The human body is incredibly strange. It’s so open to change and development that the extent of its capabilities sometimes leaves me amazed.

You may have heard of it, or perhaps you’re hearing about it for the first time. There’s a dietary system called intermittent fasting. I’d been reading and researching it for a long time, but I was quite hesitant because it essentially involves not eating for extended periods. I didn’t even consider trying it, but I shouldn’t have made such a bold statement.

Before I share my own experience, I want to briefly explain this system. Our bodies burn everything we eat 3-4 hours after main meals. If we don’t give it new food after this time, it uses the stored reserves as fuel. This means that stored fats begin to be burned. That’s the simplest explanation without going into technical details.

When we eat frequently, we never get our bodies into this routine. We always burn what we eat, and our reserves remain constant.

There are several different forms of intermittent fasting. The most commonly used system is the 16/8 system, meaning 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating. The longer the fasting period, the more fat burning there is, but this is the most suitable version for beginners. Of course, healthy eating is still the main rule during the 8-hour eating period. The fewer carbohydrates you consume during this time, the easier the 16-hour fasting period becomes. It’s best recommended that the 16-hour fasting period begin as close to sunset as possible.

Because I always had hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, I believed I needed to eat every 2-3 hours. However, since I eliminated grains from my diet last year and started being very careful about carbohydrates, I no longer have this problem. A more detailed story about this is available in my article “Let’s Love Fats.” Even though my blood sugar doesn’t drop anymore, I still eat breakfast as soon as I wake up, out of old habit. I never skip a meal, but I also eat dinner no later than 7 PM and then break my relationship with food.

I woke up one morning recently and realized that I wasn’t hungry anymore, but I was immediately preparing breakfast like a wind-up rabbit. The moment I realized I could comfortably go until 10:00 AM without breakfast, I decided to break out of my routine and try intermittent fasting.

I’ve been doing this for two days now. I’ll continue this week and share my experiences and changes next week. Just a quick hint: I feel great.

Wishing everyone healthy, happy, sugar-free days.

Note: This article was published on my column at www.hthayat.com on April 28, 2017.