There are two basic ways to do IF. First is a food window each day. Badsically a 4-8 hour time period where you consume all of your calories each day. The second is to pick 2 or 3, 24 hour periods each week and eat nothing (coffee and water are ok when not eating). I am trying version two.
I managed to find a few more sites (links later) and proponents for this idea of food consumption and how exercise and fitness figures into it. The more I read the more it made some sense. The biggest concept that I came across which is completely logical and fits into what I have observed in myself in others is how exactly calories are counted. IF in most interpretations (not all) relies more on a weekly calorie count, instead of a daily one. As numerous studies have shown the overall affect of the calories in versus calories out depends little on how much you consume in a single day, but more so how you continually eat over a period of time. An over simplified example of this that we all have experience is when you sit down for your favorite meal (like Thanksgiving) and make a complete pig of yourself. Having consumed 5000 calories one day you do not instantly wake up the next day with an extra pound of fat on you. You body can withstand that day (as long as you don't repeat it on a regular basis). So why should we consider how many calories we consume in a day (mostly because its a simple concise time period that is easier to track).
IF takes this long term calorie input and does two main things with it. First is if you consume no calories for a 24 hour period, it is very likely that you will consume less overall calories in a week/month/year. Along with fitness this can lead to fat loss. The second thing it does is way more biological. You get a better explanation here if you care to read it. But a simplified way of stating it is, when your body gets no new calorie sources in 12-18 hours it will start pulling energy store from your body's most abundant store. This is typically belly fat in men and butt and leg fat in women. This will help many people lose some fat in tough to target areas. Combine these two things and you can see the potential of IF.
I started this about two weeks ago and it has been surprisingly easy to stick to. Anyone who knows me knows I love to eat so if I can manage it most people probably can. I'll update every few weeks on my progress to really see if this is fact or fiction.
Here are some links to a few studies...
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