting without creating feelings of hunger or depriving ourselves of the food we like.
“Hi, my name is Jeffrey Collins, and I spent the last 17 years of my life helping thousands of patients achieve radical and long-lasting body transformations.
Most of my patients first come to me on the verge of despair…
They tried every type of diet we keep hearing about online – low carb, high fat, counting calories, ‘juicing’ diets – you name it.
But no matter what they try, their problem is always the same: they start to lose a few pounds by depriving their body of the food they love but at some point…
…Their food cravings take over, and they ruin weeks of effort by jumping on their favorite snacks.
At the end of the day, they end up gaining even more weight than they lost…
And for most people, this weight loss “rollercoaster” can feel very discouraging.
After seeing their hopes smashed time and time again, people start to believe that something might be wrong with their bodies.
When in fact the diets themselves are to blame, not them.
Don’t get me wrong: most diets that we hear about do work to some extent. That’s why people generally lose a few pounds in the first weeks of adopting a new diet.
The problem is that these diets are extremely hard to sustain over the long-term because they’re overly restrictive.
We can tolerate them in the short-term, but at some point, our body rejects them because they don’t feel “natural”.
This explains why 9 out 10 diets end up in failure today.
In my experience, and based on many discussions with fellow doctors and nutrition specialists, the diets that work are usually those that don’t feel like diets.
In the sense that they don’t create any major resistance from our body, such as food cravings, hunger, or mood swings.
This Diet is Both Effective and Sustainable,
The effective diet that can be sustained in the long-term – and the one that I recommend to nearly all my patients – is intermittent fasting.
And unlike what many people think, fasting doesn’t mean that we should starve ourselves – on the contrary!
It just means that we should carefully choose WHEN we eat instead of being obsessed with WHAT we eat.
You can eat pretty much whatever type of food you want, as long as you’re eating the right quantity of food at the right time.
The way intermittent fasting works is pretty simple:
After fasting for more than 12 hours, our body has depleted all its glucose reserves and is forced to burn fat to find energy.
When this fat-burning “metabolic switch” is on, we lose weight effortlessly, without having to do crazy workout sessions or eating salad all day.
In fact, a recent study from Cambridge University has shown that our body starts burning fat about 25% faster after 13 hours of fasting1.
Another review study conducted by researchers from Chicago in 2014 concluded that intermittent fasting could cause an 8% weight loss over 3-24 weeks – which was significantly higher than most weight loss studies on other diets2.
People in the study also lost 4-7% of their waist circumference in a few weeks, showing how fast our body can melt during intermittent fasting or “IF”2.
The proven weight loss benefits of IF explain why we see so many Hollywood celebrities practicing and publicly endorsing intermittent fasting!
What Other Specialists Think about Intermittent Fasting
“After 12 hours of fasting, insulin levels in our blood drop, allowing our bodies to burn more fat as fuel.
This is helpful for patients who are insulin resistant, meaning their bodies make more insulin than normal.
They may have tried healthy eating and exercise to shed pounds without success because their bodies are set to a fat-storage mode.”
Dr. Angela Fitch, MD, FACP, FOMA, Associate Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center
“It takes 10 to 12 hours to use up the calories in the liver before a metabolic shift occurs to using stored fat. After meals, glucose is used for energy and fat is stored in fat tissue, but during fasts, once glucose is depleted, fat is broken down and used for energy.”
“Many things happen during intermittent fasting that can protect organs against chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, age-related neurodegenerative disorders, even inflammatory bowel disease and many cancers.”
Dr. Mark Mattson, neuroscientist at John Hopkins University, studied intermittent fasting for 25+ years
“When people lose weight, typically 75% is fat loss and 25% is muscle mass. But with fasting, the ratio actually changes so that 90% of weight loss is fat and 10% is muscle.”
Dr. Krista Varady, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois, Chicago
“There is evidence to suggest that the circadian rhythm fasting approach, where meals are restricted to an eight to 10-hour period of the daytime, is effective.”3
Dr Deborah Wexler, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School
How To Lose Weight Fast Using Intermittent Fasting?
While many doctors agree on the effectiveness of intermittent fasting in helping us lose weight, many people don’t know how to integrate this diet in their daily life.
So we asked Jeffrey about the “best practices” of intermittent fasting.
“To obtain the best possible results, I recommend following a personalized intermittent fasting plan prepared by professional nutritionists.
