In this video I discuss Intermittent fasting. For the description I wanted to add my simple HOW TO Instructions:
Here is are the basic principles of Intermittent fasting. First understand that there is no “Right way” to do it. There’s only the Right way for you! So, what I want to write out are all the ways you can make it work for you and help you to understand when it’s working.
How often do I fast and for how many hours a day? Sure, you can jump in and fast every day, or you can fast a few times a month but finding some type of weekly schedule will help you to get started and also help you figure out what’s right for you.
Beginner:
Begin with 5/2. Eat a typical diet 5 days a week and use fasting on any 2 days either consecutive or not. I began with Tuesdays and Fridays. This will enable you to “test the waters” with fasting.
Begin with 12 hours of fasting and 12 hours of eating. So, if you stop eating at 8pm simply don’t eat until 8am. Sounds easy? It should be, but some people are used to eating first thing in the am and have been eating many times a day because it feels like their blood sugar is more stable when they eat often. A 12 hour fast might be a challenge for some. If not for you simply speed up the process. I recommend beginning with 12 hours and each time you fast adding another hour of fasting until you are up to 16 hours. Remember these hours include the hours that you sleep.
- TIP: You may feel hungry when you fast, that’s OK, what you are trying to avoid is feeling lightheaded, dizzy, faint or just plain HANGRY (Hungry-angry). If you are feeling bad simply eat something and see if you can make it an extra 20 minutes or an hour the next time you fast.
- TIP: Remember that you can drink water, black coffee or tea. Very often when you feel hungry, you can subdue your hunger by drinking fluids.
Intermediate:
Experiment with fasting more days a week, flip the 5/2 into a 2/5. Fasting 5 days a week and eating whenever you like the other two.
Extend your fasting periods beyond 16 hours, up to 18-20 or even see if eating once per day feels good to you. I am not a fan of the once per day diet for a daily lifestyle though. There are health benefits like fat loss, and some studies even mention that it can increase longevity, but it isn’t clear to me if eating once a day is just as effective if you only begin doing it much later on in life, when your metabolism starts to decline, and you tend to be less hungry anyway. It is difficult to get all the nutrients you need to thrive if you only eat once per day.
- TIP: Remember to eat when your innate tells you that you need to. Don’t push yourself to eat less just because you set a goal for yourself, listen to your body.
Advanced: You can experiment with multi day fasts… 3-5-7 day fasts, even longer have been done for as long as humans have walked the earth. You can even experiment with water fasting, which means that besides food you also consume no water. If you do take on any longer fasting, beyond 48 hours, I recommend you only do it with the go ahead from your doctor and that you are being checked for signs of dehydration or malnourishment. - TIP: Don’t go beyond a 24 hour fast without having a WHY, meaning understanding why you want to fast for that long anyway. If there isn’t a solid reason WHY, then I don’t see the point.
