These days, intermittent fasting is a household phrase, but back in 2002 when The Warrior Diet was first published, the idea of eating only during specific windows of time was a pretty new idea. Like paleo and similar diets, this eating plan is based on emulating the ways that our ancestors supposedly ate. In the case of the warrior diet, however, the emphasis involves not just what but also when our forebears were eating.
As with any intermittent fasting plan, the warrior diet limits the times during the day when you are permitted to eat, advocating a single meal a day. But is this way of eating effective for losing weight, and more importantly, is it safe and sustainable in the long term? This guide will tell you everything you need to know.
What Is the Warrior Diet?
The warrior diet is based on a book of the same name written by Ori Hofmekler, and it claims to “switch on your biological powerhouse for high energy, explosive strength, and a leaner, harder body.”
The plan is a version of intermittent fasting that alternates a period of fasting with a small window of time in which to eat all of the day’s calories. The warrior diet promotes exercising and undereating during the day, when our nomadic and hunter-gathering ancestors would likely be busy finding food rather than eating it. For exercise, the diet encourages short workouts that emphasize strength training, especially for your joints and back, and high-velocity exercises such as jumps, kicks, and sprints.
During the day, raw vegetables and fruit, small amounts of protein, and beverages including water, natural juices, coffee, and tea are permitted. The book states that this period should not last more than 16 to 18 hours, but many newer variations of the diet encourage undereating or not eating at all for 20 hours.
Then in the evening, you eat one large meal. There are no restrictions on how much or what kind of food you eat, so you can include any protein, fat, and carbs you want.
