Intermittent Fasting NOT a fad diet
Firstly lets have a look at what fasting is and whether it may be for you?
Fasting is a period of voluntary abstinence from food and drink, this has been and still is a practice used in a lot of religions and cultures globally and has been for many years. A practice used to cleanse the body physically and spiritually.
With this being said, IF (Intermittent Fasting) seems to be associated a lot with one of those fad diets. What most people don’t see is how they are already fasting on a day-to-day basis naturally. They have their last meal at night around 7 PM and then they have their next meal around 7 AM, they have fasted for 12 hours. So, they are breaking their fast in the morning, this is the reason the first meal of the day is called Breakfast. I am betting you never thought of it that way?
Even with people knowing this, IF still gets a bad rap and is labelled unhealthy and associated with starving yourself.
When I read about the potential IF benefits from a health perspective, I was curious to understand the science behind it. As well as seeing whether it would be a perfect fit for my body and lifestyle.
My mindset around weight loss and a healthy body has changed over the years. I am more inclined now to look firstly at the health benefits it would give to my body, over weight loss or maintenance. In my mind, if I get my body working at its optimum level my weight will naturally fall to where it should be. All this without doing some crazy fad diet that is damaging my body. Is this the way you feel too?
So let me run you through my research findings and what benefits I have seen so far.
What does intermittent fasting require you to do?
Looking at the Intermittent fasting of today (outside of what I have mentioned regarding religious and cultural fasting), it is simply selecting a window of time for fuelling your body that feels comfortable for you and beneficial for your body. While fasting, you drink water (no flavoured water), black coffee, or black tea (No fruity or flavoured teas) and do not eat. Simple, right?
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
- It’s free.
- No special foods are required.
- Works with any diet
- Decreases Inflammation in the body.
- Reduction in blood sugar levels
- Improvement in insulin sensitivity
- Reverses the ageing process.
- Increases fat burning.
- Energy increase
- Mental clarity improvement
- Weight and body fat loss
What happens to your body during this fasting period?
During fasting the insulin level in the body is reduced and the body then looks for stored fat to use as energy. The most accessible place for the body to access for fat to break down for energy is the liver. Once this supply is depleted the body then taps into the body fat to break down for energy.
Your body is therefore using the fat stores to fuel it during the fasted state. Your body is then able to use this energy to heal your body and give you the benefits mentioned above.
Types of fasting windows
Alternate day fasting: Eat your normal diet one day and either completely fast or have one small meal (less than 500 -800 calories, depending on whether you are male/female) the next day.
5:2 fasting: Eat your normal diet five days a week and fast two days a week. On the 2 days either completely fast or have one small meal (less than 500 -800 calories, depending on whether you are male/female) the next day.
Daily time-restricted fasting: Eat your normal diet but only within a 4 to 8-hour window each day. For example, skip breakfast but eat lunch around noon and dinner by 8 p.m. or skip breakfast and lunch and just eat dinner.
24 to 52 hour fasting: Completely fast for this period of time
Who should not fast?
Anyone under 18 years
Women pregnant or breastfeeding
Malnourish or underweight individuals.
Who should be cautious and work with a healthcare advisor?
People with gout
People on medication or previous medical conditions
Type 1 and 2 diabetics
My results so far:
I have been fasting now for 6 weeks and feel amazing. I chose to do the daily time restricted fasting and naturally fell into the 16-hour fast window to begin, as I am not a breakfast person. This is where I started and then over the first week managed to push my fasting to 20 hours.
In the first couple of weeks and to date, I have had no issues with the fasting window period and do not feel hungry. The benefits of energy and clarity of mind I only seemed to see by week 3. My main fear to begin with was that I would overeat in my eating window. I did the first couple of times but soon got away from the mindset that I needed to eat a lot to make up for the meals I had missed. I now eat till I am full and satisfied. I have also seen a big difference in fat loss around my midsection.
I have not weighed or measured myself to date as I do not want to get hung up on numbers, I do however know my starting weight and measurements. So at a later stage I will compared just from a curiosity perspective. I am using more of how my clothes feel on me and how my body shape is changing for now.
One major benefit for me is that I am no longer stressed about all the different meals and snacks I need to prepare for the day. I have one widow to eat, and I have 1 meal with 1 or 2 snacks within this time. I am now listening to my body to know when I am full and satisfied. Also, I am more in tune with what is good for my body and what is not. Mealtime for me now has become a celebration and not a chore. I enjoy my food and have become more selective about what I choose to put in my body.
I have put together a list of the resources that I have used. I really do recommend that if this is something that you are interested in doing that you research yourself. Additionally, if you have any underlying issues, you consult and work with your healthcare provider pre to starting.
This is all about getting a healthy body in a safe and healthy way.
Resources around fasting are a must to read if you want to understand the science and benefits of IF in more detail:
Books to read:
The complete guide to Fasting by Jason Fung MD and Jimmy Moore
The Obesity Code, by Jason Fung
Delay, Don’t Deny by Gin Stephens
Fast Feast Repeat by Gin Stephens
The below videos are also a must to watch:
Top 7 Advantages to try intermittent Fasting – Top 7 Reasons to try Intermittent Fasting (Fasting Basics 4) | The Fasting Method
What causes Weight Gain – What causes Weight Gain? (How to Lose Weight) | The Fasting Method
Fasting Advantages – Top Intermittent Fasting Advantages | The Fasting Method The ultimate weight loss cause – The Ultimate Weight Loss Cause (Hormones vs. Calories) | The Fasting Method
All of these are in the resources section of my site and I will continue to add any additional ones I come across Resources
Please explore my site for more information on a clean and healthy body!