Because in my experience, people who try intermittent fasting by themselves may obtain visible results, but the diet can be hard to implement properly without precise instructions, including what to eat and at which time exactly…
Further, each of us has a unique metabolism.
So if we want to lose fat, we need a tailor-made plan suited to our exact metabolic needs as well as food preferences. IF diets that follow one-size-fits-all approaches are highly likely to fail…
The personalized intermittent fasting plan that I recommend to nearly all my patients is the “DoFasting” app.
P.S Their quiz is FREE, and currently, for a short period of time, the app is offering a 7-day trial, so there’s not much to lose. You should just be willing to try. (link below)
In this plan, everything is personalized for you based on your daily schedule, unique eating preferences, age, weight, and so on.
All my patients have told me that this plan was very easy to follow in the long-term, and that it quickly became “second nature” right after the first week.
Another key benefit – and the reason it works so well in my view – is the fact that it doesn’t make the user feel deprived or hungry.
So I think that anyone interested in intermittent fasting should have a go at this plan, which is thoroughly designed and fully in line with nutritional best practices.”
Access this quiz and get your 7-day trial now while it’s still available by clicking on the button below:
3 sources
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/effects-of-aerobic-exercise-performed-in-fasted-v-fed-state-on-fat-and-carbohydrate-metabolism-in-adults-a-systematic-review-and-metaanalysis/0EA2328A0FF91703C95FD39A38716811
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S193152441400200X
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156
Comments (65)
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I have been in IF for two weeks already and picked up weight. I eat very little, if any carbs. Will continue for another 2 weeks and see if there is any difference.
Hola buen día
Hola buen día me
It works for me.
I have been fasting up to 16 hours and i hv not lost one pound?
I have been doing IF for the past 4 weeks and there is huge difference, not much diff on the scale hut inches yes.
Hope you can help me lose weight
🤞👍
I am 73 never been fat but in the last 1 -2 year something happens I have gain about 10 -15 pounds I have done iF 14 hours and see no change seems if I go over 800 calories in a day I don’t loose anything and 800 is hard to maintain What is different with yours ? Or is it another magic gimmick how want to sell ?
I would like to book an appointment in regards to weight loss.Thanks
Been IF for 6 months. 206 pounds to 185. Added muscle mass with strength training 4 times a week. I'm 65. Body looks 35. Face not so much
Where can I find out what the diet consists of the food and how it’s laid out for each day….?
Intermittent fasting is working very well for me and my husband. Our eating window is from 11am - 6pm. In addition, we've cut out all processed sugar (natural fruit in moderation) and gluten. The results? In three months, he lost 46 lbs and I've lost 25 lbs. We feel great, have good energy, and don't crave the sweets. This is not a duet -...
Intermittent fasting is working very well for me and my husband. Our eating window is from 11am - 6pm. In addition, we've cut out all processed sugar (natural fruit in moderation) and gluten. The results? In three months, he lost 46 lbs and I've lost 25 lbs. We feel great, have good energy, and don't crave the sweets. This is not a duet - it's a lifestyle change, and we're not going back!
Trying to find what IF schedule is the best
Try the app DoFasting. It only costs $1 to sign up for 7 days then you just cancel the automatic renewal. You get a plan based in your responses and once you've got it, you can keep following it.
Intermittent fasting plan pl
I start IF mid-May. I'm feeling good dropped 2dress sizes and almost lost 13 kg weight. I'm still enjoying my favourite food.
What time should I eat
I have been (unknowingly) intermittently fasting for the last 15-20 yrs. I just don’t get a ‘hunger signal’ until around 16 hrs of not eating. We eat dinner between 5-6pm, never wake up hungry, & don’t have a desire to eat anything until approximately 1-2pm. Then it’s just a light snack. I’m holding my weight at 130 lbs. (5’4’’). Far better weight than the...
I have been (unknowingly) intermittently fasting for the last 15-20 yrs. I just don’t get a ‘hunger signal’ until around 16 hrs of not eating. We eat dinner between 5-6pm, never wake up hungry, & don’t have a desire to eat anything until approximately 1-2pm. Then it’s just a light snack. I’m holding my weight at 130 lbs. (5’4’’). Far better weight than the 187lbs I was years ago! Fasting works!!
Yep, have been using this technique since 2021 after gaining more weight during Covid. Its enabled me to loose all that extra weight and more over 2 years, plus its a great maintenance overall.
Need to.lose 25lbs and keep it off!
