Intermittent Fasting

"You haven’t eaten breakfast? You haven't eaten All Day? WTH"?

Yes, I'm talking about something your mother would harp on you about.

It may be controversial, some may argue that it's not a great idea because it may slow your metabolism. This is a real hot topic right now and it has a lot of people wanting to know if it is the right choice for them. So I'm going to lay out just exactly what intermittent fasting is and let you be the judge if it's the right choice for you.

The concept of fasting isn't a new one. People have temporarily restricted their food intake for religious reasons going back centuries. Recently, intermittent fasting — when you don’t eat from anywhere between 16 – 48 hours (or more) — has become more widely well known for its incredible effects on disease and aging.

Just What Is Intermittent Fasting?

For as long as I can remember, just hearing the word *fasting* didn't have a real good ring to it. It sounded awful. Not eating breakfast or nothing at all until dinner? Not to mention all I heard my entire childhood was that it was "not good for you" to go without breakfast, or heaven forbid no food all day.

The funny thing is, is that I've done this for as long as I can remember before I ever heard of the concept Intermittent Fasting (IMF). I get so caught up in work, that I literally forget to eat. All this time I was thinking I was beating my body up, when all along it was a good thing. I'd have people at work saying, “Shannon, it's not good for you, you need to eat!!” I'd literally have co-workers try to shove food down my throat like a serious drug pusher.

So, fasting? Is it really good for me? For this blog we won't get into the kind of fasting where you're looking at 3-7 days without food. That is a whole other conversation, and for me personally have never considered doing. For the sake of this blog, we are going to stick to just intermittent fasting (IMF).

So just what exactlyis it?

IMF is the process of moving in and out of periods of eating and not eating. Of course you can experience weight loss with IMF, for sure maintain current weight, but it's not viewed as a diet. Rather it's a lifestyle choice to reap amazing health benefits, and to quite simply make life easier.

IMF results in turning up the fat burning and fast weight loss by forcing your body to use up fat stores as fuel. When you eat, your body uses glucose (sugar) as its primary source of energy and stores whatever is left over as glycogen in your muscles and liver.

When you're not feeding your body a constant source of glucose, it breaks down the glycogen to use as fuel. Once the glycogen has been used, your body seeks out alternative sources of energy, your fat cells, which it then breaks down to help power up the bod.

Although there are several different types of IMF, the two that are the easiest if you're curious to try it are:

• 16/8: Most common: You eat all of your daily calories within a shortened period — typically 6 to 8 hours — and fast for the remaining 14 to 16 hours. This is when you would stop eating after dinner typically by 8pm, fast while you sleep, skip breakfast and then have lunch around noon.
• Same as above but you would break your fast at dinner rather than lunch.

Some of you might be reading this and thinking- hey, I've already done this and didn't know I was practicing IMF! While some may be thinking hell no! Like I said you do you.

I fully believe the theory that we were not built to eat all the fricken time. Like a car with its engine left running 24/7. What the hell would happen to the car?

You don’t do this do you? Well hell no. It would seriously cut the lifespan of your car by years.

Right?

Like it or not we still have not evolved to have more new and shiny DNA from our hunter and gatherer forefathers. They clearly didn’t have burger joints on every corner of the vast wild. Nor were they following the latest trend to snack every hour on the hour, that would have proven a tad difficult seeing that hunting and gathering food was a bit of a chore.

So what is our DNA built to do?

Eat. Rest. Repeat.

Our digestive systems need a breaky once and a while. If your constantly digesting food all the time, your body is getting overworked as our bodies aren’t adapted to this behavior. It's ok to take a break once and a while and let things reset.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Incorporating IMF into your lifestyle expands your limits and boosts your performance in a number of ways. Here are some of the powerful benefits of IMF. Check. This. Out:

• Helps regulate blood sugar
• Gives your digestive system a break
• Boosts weight loss and helps maintains weight
• Promotes cell repair and makes them more resilient
• Reduces the bad cholesterol
• Reduces insulin resistance and protects against Type 2 Diabetes
• Helps memory and brain function
• Assists with detoxification
• Allows your liver time to do its job, especially when you’ve gone on a gluten, sugar, or alcohol binge.
• Clears skin
• Gives you energy
• Helps balance hormones
• Helps fat stores
• Promotes longevity

Now listen.

I'm not saying do it every daylike me. It's a serious problem for me, because if I were to tell you the truth about me, I'm totally lazy when it comes to eating.

For realz.I love food, but the fact is if you don’t put it in front of me sometimes, I just choose not to eat. I've got better things to do, I get distracted.

So this time I'm saying don't do like I do. Instead- Be planful. Prepare. Do good. Go chat with your doctor if this is an appropriate choice for you considering any health concerns you may have.

To break the fast, you’ll want to eat a meal with a good balance of proteins, fats and carbs.

For some, you may want to stay away from the hard to digest rich red meat. A simple chicken, delish green veggies and salad will do just fine.

Drop me a comment if you decide to try it and let me know how it goes!

To your digestive health,

Shannon

PS: Needing to improve Thyroid health or learn more about detoxing your home- check out my FREE Guides here.

Disclaimer:Even with the benefits listed, it remains controversial. If you are on any serious medications, first consult with your doctor.

This blog serves as a beginners guide for adults on what intermittent fasting is. It is NOT recommended for those who are underweight, have an eating disorder; women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, nor children under the age of 18.