What if you change your health without changing WHAT you eat but instead changing when you eat? Intermittent Fasting, a pattern of eating in which you eat in predetermined eating windows may do just that! Intermittent Fasting is not the same as traditional water fasting that lasts for several days. In intermittent fasting, you typically still eat everyday, just at different times than you might typically eat. Let's dive deeper!
Think about it, you are fasting every night when you are sleeping. In intermittent fasting you simply just extend the length of your daily "fast." 12 hours after your last meal, your body realizes that its not getting food and it basically compensates by entering a fat burning state. In essence your body starts using your own body fat (ketones) for fuel and energy instead of glucose. But how will I not collapse, faint or be exhausted? Although you might feel tired when you first begin intermittent fasting, overtime, intermittent fasting can be extremely helpful for giving you MORE energy, more fat loss, and more healing.
Who is intermittent fasting good for?
Twelve hours or so after your last meal, snack or glass of wine, your body starts up-regulating hormones for increaing energy, lowering inflammation, fat burning and healing. So if you are someone who suffers from daily inflammation in the form of headaches, bodily pain, or brain fog, intermittent fasting may have big impact on your health.
And the best news: Intermittent Fasting can help your metabolism too! I know many conventional nutritionists that recommend eating 5-6x's a day. While this may work for some athletes, for most people this can actually wreak havoc on your metabolism. Think about it. Our ancestors didn't have access to snacks 24 hours a day. Humans are only meant to eat 2-4 times a day (a depending on activity levels).
How can I start?
When clients are having trouble losing weight, suffer from autoimmune issues, or need to detox after too many weekend drinks, I highly recommend incorporating intermittent fasting. You DO NOT have to do this everyday! Simply doing an imf fast 3 days a week can make a big difference in your health. During your fasting time, I only recommend drinking water, or black coffee or tea. The overwhelming research shows that even putting cream in your coffee can break your fast. So I definitely recommend sticking to unsweetened, plain drinks (without artificial sweeteners) during your fasting time. Intermittent Fasting looks different for everyone but here are a few examples of how it might look for you:
For women:
16 hour fast daily
Eat 3 meals from 9am- 5pm, 12-8pm, etc.
For men: Because men do not have the hormonal needs of women, they can do longer daily fasts of up to 20 hours.
Eat 2-3 meals meals 1-7 pm, 2-8 pm, 4-8 pm.
Final Thoughts
Although intermittent fasting works for most people, for some people who lose weight very easily or for people on certain medications, I do not recommend intermittent fasting. For example, because I am currently on some herbs and medications for lyme disease and parasites and I have to take these medications with food, I cannot currently fast as much as slow metabolism would like (wah!). Although I have more fluff (Lol) than usual, I know after a couple months when I am done treatment, I can begin intermittent fasting again and my body will respond accordingly.
As always, if you are suffering from or have a history of disordered eating behaviors, I strongly suggest avoiding intermittent fasting or any regimented food plan unless/until you feel up to it.
XxxLaura