I think if most people were asked if they would like to be healthier they would say of course! Though a lot of people aren't willing to change their daily life much if any! Yikes! So how do we get healthier with minimal change to our lifestyle? Intermittent fasting!
I don't know about you but until not too long ago I just thought fasting was going long stretches of time without eating. But this is a bit different. I mean yes you are going long-ish stretches of time without eating but nothing we all haven't done from time to time by accident from being super busy. I know I have gone all day semi regularly without eating simply from forgetting or not having time. Yikes. So why not do it intentionally and gain the benefits. Intermittent fasting is basically choosing a window of time that you will spend eating every day and leaving the rest of the day calorie free. Oh and during your eating period you can eat whatever you want! No restrictions! Yay! For example I chose to eat between 6 and 9 every night. That works best for me because I sleep best on a full tummy and as many of you know, sleep is very important to me!
Ok so onto the benefits. What on earth could be gained from not eating for the majority of the day?Well it positively alters the function of cells, helps with weight loss, lowers your risk of type 2 diabetes, reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, lowers your risk for heart disease, it induces cellular repair, helps prevent cancer and Alzheimer's, is good for brain health and it can help you live longer! Quite the list if you ask me! Now let's get into the nitty gritty of why and how all this can stem from intermittent fasting.
Let's start with the most obvious benefit... weight loss. This is not just because of lower calorie intake, though most people do eat less due to the short eating period. So during intermittent fasting our bodies hormone function is enhanced helping facilitate weight loss. A cascade of events in our hormone production leave us with an increased metabolic rate thus helping burn more calories. One study showed that there was less muscle loss during times of intermittent fasting than during continuous calorie restriction.
Ok so we already spoke about how a cascade of events in our hormone production increases our metabolic rate. So let's get further into how it changes the function of cells, genes and hormones. So when we don't eat, a lot of things happen in our body. Some of the changes that happen during periods of fasting are insulin levels drop drastically, human growth hormone increases as much as 5 times and the body induces cellular repair processes such as removing waste from cells. Basically when we don't eat our body has a break from processing all that food we are usually continuously putting in it to do all these important healing processes.
Oxidative stress and inflammation is the root cause of aging and many chronic diseases such as diabetes 2. So obviously the fact that intermittent fasting reduces these things is effing awesome right!? Studies have shown that intermittent fasting reduces insulin resistance and lowers blood sugar levels. More studies have also shown that intermittent fasting enhances the bodies resistance to stress and reduces inflammation thus drastically cutting down many chronic diseases! Reduced stress and inflation are also good for brain health helping to protect the brain from damage.
Heart disease is currently the worlds biggest killer! Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve many factors that effect heart health. These factors include blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers and blood sugar levels. All in all this way of eating is fantastic for the health of your heart... and your whole body but right now we are talking about our hearts. So yea.
Intermittent fasting induces cellular repair processes and helps prevent cancer and Alzheimer's. Fasting triggers a metabolic pathway called autophagy which removes waste materials from cells. Increased autophagy may provide protection against several diseases a few being cancer and Alzheimer's. A study showed that intermittent fasting significant improved the symptoms in 9 out of 10 Alzheimer's patients!
Finally intermittent fasting helps you live longer! What an amazing benefit! Extended lifespan so we can fit in all those life goals we have! Studies in rats showed that rats who fasted lived 83% longer than rats who didn't fast and while there haven't been any studies done on humans yet, given all the benefits that take place in the body it only makes sense that intermittent fasting can help you live a longer healthier life.
Now onto my personal experience. When I am doing intermittent fasting I find I not only have more energy, somehow, but I have more motivation to get my workout in along with all my other daily tasks. I feel like I bounce back and recover from my workouts faster and I drink more water which of course is great for my whole body and digestive system. Another benefit is I sleep more soundly at night and don't feel the need for an afternoon nap when my little man naps. Yassss! Oh and when I do eat I make better choices in what I put in my mouth! I don't know why that has happened but when it comes time to feed I tend to crave more fresh fruits and nutrient dense foods. Cool huh!? I think so. Oh but on the down side, just to give a full view of this, I feel like my brain is more scattered and I get triggered by yummy smells much easier. I think the positives are too good to ignore so for now I am going to continue on this new healthy feeding schedule. At least till it stops feeling good. Will keep you all posted if I notice any new cool changes! Thanx for listening to me rant about all the things I've learned about intermittent fasting! Lots of love! Bye for now!
Really helps with so much, people think you will waste away but the opposite is true, actually can improve muscle definition. We have been brainwashed with this idea of 3 meals a day which allows the body no rest to heal itself. Im a bit intermittent with intermittent fasting though, I need to be more disciplined!
As do I! Staying on this earring cycle is challenging at times as I have a toddler that I need to cook for throughout the day and the smells trigger me at times! Eeeek! But yes it's so beneficial I would like to be more consistent with this! Thanx for stopping by and sharing your experience! 😘
I am a DEDICATED intermitent faster. Yesterday I did a lime-honey-salt 18 hour fast, and just ate in the evening. Every hour a BIG drink - on the first hour its the juice of 2 huge fresh limes and a tablespoon of raw honey and a pinch of himalayan salt in 500ml water, and in the second hour just plain 500ml of room temp water. Nothing else. Brilliant detoxer and immune booster! Relaxed over a simple meal with Ploi 9pm an slept like an angel. Keep it going, sister, not so much for looks or weight (bonus only) but for clarity, health, mental edginess and stamina!! :) This needs curating!!
