Intermittant fasting is a manner of eating where you restrict your daily eating to a 6-8 hour window of time. Some people are comfortable with three meals a day, others prefer to do it in two. At approximately 12 hours of fasting, the body has used up available sugar and will start finding other sources of energy…fat.
The Benefits of Intermittant Fasting
It increases:
- insulin and leptin sensitivity, reducing the risk of chronic disease and even cancer
- liver dumping and decongesting
- ghrelin levels (hunger hormones) which will reduce overeating
- ability to become “fat adapted” which increases your energy by burning stored fat
It decreases:
- triglyceride levels, decreasing your risk of hear disease
- inflammation and free radical damage
- weight gain and risk of metabolic disease
Example Timeline
Fast 7am-11am
Eat 11am-6pm
Fast 6pm-11pm
Sleep 11pm-7am
If you have never done this before you might want to start with a shorter overnight fast, for example, 12 hours. Gradually increase the fasting time as long as you are comfortable with it. You can just do a couple of days a week and gradually increase. If you are hyperglycemeic or diabetic, this may not be appropriate for you until your blood sugar is under better control.
Intermittant Fasting will help your body adjust from burning carbs to burning fat. Several weeks into this it will be easier for you because your body is better adapted to using fat stores easily. Sugar cravings will start to decrease and managing your weight will become easier.
Intermittant Fasting is not to be done with a diet full of processed foods. This is not about depriving the body of nutrition. Fill your diet with vegetables, good quality protein, some fruits, and healthy fats such as butter, eggs, avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, and raw nuts.
If you have any questions about Intermittant Fasting, please let me know. I’m happy to help you get this rolling!
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