Warrior Diet Results

My Warrior Diet Results: How I Lost 20 lbs During Perimenopause Without Starving Myself

My warrior diet results are the story of how you can enjoy the foods you like, get off plan once in a while, and still lose a few pounds each month, even if you have failed to lose weight before. I will share my one-month, six-month, one-year, and two-year results.

You will learn the exact process I used to finally lose weight I had been struggling to lose for over a decade and the pros and cons that you may experience so you feel prepared.

Quick Warrior Diet Recap

So, what is the Warrior Diet, exactly? It’s a form of intermittent fasting that requires you to fast for 20 hours and consume all your foods during a four-hour window. You are limiting your eating time to four hours. Simple! Ori Hofmekler popularized this intermittent fasting method with his book The Warrior Diet.

Warrior Diet Benefits I Experienced

I attribute my warrior diet results to the fact that this intermittent fasting method requires a longer daily fast. The main benefits of the longer fasting window that I have experienced are as follow:

  • When you do intermittent fasting without keto, you will need to fast longer to be in ketosis long enough to feel the benefits.
  • It’s easy to consume too many calories to lose weight during an 8-hour eating window (like the 16:8 method). Cut your eating window in half, and chances are you will start losing weight effortlessly.
  • I don’t feel too deprived when I can’t eat. I am sure ketosis helps, but it’s also the mental aspect of knowing I can’t eat. I just put food aside and move on with my day.

Warrior Diet and Your Cognitive Function

Aside from the benefits mentioned above, I noticed my energy level and focus were high during my fasting windows. I am sure this can be attributed to being in ketosis.

The longer fasting window means your body has to use more fat cells to produce ketones. Many people notice that switching from glucose to ketones for energy means feeling more focused. Furthermore, intermittent fasting has been shown to improve learning and memory and protect against Alzheimer’s Disease.

Warrior Diet and Weight Loss

It is clear in the scientific literature that intermittent fasting overall is at least as effective as calorie restriction for weight loss. Of course, you typically eat fewer calories when you restrict your eating window.

However, it has been my experience that it feels less difficult than continuous calorie restriction because you don’t constantly have to restrain your eating through willpower. For me, this was the key to success! Moreover, intermittent fasting is a tool to regulate insulin levels. Most of us struggle with some form of insulin resistance as we age.

Warrior Diet and Inflammation

Did you know that chronic inflammation may be a root cause of a broad range of non-infectious diseases? Intermittent fasting can play a role in reducing inflammation and improving your health markers.

Schedule for the Warrior Diet

You may be wondering if you should eat from 8 am to noon. Or maybe you are considering eating from 4 pm to 8 pm and all the options in between.

Well, I am sure it will come to you as no surprise that there is no right or wrong answer. But there are some points you can consider:

  • Eating earlier while fasting later in the day may help you lose weight faster than skipping breakfast and eating later. Your metabolism functions optimally in the morning, and your blood sugar control is better. Moreover, most people make more “unwise” food choices during the evening.
  • Early time-restricted feeding may improve insulin sensitivity even more than late time-restricted feeding.
  • Skipping dinner may help you lose the late-night cravings.

Just remember, you can achieve impressive warrior diet results, no matter when you decide to fast. If eating later is better suited for your lifestyle, you are not missing out! Pick the window that works for YOU

For women, I recommend not fasting every day. Please read Intermittent Fasting for Women: A Definitive Guide.

Moreover, limiting the number of fasting days will help avoid feeling too hungry when fasting as it will limit your overall calorie deficit.

Warrior Diet Success Stories

In this section, I will share my 20/4 intermittent fasting weight loss success story and that of one of my clients, Kat Lopez, MD.

A Bit of Background

Let me give you some background information to help you understand my story better. My weight was never a real issue for me until my thirties. In my thirties, I started holding on to an excess of about 15 lbs. After turning 40, I gained another 15 lbs without changing my lifestyle! I was eating the same and maintaining the same activity level. I had no idea what had happened!

When Nothing You Do Is Working

I tried all kinds of different meal plans and diets. I went keto and plant-based, and I did various cleanses and detoxes. I even practiced the 16:8 intermittent fasting method for a while. I couldn’t stick to anything.

I couldn’t stick to anything because nothing seemed to work!

Fortunately, I lost almost 30 lbs in my forties (it’s been a total of 2 years as I am updating this post). Please keep reading to find out exactly how I did it, and don’t forget to sign up for my Intermittent Fasting 101 Workshop.

Warrior Diet Results 1 Month

My 20/4 intermittent fasting weight loss results for one month were not impressive. I don’t even remember if I lost any weight because I was initially experimenting. Not following a strict protocol.

However, my mental clarity improved, and my bloating and sugar cravings decreased. On the other hand, my client lost 5 lbs in her first month. She had a total of about 15 lbs to lose. She also said that she could not believe how much this type of intermittent fasting decreased her appetite. I can attest to that!

Warrior Diet Results 1 Week

After my first week on a strict warrior diet (20/4 schedule, five days a week), I discovered some pros and cons. My client noticed the same thing:

Eating enough during your eating window may be challenging as you will feel full sooner. However, you may experience increased hunger during fasting until you become fat-adapted. This was a shared experience in A controlled trial of reduced meal frequency without caloric restriction in healthy, normal-weight, middle-aged adults.

