Talking more about intermittent fasting today. I wrote a little bit about it here in THIS BLOG, and have wanted to explore it a little bit more. As near as I can tell, it’s trending big time right now. Everyone is talking about it, and most of what I’ve heard is positive. This subject can be a sensitive one, because it’s sort of the extreme of what we’ve heard the past ten years or so. That idea was that we need to eat three meals a day and maybe snacks in-between. We were told that this would keep our metabolisms working like they should. Skipping meals would slow them down and our bodies would then store fat.
LEARNING MORE FROM AN EXPERT
I wanted to hear from someone who was an expert, and so I listened to an audible book recently, called FAST FEAST REPEAT. The author is Gin Stephens. She has written several books on health and diet and has been living an intermittent fasting approach since 2014. She has lost and kept off over 80 lbs. She explains things very well and her words are so easy to understand. Basically what she says is that by fasting and eating within a window, our bodies have a chance to get hungry and then will go to our fat stores for energy.
The idea is to simply limit your “eating window” to 12 hours each day (for example, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) 5 days a week. Gradually, over a period of several months, reduce the time window during which you consume each day, with the goal of fasting for 16-18 hours a day.
Intermittent fasting (IF) doesn’t restrict what foods you should eat. You eat what you want and what sounds good, but always best to be conscientious about what. Anyone should want to eat healthy and nutritious foods in order to feel their best. It teaches us when to eat and cycles periods of fasting with normal eating. Intermittent fasting isn’t about what you eat, it’s about when.
THIS IS WHY I LIKE IT
I like this approach because it’s super simple. Eat what you want, but just eat it within your window. It doesn’t require special foods, so you can do this anywhere. Second, I felt so much less inflammation in my body. The New England Journal of Medicine actually identified this as a health benefit. I have felt so much better in the morning when I wake up, than when eating late. My ideal window is from 12:00 – 6:00 or 7:00. Third, there is little to no bloating! And fourth, my digestive system works like clockwork when I eat this way.
IS INTERMITTENT FASTING FOR YOU
Intermittent fasting MAY NOT BE FOR YOU, and I’m only talking from my own experience! As I said in that first blog post HERE, it just seemed to make sense for me. I normally don’t get around to eating before noon anyway, and I’ve never loved eating late in the evening. So I really didn’t need to change much to make this work for me. There is so much more to learn about this way of eating, and I would encourage you to READ THIS BOOK and TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR!
I would love to know your thoughts and what works for you!
Shauna XO
Oh, boy, Shauna…you asked for our thoughts and I’ve got ’em!
I, too, followed the mantra of breakfast being the most important meal of the day. Several years ago I noted that although I would look forward to eating breakfast, I’d feel “off” afterwards. I tried changing what I ate, amounts, everything but it didn’t matter. I remember feeling full and thinking after eating breakfast, “I really didn’t need that”.
One evening while perusing youtube, I noticed a title in the side bar regarding IF. I thought, “Ugh, one more crazy new diet fad to screw people up”. I started to scroll on by but had to click on it to see what kind of nonsense this was. Needless to say, I came away with my mind blown. I began the next day. Coincidentally, that day I had a young man come to the house to do some steam cleaning. He arrived at 10 a.m. and finished at 3. I had noted that he hadn’t taken any breaks and when we were settling up I commented that he must be hungry. He said that he was beginning to feel hungry, that his last meal was 10 p.m. the night before and then went on to say he practices IF on the advice of a personal fitness coach. He said he’d always had difficulty not gaining weight in the winter in spite of working out regularly and his physically demanding job. His coach recommended IF and his weight had remained stable since.
Several months later I went in to see an M.D. who weaves conventional medicine with homeopathic practices. I’d seen him for bio-identical hormone therapy and would go in yearly for a check up. On this visit he noted my weight loss, we got on the subject of diet and, lo and behold, he and his wife also practice IF! At that time it wasn’t as popular as it is now so it was very exciting to meet a kindred spirit, and a medical professional no less who was a fan of IF. He listed off all the many health benefits of IF.
For me it wasn’t about wanting to lose weight but wanting to eliminate that full feeling after eating breakfast. I now eat my first meal about 10:30, a small snack around 2, and dinner anywhere from 4:30 -5:30. I don’t deny satisfying any urges but they come much fewer and farther between now.
Thanks for the enjoyable post, Shauna. Happy New Year!
Dawn!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE your input here, thank you so much! We all have to come to our own conclusion as to what makes us FEEL THE BEST! I’ve found too, that I’m not feeling that stuffed up feeling like I sometimes did before. I love going to bed with a tiny bit of hunger in my tummy. When I wake up I feel SO GOOD, and it’s much easier going to the gym. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience! Best wishes to you in your journey of IF! We’ll keep in touch! Happy New Year back! XO