Intermittent Fasting for Health

Intermittent fasting is not a diet, it’s a pattern of eating.  It doesn’t change what you eat, it changes when you eat it.

intermittent-fastingHumans have actually been fasting throughout evolution.

Sometimes it was done because food was not available (famine) but also because most major religions have long maintained that fasting is good for the soul.

Fortunately (or ironically, unfortunately) most of us are living in a life of convenience and excess, we have access to all sorts of food at all hours of the day.

To understand how intermittent fasting leads to fat loss we first need to understand the difference between the fed state and the fasted state

The fed state is when your body is digesting and absorbing food. It starts when you begin eating and lasts for three to five hours as your body digests and absorbs the food you just ate. When you are in the fed state, it’s difficult for your body to burn fat because insulin levels are high. 

Next is the fasted state, which is a fancy way of saying that your body isn’t processing a meal. The fasted state lasts until 8 to 12 hours after your last meal. It is much easier for you body to burn fat in the fasted state because your insulin levels are low. We don’t enter the fasted state until 12 hours after our last meal, so it’s quite rare that our bodies are in this fat burning state. This is one of the reasons why many people who start intermittent fasting will lose fat without changing what they eat, how much they eat, or how often they exercise.

Fasting puts your body in a fat burning state that you rarely make it to during a normal eating schedule.

There is much research documenting the various health benefits of intermittent fasting…..

Improved insulin sensitivity: As levels of insulin drop dramatically, stored body fat becomes more accessible and is used for energy production.  IF can impede the development of diabetes by disrupting the foundation of insulin resistance in the body.

Increased production of Human Growth Hormone: The levels of human growth hormone skyrocket, increasing as much as 5-fold. This has benefits for fat loss, muscle gain, longevity, increasing energy and libido.

Enhanced cellular repair: When fasted, your cells initiate cellular repair processes. This includes autophagy, where cells digest and remove old and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells, clearing out waste. Intermittent fasting acts in part as a form of mild stress that continually revs up cellular defenses against molecular damage.

Gene expression: There are changes in the function of genes related to longevity and protection against disease

Increase metabolism: Because of these changes in hormones, short-term fasting may actually increase your metabolic rate by 3.6-14%

How to Daily Intermittent Fast:
This is a 16–hour fast followed by an 8–hour eating period.  It is remarkably easy to learn to not eat at certain times of the day.  The 8-hour eating period can occur at any time throughout the day.  You can start at 8am and stop at 4pm. Or you start at 2pm and stop at 10pm. Do whatever works for you.  Personally, I find it easiest to skip breakfast and break my fast at lunchtime.

***Intermittent Fasting is NOT recommended for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or would like to become pregnant***

We do not want to send the message that we are in a period of scarcity during these times, please be kind to your body.

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