Are you fasting for fat loss? Well, don't.

Good morning from sunny Dubai,

This past weekend, I bumped into an old friend at the mall. He wasn’t in great shape—not just physically, but overall.

He looked tired, his energy was low, and he mentioned how it was affecting his family life.

Then, without missing a beat, he started talking about investments, real estate, cash flow—business stuff. It was clear his finances were thriving.

I asked him, "What’s more important to you: health or wealth?"

He gave the obvious answer.

Then I followed up, "Are you succeeding in your health goals?"

He responded, "I’m not failing or succeeding because I don’t have any goals."

Internally, I disagreed.

Why would you expect your health to work any differently than your finances?

How can you expect to feel or perform a certain way at 60 if, in your mid-40s, you neither look nor feel the way you want?

At that point, I backed off. I’m not a fan of giving unsolicited advice to an old friend, especially when it might not be well-received.

We said our goodbyes, exchanged the usual "Let’s catch up soon and do something with the families," knowing it probably won’t happen.

We drove home, had some pizza, and now here I am, about to "break my fast."

Wait, am I really?

Technically, the term "fasting" is often misused. Most of the time, when you hear "fasting," it's more likely to refer to time-restricted feeding (TRF).

Time-restricted feeding (TRF) ranges from short periods, such as 16:8 (16 hours of fasting, 8 hours of eating), to longer periods like 23:1 (23 hours of fasting).

Intermittent fasting may involve alternate-day fasting or fasting for several consecutive days, though this is less common.

The benefits of fasting are not entirely clear, especially in humans, due to limitations in studies. Most research is conducted on animals, whose metabolisms differ significantly from humans.

For example, one day of fasting for a mouse equates to roughly a month of fasting for a human.

Should you fast for health purposes?

Fasting is believed to promote autophagy, a process where cells break down and regenerate, though the duration required to trigger this benefit in humans is uncertain.

Fasting for 7–10 days clearly induces autophagy, but it is unclear if shorter fasts (1–2 days) have the same effect.

Should you practice TRF for health purposes?

Maybe.

TRF can lead to weight loss, but this is largely attributed to reduced caloric intake rather than any specific metabolic advantage.

Reducing the feeding window generally leads to fewer calories consumed, which explains the weight loss.

Certain groups, such as those with insulin resistance, may benefit from fasting, particularly when combined with exercise, which helps reduce glycogen stores and improve insulin sensitivity.

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Who should avoid fasting?

I don’t recommend fasting for individuals who are under-muscled.

While fasting can lead to rapid weight loss and metabolic improvements, it will most likely lead to accelerated muscle loss in these individuals.

What to do instead? The 3-3-1 Method

• 3 protein-rich meals

• Spaced out every 3 hours

• Consume carbohydrates once per day

How do I know if I’m under-muscled?

Here are three tests you can do anytime, anywhere (two of them are free):

That’s it for today,

Remember, be an asset, not a liability to those around you.