Lately, a lot of people are asking me for Intermittent Fasting. That is why a couple weeks ago I wrote the post “Everything You Need to Know about Intermittent Fasting” and I promised you that every week I will post an interview, with somebody who is following IF and already has a solid experience with this way of eating! Last week Marianne Kane from MyoMyTv shared her experience (read it here ). This week I have the pleasure of introducing you Tsvetan Ivanov, who is a Bulgarian psychiatrist, who takes care not just for his mind, but also for his body. Unfortunately, you can’t read more about his work, even though he has two websites, because they are written in Bulgarian and I doubt it that most of you know the language! 😉 But you could enjoy reading more about his IF experience!
Ines Subashka: How long have you been following Intermittent Fasting?
Tsvetan Ivanov: In a month I will celebrate my first “Intermittent fasting Birthday”! 😉
IS: Did you need time to adapt to fasting, or was everything good right from the beginning?
TsI: The adaptation period was easy, because intermittent fasting, really suits my inner rhythm of feeding. Usually I don’t have appetite in the morning, and I get hungry around 10a.m. During the day I still don’t feel like eating, but at night… At night I get ferocious! I always ate the most at night and got most of my daily calories for dinner.
Because of this I got adapted quickly! The hardest part was getting used to not eating carbs during the day, but that was just the first 2-3weeks. I couldn’t say that I had some kind of crisis or something like that…
IS: What were the positives you noticed, after you started IF?
TsI: At the beginning I set a goal to lower my body fat levels and still sustain my muscles and strength! It turned out great! For the first time, I had defined abs. The other positive thing is that I didn’t do cardio. The only sort of cardio I did is 10 minutes warm up( running on the treadmill), 3 times a week.
The other positive thing, that IF gave me is the feeling of comfort. I don’t have the feeling that I am on a diet. I feel like I am eating just the way that satisfies my body’s needs. And last but not least, I don’t thing about food as much as I did before and I have plenty of energy!
Ines Subashka: And what about the negatives?
TsI: In theory you could have some negatives from IF, but until now I haven’t experienced such!
Ines Subashka: In your opinion what is the hardest part about following IF?
TsI: I think that if IF suits your lifestyle, there isn’t anything hard. In fact, it is exactly the opposite. It’s a piece of cake and it makes you feel great!
Ines SubashkaL How this way of eating reflected on your physique and your workouts?
TsI: I already mentioned that it helped me lower my body fat percentage ; to have defined abs, without losing muscle mass. And as you know this is one of the hardest things to do. Most people, usually gain weight during the winter, and then they try to cut their fat percentage, right before the summer. In my case I didn’t need to lose weight and put my body under stress. I’ve never insisted on having defined abs, but with IF it just happened naturally.
When it comes to workouts, I kept on training the same way- mainly with weights. For me this means squats, bench press, deadlifts and shoulder presses. What I learned is that we don’t need as much carbs, as “gurus” keep telling us in magazines. I could back up the opinion that IF and really intense workouts go hand in hand!
IS: What would be your advice to people, who want to try Intermittent Fasting? What could they expect?
TsI: In first place TRY IT. At the beginning I was really terrified by the thought of fasting for 14-16 hours. I thought that this was just a new trend, made up by some crazy people. I’ve been thought that we are supposed to eat 5-6 times a day and that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But after my curiosity grew, I decided to give it a try. Probably the most tempting part was the freedom to skip breakfast. My fears turned out to be in vain.
Eating every 2-3 hours as I did before IF is really challenging. So IF really gives you freedom.
You could expect to have more energy during the day; you will digest food better, you will have improved insulin sensitivity and a lot more positives that could be included in a couple articles!
But before everything else, everybody should find his own way of eating. If you don’t like eating breakfast and eat throughout the day, there is a big chance for you to fall in love with IF!
What I did was firstly read a lot on the topic and then I took the decision to try! I’d recommend you the same- prepare your homework and give a chance to Intermittent Fasting!
Do you follow Intermittent fasting? What was the hardest part for you and what are the results you got? If you want to share more about your IF experience, write me on Facebook or e-mail me at isubashka@yahoo.com!
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