Most of you have heard of or even tried fasting before for one reason or another.
But have you heard of Intermittent Fasting?
It’s one of the latest health trends that has people wondering- Is it bad for you? Is it just starving and binging? Will it put my body into starvation mode? Will I go hungry? I thought breakfast was the most important meal
The answers are all NO!
The truth is, intermittent fasting can help you get healthy and lose weight! I’m not into diets much, but am into looking and feeling my best! I’ve been doing this for years, and when I get off track and decide to eat normally, I notice I feel more sluggish and pack on an extra pound or two!
With intermittent fasting, the focus is more on when and how often you eat, and not so much on what you eat! But that doesn’t mean you should go and eat a whole large cheese pizza and ice cream cake in 4 hours! Everything in moderation 🙂 I recommend eating a well-balanced diet, while intermittent fasting! And incorporating physical activity.
Intermittent Fasting Methods :
The 16/8 method: This is the most popular method and involves skipping breakfast and allowing an 8 hour eating window each day. This is actually what I usually do anyway. Eating from about 1 p.m. until 9 p.m. Then you fast for the remaining 16 hours.
Eat-Stop-Eat: You stop eating completely for 24 hour periods, once or twice a week. Just don’t do this for two days in a row. You can still consume healthy beverages, like lemon water!
The 5:2 Diet: You limit your caloric intake to between 500-600 calories, two days a week (non-consecutive) and eat as you normally would the other 5 days.
Be sure to keep hydrated! Drink plenty of water or tea! You do not restrict liquid intake, just food!
Metabolic Fasting: This method uses the 16/8 method but with specific macronutrient ratios to balance hormones and optimize your fat-burning metabolism.
The Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting
Several things happen to your body when you fast. No, your body does not go into starvation mode. This takes longer than 24 hours without food. And in fact, short-term fasts can actually speed up your metabolism, regulate your hormones, reduce inflammation and make you live longer!
Reduces oxidative damage. Reduces oxidative damage. Normal cellular metabolism produces free radicals. These highly reactive molecules cause damage in your body. Antioxidants are one class of nutrients that counteract these effects. Intermittent fasting reduces the presence of free radicals, resulting in less oxidative damage.
Oxidative damage is also suspected of being one component of aging. The damage of oxidative stress eventually adds up, and the organism eventually dies.
Adjusts your hormones. Fasting causes your body to produce more of the human growth hormone. HGH is responsible for fat loss and muscle gain. Fasting also regulates your insulin levels and increases the fat busting hormone- norepinephrine!
Possibly increases your life span. Intermittent Fasting has been shown to increase life span in rodents. The surest was of increasing the lifespan of any mammal is to reduce its calorie intake. Studies haven’t been going on long enough to show if the effect is found in humans, but scientists have been able to double the lifespan of rats and mice by reducing their food intake.
Reduces obesity and hypertension. If you only eat for a few hours per day, you’ll probably end up eating less. When you eat less, you weigh less.
Hypertension is also reduced by intermittent fasting. This is probably due to a combination of weight loss and reduced inflammation.
Reduces inflammation. Inflammation is in the news on a daily basis.
Systemic inflammation is caused by the immune system. This low-grade inflammation is rarely noticed, but it’s implicated in many chronic diseases.
Hypertension, arthritis, and asthma are three examples. Lupus and inflammatory bowel disease are also caused by inflammation. * The foods we eat are major contributors to inflammation. By going a longer period without food, you can reduce the amount of inflammation in your body.
IF has been found to improve, or even cure, type-2 diabetes. Reducing the number of times you eat each day will reduce the amount of insulin released by your pancreas. This helps to improve insulin sensitivity. Again, losing weight is also believed to be a factor.
It can help you lose belly fat, fast! One of the first changes I noticed, was less bloating and a smaller waist!
Here’s what happens when you fast: Your human growth hormone levels go up and your insulin levels go down. You reduce inflammation and lose weight. And, your cells repair themselves at a rapid rate!
Although intermittent fasting has been shown to provide numerous health benefits, it’s still important to choose your foods wisely. The quality of your diet matters. No diet will turn doughnuts and chips into health foods. You have the responsibility to eat well.
Intermittent Fasting isn’t for everyone. Always talk to your doctor before trying any new health regimen. If you’re going to try IF, I suggest you start off slow, skipping breakfast (gasp, yep I said it) a few days a week! Eat a well-balanced late lunch and healthy snacks! You’ll be on your way to feeling and looking great!
5 Steps To Get Started On Intermittent Fasting…The Healthy Way
STEP 1: Start Preparing Now
Don’t put your health off.
TAKE A SMALL ACTION RIGHT NOW: Do something today to move forward, even if it’s just downloading my best-selling, results-getting program The 3-Week Intermittent Fasting Diet
It’s best to start intermittent fasting during a less stressful week as it does take a bit of preparation (both mentally and around your home).
