If you’re wondering what this so-called Warrior Diet is and are curious to find out more about it, you’re in the right place! It is actually another form of intermittent fasting (IF) that is done slightly different. IF has become one of the most popular dieting fads in these modern days, although given how well it works and how many people actually follow it, it is hardly a fad at all. But unlike IF where you are only allowed to eat within a certain number of hours in the day, the warrior diet actually lets you eat during your fasting hours.
If you’ve struggled to maintain any kind of diet, especially those that have tons of rules about what types of food to eat or those that require extreme calorie counting, then this type of intermittent fasting known as the Warrior Diet, might actually work for you.
The standard 16:8 IF diet allows you to eat for 8 hours in a day and fast for the other 16 (around 8 of which are dealt with by simply sleeping.) But the warrior diet is starting to increase in popularity since it actually allows you to eat during your fasting hours and still lose the weight, one main reason why it is slowly gaining steam.
The Warrior Diet – which isn’t exactly new considering that it has been around for at least 20 years – was created by a former member of the Israeli Special Forces, Ori Hofmekler. He wrote about this “eating plan” in his 2001 published book, “The Warrior Diet- Switch on Your Biological Powerhouse For High Energy, Explosive Strength, and a Leaner, Harder Body.“ Although he never worked as a nutritionist, after serving in the military, he ended up pursuing a career in fitness and nutrition. An article in Healthline explains how he created the diet based on the science that went into the eating habits of ancient warriors in history, which also explains the book’s title.
So how exactly does it work? The diet has 20 hours of “undereating” periods, while the other 4 hours are called “overeating” periods. Rather than fasting completely like what most IF diets demand, the undereating period allows you to take in clear broths, vegetable juices, yogurt and cottage cheese, raw fruits and veggies, and hardboiled eggs. Not only does this lessen the chances of cheating while fasting, but it will also help you from breaking your fast while managing to keep you feeling fuller for longer periods too.
Meanwhile, the overeating portion won’t have you counting calories, but it also suggests that you don’t binge eat on anything and everything you want. What it does is it encourages you to choose non-processed food like salads with simple olive oil and vinegar as dressing, as well as eating whole grains, some more veggies and cheese, high amounts of protein, yet making sure to avoid any type of fast food, as well as foods that are high in sugar.
The book also suggests to do this following three week-long phases, as follows:
Phase 1: DETOX – Start by doing the suggested 20 hours of undereating and 4 hours of overeating following the suggested foods above.
Phase 2: HIGH FAT – While following the same rules as the week before, remove any grains and starches from your diet, but add at least one handful of nuts to the recommended food list.
Phase 3: CONCLUDING FAT LOSS – Again, follow the same guidelines but in week 3, alternate your days with high amounts of carb and high amounts of protein intake. For the high carb days, add in a main carbohydrate source like corn, pasta, potatoes, and the like. For high fat days, don’t eat any carbs except for some fresh fruit to help curb any sugar cravings.
When you’ve reached the last phase, the author suggests that you go through the cycles or phases all over again, but this time modify it with your own food preferences and other dietary options. Not only does it create enough variety in order to help most dieters keep at it, but the fact that dieters don’t feel ‘starved’ or ‘deprived’ also makes success rates higher. And aside from actually losing weight, another plus is that it helps stabilize one’s blood sugar levels.
If you’ve never attempted to do any type of IF diet, then all this talk of fasting for hours on end probably sounds incredibly excessive to you. But if you’re familiar with it already and just want to try something else, then the Warrior Diet might be the perfect way to shake things up a bit and get your body closer to your ideal weight!
In case you want to know more about Ori Hofmekler and the Warrior Diet, you can find his book on Amazon for $9.99. See link here.
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