Yep. He even mentions fasting: "Somewhere along the journey I picked up intermittent fasting. I like it but it’s also not necessary. I found that it helped reduce my appetite which means I can eat fewer calories."
I tried that too. Lost 7lbs in 7 days and then a few more. I regularly skip breakfast, but to really make it work skipping lunch and keeping eating to a 4-hour window was really effective. I need to do some more of that. And it does reduce your appetite after a few days.
Unless you were morbidly obese, 7 pounds in 7 days isn't a sustainable rate and was probably mostly water weight rather than fat. In order to burn a pound of fat you have to expend about 3500kcal more than you consume; not really possible in a day for most people.
I’ve been doing intermittent fasting (4h eating) for two months now and I’m struggling not to lose weight. It never was my goal, but now I’m actively trying to curb it, yet still shedding pounds like crazy. Especially if you try to get fibre and carbohydrates in.
I can completely believe that helped in his endeavour.
If I’m being totally honest: probably because I like trying new things and this is fun. I could retroactively justify this with stories about HGH, general alertness, longevity, health, improved eating patterns, but I’d probably be lying to myself. It’s a challenge that’s nicely orthogonal to the rest of my routine, so it’s fun.
Plus some people I trust said it was “good for your health”, so I didn’t bother to look further and just took their word for it.
If you're eating carbs and fasting it will be a struggle -- worth it or not, who knows.
Most of the intermittent fasters I've been following aren't going through some masochistic daily hunger-torture. They're just eating more "paleo" or "keto" so their diet is ripe with dietary fat. That makes going from three smaller, to two larger, or even a single huge meal a matter of habit that can be changed in a couple weeks.
It's also unproblematic to "cheat" on the fast when need arises. The idea is just to clock as much 'fasted' time as pragmatic.
I tried that too. Lost 7lbs in 7 days and then a few more. I regularly skip breakfast, but to really make it work skipping lunch and keeping eating to a 4-hour window was really effective. I need to do some more of that. And it does reduce your appetite after a few days.