Love hearing you are already on to this! And your recipes all sound great! Every time you share a new one I think to myself I wish she'd adopt me! Lol!
Now see I thought we WERE already cosmic sisters.... :) x
Oh for sure! Though I must say Ploi has it pretty darn good growing up with you!
haha... pls remind her of that every time you see her. :) x
Oh I certainly will! 😘
nice! I'm one of the people who does this by accident sometimes, I wasn't sure if that counted as "intermittent fasting", glad it does!
It makes so much sense that this would be good for you, seems to mimic more how we'd find food as wild creatures, sometimes you have it and sometimes you wait. Our body probably is designed to have periods of not eating.
I actually kind of relish in that "hungry" feeling, like I start looking forward to what I'm gonna eat and it's great lol
Me too! I really enjoy planning out my meal and the anticipation that happens during the prep and cooking stage all just make it taste that much more delicious! Thanx for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with me! And happy, accidental fasting! Lol!
Interesting - so just one meal a day in this style of intermittent fasting.
I think it'll take me a while to get to that level - still looks like it's working well for you.
For sure! I eased into by cutting out breakfast then switching lunch for some fresh fruit then cut it out all together! Good luck on your journey! ❤️
I do love food, but even I would give this a try!
Let me know how it goes if you do try it! 😘
From my medical way of thinking, everything on this sounds wrong. Bodies dont act too well on gigantic daily fluctuations and this seems like one ;)
But hey, youve got the studies and you feel good with it so who am I :)
What is something to try to for more burning perhaps... Try to put your window in the morning. This way the body actively uses the energy with its tasks throughout the day.
Bodies tend to hibernate and HODL energy in the night because the body thinks it is not getting anything anymore.
But again. Whatever works for you!
Thanx for stopping by and sharing your perspective! It's always beneficial to hearing everyone's experiences. Lots of love to you.
Brilliant! The results are awesome..lve been doing OMAD for almost a month now as kinda stuck in a wfpb rut /plateau ..certainly has boosted energy/cognitive agility /weightloss /skin ..💚
Wow! Thanks for sharing your experience! It's exciting to hear your results! I always feel great when I am eating this way I just also tend to fall off the truck quite easily so I have never done it consistently for very long at a time but I'm hoping to get to where it is a lifestyle that sticks! Lots of love to you and happy fasting!
Fasting is a good practice but I only do it intermittently. My main focus is just to consume quality high nutrient food in general, and keeping my diet diverse. I started off improving my eating habits years ago by first quitting soda, fast food, and high sugar snacks. Later I cut out all candy and the use of a microwave. Earlier this year I became a pescatarian, making a commitment not only to eat fish and no other meat (only fresh caught or Atlantic caught, no Fukushima fishies), but also to eat much more vegetables and fruits. Since then I drink a smoothie as my breakfast meal a few times a week, usually only eating once more later in the day. I also like evening meals as food tastes better to me during later hours, that is when I find myself most hungry, and it also helps me sleep as well.
The main goal of all this is to feel better and have more energy on a consistent basis, and to hopefully live longer. Thank you for you comprehensive post on why you choose your eating habits. Seems like we are both on the right track.
That's great! Yes I too have cleaned up my diet tremendously in the past 5 years. I now am on a plant based while food vegan diet. No processed food, no sugar, no gluten and holy beegeezes my body feels great! But it feels even greater when I am doing intermittent fasting so I thought I would share the wonderfulness that is fasting! Lots of love to you! 😘
Ditto homegirl, do you drink juice?
I do drink juice! Fresh juice is the best! My favorite being carrot, beer root, celery, ginger! Yum yum yum!
Nice, what about fruit juice specifically?
I prefer to eat my fruit however I absolutely LOVE fresh passionfruit juice! Especially with some chia in it! Eeeeek! Yummiest treat ever!
I like drinking dragonfruit as well, exotic things excite my taste buds, mixing chai with almost any beverage is preferred, love it!
Great work! Nice to see IFers that can attest. I’m an advocate of OMAD mixed with keto. Hopefully I can put up a post like yours to show my before and after. Already down 15 pounds in 2 months. And although keto got me to be more conscious about what I ate. I really think it’s when I switched from the 16/8 to OMAD is where I started shredding.
Wow! Amazing results! Thanx so much for sharing your experience! Hearing more and more people with these great results makes me more and more dedicated! Lots of love to you! 😘
I want to say a HUGE thank you to @tangdish for the incredibly generous surprise! I can't thank you enough! Sending you all the love! 😘
wow this is all new to me, I don't eat meat or gluten or sugar as well but I have never done any fasting, I am fascinated by this one though, my little one is just 1 so breastfeeding quite a lot still, you reckon I should wait till she is older before starting anything like this? xx
I first did this when Kai was about 8 months old and it was fantastic! I mean of course listen to your body but for me it was just what my body needed to feel great even with the lack of sleep and breastfeeding. Let me know how it works out for you! Lots of love and happy fasting! 😘
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