Patriot Health Digest
‘The Warrior Diet’ is a type of fasting: that’s not eating food, or drastically lowering your eating, for a specific time period
The diet is not new, but its popularity has increased massively and now many men are touting its benefits for weight loss and performance. So where does the Warrior Diet fit in?
This diet is said to based on the habits of ancient Spartan and Roman warriors, who would eat almost nothing during the day, then have a large night-time meal.
This way of doing intermittent fasting could be better referred to as the 20:4 fast. It consists of fasting for 20 hours and then eating during a four hour time window, commonly done during one large meal.
Scientific evidence supports the practice of fasting overall. Not only will fasting lower your calories by default, allowing your body to feed on its already present energy source (fat). A study inside the Journal of Translational Medicine found that “time-restricted” eating can aid weight loss while keeping your hard-earned muscle mass.
But while the warrior diet is certainly an attractive one for its simplicity, there is little evidence that this fasting variation is more effective than the 16:8 diet.
Also, some scientists say that humans are most insulin sensitive during the daytime – meaning that a large meal during the afternoon, rather than evening, would theoretically be better for weight loss.
And even though the warrior diet allows some snacking during the day, the lengthened fasting hours might cause your blood-sugar to fall. Yale University researches have discovered that this can increase your cravings for junk food, feeding your desire to eat low-nutrient and high-calorie foods during your warrior feast.
Author: Steven Sinclaire
