As many of you know, I lost nearly 40 lbs over the course of the last year. One of the ways that helped me tremendously was intermittent fasting (IF).
I have been receiving lots of questions about this which is why I decided I would share my experience as well as provide the basics of intermittent fasting in an easy to digest fashion.
Now, I’m no doctor so with that said, It’s important that you talk to a professional prior to starting any type of diet including intermittent fasting.
How I first started with intermittent fasting
I had always been intimidated by the idea of fasting and quite frankly, the thought of not eating anything for several hours was terrifying. After all, going just a couple of hours without eating sometimes would leave me shaky, irritable, and even dizzy.
Still, the idea was extremely intriguing to me and I knew some of the wonderful benefits associated with it. I began talking with several people who had successfully used intermittent fasting to lose weight, heal from bodily ailments, and improve their energy levels.
I did my research, talked with my doctor and acupuncturist and decided I would give it a try. Although it was difficult for me at first to go so many hours without eating, it really wasn’t as difficult as I had once anticipated and it certainly began to get easier with time.
All in all, although I had already lost some weight on the Whole30 diet as well as exercise earlier in the year, intermittent fasting alone helped me to shed 15 lbs within a few short weeks. Something that would previously have taken me months to do.
What is intermittent fasting?
To put it really simply, intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating, and periods of fasting.
Unlike diets that specify which types of food you should be consuming or avoiding, intermittent fasting focuses on when you are eating rather than what you are eating. Although a healthy diet and reasonable caloric intake is still highly enforced.
We have been conditioned to believe that we need to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner and at certain times throughout the day–this just simply isn’t true. In fact, It’s more of a cultural norm than a true biological need.
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting BESIDES weight loss?
It’s obvious that most people who try IF do so for the sole purpose of losing weight. However, there are many other added benefits that one could obtain as well.
Here are the top five:
- Lowers inflammation and free radical damage –This can help people heal from and prevent a wide range of diseases caused by inflammatory conditions. It can even help keep you looking younger!
- Increases cognitive function- When your body isn’t busy digesting food, it reserves energy which can improve our memory, increase productivity, and even help us focus.
- Improves blood sugar-When we eat from dawn-to-dusk, we’re giving our body a steady stream of glucose which can lead to insulin resistance in the long run diabetes and of course, obesity.
- Lowers risk of heart disease- IF helps to strengthen the heart by lowering triglycerides and blood pressure as well as normalizing insulin sensitivity.
- Curbs cravings- This one is a no-brainer. Training your body to require less food can help curb cravings in the long run because your body has learned to operate on less food.
Bottom line, Intermittent fasting helps to give our body a “break” from needing to digest food which means it has more time to focus on healing and restoring balance within our system.
Not to mention, when we’re not busy digesting food, we have more energy for things like thinking, remembering, and even focusing.
Different methods of intermittent fasting
There are different ways to do IF. These are the top three. I personally found that the 16/8 method was extremely doable.
I typically stop eating at 8pm and then do not eat again until 12pm the next day. I repeat this daily.
- The 16/8 method: Also known as the Leangains protocal, this form of intermittent fasting is done by skipping breakfast and restricting daily eating patterns to 8 hours such as from 1-9. Then, fasting for 16 hours in between. This is my personal favorite.
- The 5:2 diet: This method is when you consume 500-600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week but resume normal eating patterns the rest of the week.
- Eat-stop-eat: This method of intermittent fasting involves not eating for 24-hours, once or twice a week.
What can you have while fasting?
In order to mitigate the effects of not eating such as feeling dizzy or shaky, It’s important to make sure you are staying hydrated and keeping your electrolytes balanced.
Here are the recommended things you can drink when doing IF:
- Water
- Coffee (with no sugar or creamer)
- Tea
- Apple Cider vinegar (added to water)
- Lemon water (this one is controversial but I do it anyway)
If you begin to feel off/dizzy, add some Himalayan sea salt to your water and drink. Bone broth can be used as well as long as it does not contain any added ingredients.
The BEST way to break a fast
Believe it or not, how we break our fast is just as important as everything else associated with IF.
A general rule of thumb that I’ve found when first breaking your fast is this: do NOT combine fats with carbs. I’ll explain why below.
When fasting, your insulin sensitivity is greatly increased. This causes the cells to be very receptive to retrieve whatever it is you are consuming to break your fast.
This is of course especially true if you’re eating carbohydrates to break your fast as carbohydrates already cause an insulin spike.
Now, if you were to also add a fat substance with it, your cells would not only absorb the carbs, but the fat as well. This can be completely counter-intuitive to what you’re trying to accomplish with IF.
Now of course, there are healthy fats so things like avocados, coconut oil, and nuts should be fine. I’m referring mainly to the “bad” (used lightly here) kind of fats such as cheese, butter, and other types of trans-fats.
So how should you break the fast? focus on the following 2 combinations:
Either…
Carbs and protein
OR
Fats and protein
Here are just a few ideas of what to eat when breaking intermittent fasting. Of course the second meal you have can be a lot more varied because you have already broken the initial fast.
- Bone broth (with the meat)
- Fresh fruit (low glycemic index fruits such as apples and berries is advised)
- MCT oil
- Salad with low fat dressing (or no dressing) and protein such as chicken or fish
- Eggs and turkey bacon
- Egg whites and turkey sausage
- Burger patty with slice of cheese in a lettuce “bun”
- Celery with peanut butter
- Smoothie using low glycemic fruits or smoothie bowl with added nuts/healthy fats
Who shouldn’t do intermittent fasting?
As a general rule of thumb, It’s always recommended that you talk to your doctor before starting ANY diet including the eating patterns of Intermittent fasting.
What works for me and someone else may not be the best option for you and others; and vice versa.
With that said, there are generally a group of people who fall under the following categories who should probably not do IF:
- Pregnant or nursing. This may sound like common sense but it’s never a good idea to restrict caloric needs of a growing baby. Also, changing eating habits can have a negative effect on milk production if you are nursing.
- Have previously had an eating disorder. If you’ve previously suffered with an eating disorder, doing intermittent fasting can lead to a relapse in previous ED behaviors. Therefore, talk to your doctor and make sure that in this case, you can safely do IF without causing further harm to your emotional and physical health.
- If you suffer with adrenal fatigue. This condition can occur in individuals who have suffered with an illness, are under an extreme amount of stress, or are not getting enough sleep. It can greatly affect the way you metabolize your food so intermittent fasting can certainly exasperate the issue and lead to more sever symptoms. Talk with your doctor.
My final thoughts on intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting has been a wonderful way for me to stay focused throughout the day and lose some weight.
I’ve become a huge advocate for it and will continue to promote it especially as the benefits keep on rolling in. I have another doctors appointment in a couple of weeks so I’m certainly interested to see if my numbers have been affected in any way by doing IF.
At first, although I did notice I was a bit shaky, as my blood sugar began to normalize, and I got used to this eating style, I started having less and less bouts of shakiness, mood fluctuations, and dizziness.
I learned that hydration is super important as well as electrolyte balance which is why you should make sure to drink a lot of fluids while doing it.
Fasting is the way to go.
Fasting in general has been a practice throughout human evolution. Ancient hunter-gatherers didn’t have refrigerators, restaurants, or supermarkets, readily available to them year-round. In fact, there were times when they went days and days without eating.
It’s also been documented as a spiritual practice in almost every religion. It’s not surprising though, especially with all the benefits associated with it. Try it for yourself if when you’re ready and let me know what you think!