Keep reading. In the protocol below, I will share how you can avoid feeling obsessed over food during your fasting window. Moreover, if you are concerned about intermittent fasting causing you to binge, let me say that these concerns are not backed by science. The controlled trial above provides this evidence, and many Studies do the same.

There are theoretical concerns that IER [Intermittent Energy Restriction] could promote erratic eating patterns, binging, and low mood. A recent systematic review of 15 clinical trials concluded that marked CER [Continuous Energy Restriction] (>60%) reduced binge eating behaviour amongst overweight or obese individuals with pre-treatment binge eating disorder, and did not appear to trigger binge eating in those without previous binge eating disorder.

Potential Benefits and Harms of Intermittent Energy Restriction and Intermittent Fasting Amongst Obese, Overweight and Normal Weight Subjects

Warrior Diet Results 6 Months

After six months, I had established a reliable intermittent fasting routine and lost about 10 pounds. I felt energetic, content, and free from the power food previously held over me.

Warrior Diet Results 1 Year

My rate of weight loss was about 2 pounds a month, and after a year, I lost about 15 pounds. Overall, in some months, I lost no weight; in some months, I lost 4 pounds; in some months, I lost two. My fasting approach was very fluid. Even though I made sure I fasted long enough on my fasting days to achieve ketosis, I didn’t fast the same number of days every week. I picked and chose my schedule according to how I felt. Remember, whatever weight loss method you settle on must be sustainable.

Warrior Diet Results 2 Years

After a year and losing 15 pounds, I was pretty satisfied with my weight and was ok with not losing more. However, I felt happy with my warrior diet results, particularly my energy level and lack of food cravings, so I didn’t want to stop practicing intermittent fasting.

Consequently, I lost another 10 pounds the following year. I am in my third year and still experimenting with ways to benefit from fasting without losing weight. Even though I hadn’t planned to lose 30 pounds, I love how I look. I am not too skinny.

warrior diet results female before after photo
Two Year Results

warrior diet female before after picture
Before getting started with the Warrior Diet Vs. 3 Years Later

Step-by-Step Protocol for Best Warrior Diet Results

Here, I will share how you can experience similar warrior diet results.

First Step: Becoming Fat-Adapted

I used the Fasting Mimicking Diet to become fat-adapted, but you could do a 7-10 day keto cycle. The Fasting Mimicking Diet is a form of modified fasting. We call it modified fasting because the severe calorie restriction and the precise macronutrient ratio allow you to reap the benefits of fasting while still eating. It is a 5-day fast, which is incredibly healing for your body.

You are reducing your need for insulin, but you are also flooding your body with nutrients and reducing your protein intake (which increases autophagy – or the process by which your body is repairing itself).

Read Modified Fasting: How You Can Benefit From Fasting Without Giving Up Food for more details (meal plans included).

One drawback of a modified fast is that you feel hungry during the five-day. Some women may prefer a keto cycle to become fat-adapted and train their bodies to use fat cells for energy. That’s why I also created a keto meal plan.

Step Two: Biohack With Intermittent Fasting

As I gained confidence with modified fasting, I started experimenting with intermittent fasting. The first two methods I implemented were the eat-stop-eat method and the 5:2 method.

I practiced combining these two methods (I would vacillate between them) for two months. By the third month, I had lost 6 lbs, which was a huge accomplishment! I hadn’t been able to lose more than 3 lbs since the beginning of my weight loss struggles. Moreover, I would always gain the 3 lbs again and more.

The method you pick isn’t as important as ensuring you achieve optimal ketosis on your fasting days. Now that you are fat-adapted, you want to train your body to switch from using glucose for energy to using ketones regularly (even if it’s only once a week!).

I liked using a ketone monitor to check my levels when I started, but now, I never bother because I can feel the difference.

Fast long enough to achieve ketosis but not too frequently to create too great of a calorie deficit. This can be a balancing act!

For more guidance throughout the process, consider my Weight Loss Transformation program. The program includes video lessons, checklists, meal plans, etc.

Step Three: Moving Your Body

To get the best warrior diet results, moving your body is key. Yes, fasting will help you decrease inflammation, reduce calorie intake, increase energy, and kick the sugar cravings. However, increasing your muscle mass and defining your waistline will make you feel and look better. As a woman, you want to avoid stressing your body too much. Hence the advice to not fast every day.

I also recommend forms of exercise that you love. If you haven’t loved movement yet, try weight lifting or yoga. Bodyweight training and yoga changed the way I exercise! I used to think I had to do High-Intensity Interval Training. I hated it! I discovered I could define my body and become strong with only yoga. It has been life-changing!

Please read about my Yoga Transformation.

before after picture warrior diet and yoga
After losing weight before doing yoga VS. After one year of yoga

Warrior Diet Results: What You Can Expect

If you are a perimenopausal woman struggling to lose weight, the warrior diet would be one of the first things I recommend you try. Depending on your experience with fasting, I would probably advise that you start with a modified fast or a keto cycle.

A modified fast helps heal your body and practice your fasting muscle. Becoming fat-adpated will make intermittent fasting easier and more effective. However, if you want to jump into the Warrior Diet, that’s fine too! Just make sure your expectations are realistic. I find most women lose about 3 lbs a month with this type of intermittent fasting. This is the kind of warrior diet results you can most likely achieve without starving yourself.

If you are curious about my 10-day modified fast menu plan, read My 10-Day Challenge Diet Plan to Lose Weight Without Going Hungry.

Warrior Diet Results Video

warrior diet results