If this week isn’t ideal, then schedule a date in your calendar right now for when you’ll start.
STEP 2: Clear Out Your Fridge And Pantry.
Don’t keep tempting foods lying around.
It will trip you up on those bad days. You won’t always feel motivated to stick to intermittent fasting, so make it easier for yourself to succeed.
STEP 3: Restock With healthy Foods.
Ensuring you have plenty of healthy foods around is essential. Here are some of the basic categories:
- Green leafy vegetables,
- Seafood and fish,
- All meats,
- Eggs,
- Healthy fats (e.g., coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, tallow, lard)
- Some nuts and seeds,
- Some fruits like avocados and berries.
STEP 4: Be Prepared For Keto Flu (If you’re Combining With Keto)
If you’ve been eating a lot of sugary and high-carb foods, then you’ll probably experience keto flu..
WHAT IS KETO FLU? As your body adjusts to burning fat instead of sugar, you’ll initially feel dizzy, hungry, tired, and may even have headaches.
6 TIPS FOR GETTING OVER KETO FLU:
- Eat Slightly More Fats. But don’t go overboard if you’re unused to eating fats as your body may have a hard time digesting it at first.
- Eat More Calories. It’s easy to cut out all your regular high-carb foods and not replace it with anything. Add in more leafy green vegetables (try a green veggie smoothie), eggs, fatty fish (like salmon, mackeral, and sardines), and fatty meats (like oxtail, brisket, bacon, ribeye steaks).
- Add in Some Clean Carbs. Add in a small amount of root vegetables (like carrots and sweet potatoes) to help with your transition.
- Make Sure You Get Plenty of Salts. It’s easy for your sodium and potassium intake to drop too much on Keto, so make sure you add salt to your food and eat plenty of foods high in potassium like avocados and dark leafy greens.
- Drink More Water. Dehydration can often cause headaches, nausea, and fatigue. So make sure you keep hydrated.
- Exercise (If Possible). Exercise when you’re feeling the symptoms of Keto Flu may seem like a horrific idea. But, it can help your body become more metabolically flexible and therefore transition from a sugar burner to a fat burner faster. Obviously, only exercise if it’s safe for you to do so.
STEP 5: Have A Support Group
It can be tough going it alone. Get your family and friends on board so you can help support each other.
If you join The 3-Week Intermittent Fasting Diet program, you’ll not only have access to a coach (me!), you’ll join a Private Facebook Group of 2,000 others on the same journey as you.
I understand how important it is to have a support system in place for tough times or just to ask a few questions to.
What foods should I eat to lose weight on intermittent fasting?
I highly recommend doing intermittent fasting the healthy way as it’ll help you lower inflammatory, heal deficiencies, and lose weight and keep it off.
YOU SHOULD EAT THESE FOODS ON IF:
- Leafy green vegetables (e.g., spinach, kale, arugula),
- Fish (e.g., sardines, salmon, cod, mackerel),
- Other seafood (e.g., oysters, clams, mussels),
- Organ meats (e.g., liver, bone marrow, heart),
- Various meats (e.g., beef, chicken, lamb),
- Eggs,
- Healthy fats (e.g., olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, tallow, lard, coconut oil and MCT oil).
- Some fruits (e.g., berries, coconut, avocados, olives), and
- A small amount of nuts and seeds.
YOU SHOULD AVOID THESE FOODS ON IF:
- Grains (e.g., wheat, barley, oats, corn, rice),
- Pseudo-grains (e.g., amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa),
- Starchy vegetables (e.g., sweet potatoes, potatoes),
- Sugary fruits (e.g., bananas, pineapples, mangoes),
- Dried fruits (e.g., dates, raisins, prunes),
- Seed oils (e.g., canola oil, sunflower oil),
- Artificial sweeteners and all junk processed foods (e.g., diet sodas, pizza, candies, bread, cakes, cookies), and
- Dairy products (e.g., cheese, milk, yogurt).
Learn How The 3-Week Intermittent fasting Diet Eliminates Gut Inflammation, Detoxes Your Liver, and Resets Your Thyroid
Start Your Intermittent Fasting Weight Loss Journey The Right Way And Take The Next Step…
FIRST (AND ONLY) STEP: If you’re interested in starting an intermittent fasting diet, then please take the next best step and join a proven weight loss program: The 3-Week Intermittent Fasting Diet
You could try it on your own and just do the 6 steps I outlined above. You may or may not see success. I think you know when you invest in yourself, you’re more likely to stick to your plan.
It can be tough at times, which is why I have a group of almost 2,000 other people doing the 3-Week Intermittent Fasting Diet that are waiting to support YOU.
