While most diets tell you what to eat and what not to eat, intermittent fasting (IF) focuses on WHEN to eat. But what exactly is IF, and how can it help you?
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
IF involves only eating during specific times each day or week. Fasting might not seem natural, but our bodies are actually equipped to survive for long periods without any food. Remember the prehistoric hunters and gatherers? Whenever they couldn’t forage or hunt any food, they fasted.
When you eat, enzymes break down your food into molecules. For example, carbohydrates are broken down into sugar, which provides your cells with energy. If your body doesn’t use that energy, your fat cells will start to store that sugar (with the help of insulin). Fasting lowers insulin levels, allowing fat cells to release stored sugar.
Types of Intermittent Fasting
Alternate-Day Fasting
Alternate-day fasting is exactly like it sounds: you’ll eat normally one day and fast the next. (If you can’t make it 24 hours, don’t worry — you can eat a small meal of fewer than 500 calories.)
Daily Time-Restricted Fasting
Eating within an eight-hour window each day is more comfortable, sustainable, and easy for beginners to pick up. If you already skip breakfast and don’t have post-dinner snacks, you’re already practicing the 16/8 method of IF.
Eat Stop Eat
This form of IF involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice each week. You can also start with daily time-restricted fasting and work your way up to a 24-hour long fast.
5:2 Fasting
5:2 fasting involves eating normally five days a week and only consuming 500-600 calories the other two days.
The Warrior Diet
If you decide to follow this diet, you’ll need to eat a few raw fruits and vegetables during the day and a large meal with whole, unprocessed foods in a 4-hour window in the evening.
Spontaneous Meal Skipping
Occasionally skipping meals can offer some of the benefits more structured IF plans do.
Regardless of which method you pick, eat a healthy, balanced meal during your non-fasting periods. Also, don’t fast for an extended period, as it can be dangerous and trigger your body to start storing fat. If you feel unwell, it’s okay to eat! You can always try fasting again another day.
What Are The Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting?
These days, we can simply head to the fridge or order takeout, so there’s no need to hunt or gather. We also have larger portions and are more likely to stay up later (and snack!) than older generations because we have phones to keep us awake and throw off our circadian rhythm. With all the sitting and snacking around the clock, it’s no wonder obesity, diabetes, and heart disease rates are high.
I don’t necessarily recommend IF for weight loss, unless you are someone who eats or snack after 8pm frequently. But IF can be beneficial for many other health reasons, including reducing inflammation. Lowering your overall inflammation can help manage symptoms of arthritis, asthma, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. You may also experience improved blood pressure, cholesterol, memory, and brain function when fasting. There are potentially even benefits of fasting for longevity. Personally, when I fast, I feel more energetic, happier and have better mental clarity.
However, I think one of the greatest benefits of fasting is the mental component. It is good for us that every once-in-a-while we have a separation of ourselves from what we eat. Most people have a lot of psychological and emotional attachments to food that may or may not be healthy. Also, realizing that not eating for an extended period isn’t going to kill you, can in fact, help you more than you realize.
Ready to learn more? Contact me at happyhelen@gmail.com today!