What is Intermittent Fasting and is it Right for Me?
WHAT IS IT?
Intermittent fasting (IF) is alternating periods of eating and fasting to maximize the hormonal benefits of cyclic caloric intake. Extended caloric reduction can slow metabolism but short fasts, such as intermittent fasting, can actually preserve muscle mass and optimize fat burning.
WHAT DOES IT DO?
Increases human growth hormone, which helps the body burn fat, build muscle and decrease the aging process.
Normalizes insulin sensitivity, which helps prevent chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
Regulates ghrelin levels. Ghrelin is the “hunger hormone”.
Decreases inflammation.
Decreases triglycerides.
Increases autophagy. Autophagy is the process your body undergoes to clean out damaged cells and generate new ones.
WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
Lose weight
Metabolic dysfunction
Type 2 diabetes
Can boost cognition and brain health, and lower risk for neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
WHO SHOULD NOT DO IT?
Intermittent fasting is a stressor on the body. It may not be appropriate or beneficial for everyone.
It is not advised for:
children and teens
women who are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding
adults with advanced diabetes
people with eating disorders
people who have HPA axis dysregulation
people who have hypothyroidism
those who are sleep deprived
HOW TO GO ABOUT IT?
To simplify and make it easy, start with a 14 hour fast. After dinner, do not consume any more food. Sleep at least 8 hours. Your first meal of the day should be 14 hours after your last night’s dinner. So, if you eat dinner at 6:00 pm, your breakfast should not be consumed before 8:00 am. This gives your body time to digest your food and utilize your food as energy, therefore it is less likely to be stored as unwanted fat.
You can drink water, tea, black coffee or coffee with some fat (coconut oil, full fat cream, coconut milk) and this will not break your fast.
This needs to work for your lifestyle and schedule in order to be sustainable.
Monitor how you feel. If you feel tired, irritable, or “off”, IF may be too stressful for your body. Personally, I do not feel well with IF. On days that I can control my dinner schedule, I enjoy dinner around 6:00 and try not to eat anything until the next morning, which is usually 7:30.
