There are so many diets in the world that some people can’t even keep up. People diet for different reasons, and one of the many reasons is to lose weight. Have you heard about “The Warrior Diet”? It’s a type of intermittent fasting that’s all about eating like ancient warriors did.
The warrior diet was created by Ori Hofmekler, the concept is to eat very little during the day and have one big meal at night. That’s exactly how the warriors eat, they stay light, sharp, and focused during the day, and then fuel up at night.
Historically, this diet was inspired by the Roman and Spartan warriors who would fast during battles and then feast afterwards to recover. The main idea behind this diet is to fast throughout most of the day but you can snack on things like veggies and fruits and then have a very high nutritional packed food in the evening like high protein based food. Let’s look at other aspects of the warrior diet.
How Long Is The Fasting Period?
For about 20 hours a day, you are in a fasting phase. But during this time, you can eat small light snacks like vegetables, fruits, or a bit of protein. The idea is to keep your body in a state where it burns fat but still keeps you alert and energized.
How Long Does The Feeding Period Last?
After fasting for 20 hours, the remaining hours left in a day are 4 hours. So you’ll have 4 hours in the evening to eat a large, nutrient-packed meal. You can start with something like a salad or soup before going into main meals like protein, highly healthy fat foods, and carbohydrates to help your body recover for the next fasting day.
What Are The Recommended Foods For This Diet?
For protein, you can eat things like chicken, fish, eggs, or some dairy products. Healthy fat food options should include things like avocados, olive oil, nuts, and some seeds. Low-carbohydrates should include whole grains, sweet potatoes, and vegetables.
Lastly, for fruits, you can eat fruits that have low sugar, like apples and berries.
What Is The Recommended Macronutrient Ratio?
Firstly, macronutrients are vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, iron, and calcium that your body needs in small amounts to stay in good shape. They help keep the immune system strong and then build the bones. However, they don’t give energy like food does.
Split ratio in regards to macronutrients, basically means the nutrients that provide energy. There are three types of macronutrients, which are protein, fat, and carbohydrates.
- Protein serves as a body repair and also helps in muscle development.
- Fat provides long-lasting energy and helps the body to function
- Carbohydrates give you quick energy.
This macronutrients split ratio tells you how much of each of these nutrients you should eat. In the case of the warrior diet, the ratio might look like 40-50% protein, which is almost half of what you eat.
Then you can do 30-40% of fat, and 20-30% of carbohydrates. For example, if you are eating 1000 calories, 400 – 500 of these calories should come from protein. 300 – 400 calories should come from fat and 200-300 calories should come from carbohydrates, giving you a properly balanced diet.
Benefits of the Warrior Diet
- Fasting for most of the day allows your body to use stored fat for energy, which in turn helps you to lose weight.
- Fasting allows your body to better manage blood sugar levels, which can also help to prevent conditions like diabetes.
- Fasting helps your body to clean out damaged cells and make new healthy ones.
- Eating a large portion of a nutrient-packed meal at once can support muscle recovery and growth.
Bottom Line
The Warrior Diet is a type of intermittent fasting that mimics the eating habits of ancient warriors, fasting for most of the day and consuming a large, nutritious meal at night. The focus should be on eating high-protein, healthy fats, and low-carb foods, which will promote fat burning, improve blood sugar control, and support muscle recovery.
