If you’ve done intermittent fasting and think it’s time to turbo-charge your weight loss, you might consider this to be the right time to try out the Warrior Diet. The plan takes intermittent fasting to the next level, because it stretches out the amount of time you go without food. Under this form of fasting, you go for 20 hours eating only small amounts of food, leaving four hours at night where you can eat whatever you want — as long as its healthy, and within reason (via Healthline). 

The plan was created by Ori Hofmekler, a former member of the Israeli Special Forces, and is designed to improve the way we eat by stressing our bodies through reducing our food intake, triggering our survival instincts in the process. While the diet plan is said to mirror the eating habits of ancient warriors, Hofmekler says it’s based on his own observations and beliefs. Meanwhile, devotees of the Warrior Diet say that it burns fat, improves concentration, jacks up energy levels, and stimulates cellular repair.

A modified Warrior Diet allows to you eat selected foods during the fast

The Warrior Diet starts with a Phase 1 detox, which lasts a week, and where you drink just water, coffee, and tea (no sugar), and eat from a selective list of fruits and vegetables, vegetable juice, plain yogurt, eggs, soup broth, and salad made with mixed greens and vegetables. There is a Phase 2 plan that incorporates high-fat food into your four-hour eating window. There are no calorie counts or serving sizes — you just start under-eating as soon as you get up, and graze every few hours from the list of approved foods, while Phase 3 sees you cycle between high-carb and low-carb foods. Once this is done, a dieter can go back to Phase 1, or choose to go with the more extreme (and risky), simplified version of the 20:4 eating plan, where he or she fasts for 20 straight and eat for four. At no time are processed or sugary foods allowed (via Health).

Since this diet is extreme, and it can be difficult to fit your daily caloric needs into just four hours, Arizona registered dietitian Joel Totoro suggest easing into the fasting periods perhaps a few days a week, and then seeing how your body responds (via Women’s Health).

Its best to get a medical sign-off before starting the Warrior Diet

Because the Warrior Diet can be such a restrictive food plan, Livestrong also suggests there are some groups that really need to talk to their medical practitioner before starting the diet. These people include those who suffer from diabetes, because the eating plan involves fasting, which has an impact on blood sugar levels. Because the Warrior Diet (particularly in its most extreme form) is essentially intermittent fasting, those with a history of eating disorders should also speak to a doctor, since they could be prone to binge eating when the 20 hour fasting window closes. It’s also important for those who are pregnant, or with pre-existing conditions, or extreme athletes to avoid this (or any plan, for that matter), without seeing a doctor first.

If you do decide to give the Warrior Diet a try, potential benefits may be decreased inflammation, improved brain health, and weight loss. On the flip side, drawbacks include low energy, extreme hunger (obviously), constipation, and, well, weight gain.

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