As a young man I was too busy for breakfast and never had any weight issues. Later I took up breakfast after reading about it being the most important meal of the day. My weight rose. So back to basics and this seems to be working.
I am doing IF since July and it works. I am working night which is my window eating is during my working time (aka awake time) I tried 18 hours for a month and now 20 hours. I change my window eating whenever I am off work. I was 71kgs for 5’5 heigh which over my BMI, now I am 65kgs and I can...
I am doing IF since July and it works. I am working night which is my window eating is during my working time (aka awake time) I tried 18 hours for a month and now 20 hours. I change my window eating whenever I am off work. I was 71kgs for 5’5 heigh which over my BMI, now I am 65kgs and I can see the change of the size of my clothes too, I am determined to keep doing this IF for my healthy lifestyles and hopefully I will get to see my desire weight along the way and keep it that way.
..
I have been on IF for a month now lost inches and 5 kilos as long as you drink plenty of water and eat as clean as you can if works
I’ve been on 16/8 pattern since last summer, and have lost 5.5 kg (not pound) without any pain. It keeps me stay clear minded and light body during the 16 hours with no foods at all. The only thing you need to watch a bit is try to stay low carb, but not a must. My blood sugar dropped from 7.5 to 6.1 and...
I’ve been on 16/8 pattern since last summer, and have lost 5.5 kg (not pound) without any pain. It keeps me stay clear minded and light body during the 16 hours with no foods at all. The only thing you need to watch a bit is try to stay low carb, but not a must. My blood sugar dropped from 7.5 to 6.1 and 6.6 to 5.9, normal for my age of 60.
I use skim milk in my tea. Don’t drink coffee at all. Eat from about 2 pm onwards till about 7.30. Have lost 20 pounds since March 23. May not be real fasting with the milk but it’s working
I am 61 years old and looking at loosing 20 pounds asap n! thanks very much in advance .
My problem is in the morning I have tea with soya milk and haven’t found a substitute that I enjoy. Don’t like black coffee without sweetener and herbal tea in the morning just doesn’t cut it. So doomed to fail. The eating part I don’t have a problem with as usually do not eat till 12:30 and stop at 6:30. 🤦🏻♀️
There is not a universal schedule. If this is a huge issue for you, why not choose an eating window which begins in the morning with your coffee and milk? Treat breakfast as your primary meal, and fast until you wake up the following day...
I have been Practicing IF past one year and there is tremendous chance in body. Now I can fast for 17-18 hours and still feel energetic.
Looks very effective! Will try it tks
Please send me info
I tried several times intermittent fasting it's not working for me ..
it's but kinda sounding very reassuring.
Interested
I’d like to receive info
Excellent
Good to loose weight through IF scheme, but then what next, how someone will shift to normality once the excess fat or weight has been shredded. Thank you.
Very useful information..will definitely give it a try.
I agree too that it’s been 8 months and I can’t eat any breakfast never hungry in the morning can easily do 16 hour fasts also I do see a major change in inches all over my body with weight loss so 20 lbs difference so far. Actual results it works.
Ready to try
I want to start from 1st July 2023 and track my results. Wish me luck.
Agreed its easy, last meal at six, don't having anything but coffee until 10 the next day, actually quite easy. Just DON"T BUY CHIPS!!
It's amazing
I want to try
Thank you ,well done.
Would love a personalised plan..
Not necessarily, just get starting, today
It really works. June 2022 I was weighing 87 kg, June 2023 I'm at 69 kg, and still going strong.
Want to give this a try.
I was a bit skeptical at first given how many times I failed to lose weight using new diets… but having tried intermittent fasting for over three months, I must say this is legit! It took me about a week to get used to the diet. But after that, I noticed visible weight losses which I haven’t regained since. I went from 174 lbs...
I was a bit skeptical at first given how many times I failed to lose weight using new diets… but having tried intermittent fasting for over three months, I must say this is legit! It took me about a week to get used to the diet. But after that, I noticed visible weight losses which I haven’t regained since. I went from 174 lbs to 153 lbs, and I continue to see my body getting slimmer over time, without feeling hungrier than usual. I don’t see myself returning to a normal diet now.
I want to know more IF
I need to lose weight and remain that way.
Want to lose weight and stay lost
Want to shed some weight
Started IF last week, I already see a change in my body. Excited to continue!
IF makes sense,like to give it a try
Tried it, works for me.
Interested
Need the plan
I looking forward to have a good experience with this diet.
Need this plan to loose weight.
Need to lose 15 kgs
Let it try