Intermittent Fasting...
Break the Fast? - or - No Breakfast?
Intermittent fasting is a pattern of eating that alternates between periods of fasting and periods of feeding/eating. There is evidence that fasting is beneficial for health and longevity.
What is Intermittent Fasting all about?
Fasting, in general, triggers the activation of processes that promote health, keep diseases at bay, and hold out the promise of a longer, more vibrant life.
From research and personal experience fasting is indeed an effective way to drop unwanted pounds.
Intermittent fasting implies, to stop food intake for at least 12-20 hours in a day, at least one or two days each week – up to making it a daily practice.
Water and unsweetened, non-caloric beverages are allowed during the fasting periods.
How does Intermittent Fasting (and Fasting in general) work?
In this video, Dr Jason Fung explains what how fasting works. It is scientific and yet simple to understand.
On Dr. Fang's blog you will a FREE video course:
Learn intermittent fasting – the video course!
Intermittent Fasting Benefits
IMPROVED
- mental clarity
- appetite control
- blood sugar control
- cardiovascular function
- neuro-genesis and neuronal plasticity
REDUCED
- blood lipids
- blood pressure
- inflammation
- oxidative stress
- risk of cancer
INCREASED
- cellular turnover and repair
- fat burning
- growth hormone
- metabolic rate (energy)
Fasting Tips - Getting Started
Fasting is not hard to do or unpleasant. Once you get passed the first few times you actually do it... You will experience some periods of uneasiness, but you may be astonished at how great you’ll feel most of the time while you are fasting.
Here are practical suggestions to help you get through the transition:
1. Start with a mini-fast. How long do you go between meals without eating? Two hours? Five hours? Start there and try to increase it by an hour every day.
Walk before you run…
A very common mistake, many people make, when embarking on fasting, is to go straightaway from a typical pattern of 3-6 meals per day with snacks, to a day-long fast. Of course it can be done, but it may feel like deprivation and suffering.
2. Schedule your fasts. Intermittent fasting works best when you are in charge of of the timing. You can start your fast spontaneously, but make sure you determine exactly when you'll break the fast, and eat.
That really frees you from thinking about food and making choices, because you know that at 5 p.m. (for example) you’ll have your next meal.
3. Savor flavored calorie-free beverages. To satisfy your need for flavor, enjoy herb teas. Don’t add any sugar or artificial sweeteners, since these can induce an insulin response, which will shut down fat burning.
4. Smell something aromatic while fasting. This is an old aromatherapy trick to turn off your appetite, but it has a scientific basis. A strong aroma from herbs, spices, flowers or perfumes can rapidly diminish a craving by saturating the cephalic phase insulin response.
5. Drink water frequently. Drinking tends to suppress hunger, and it keeps you hydrated.
6. Exercise briefly when hungry or tired. Exercise is a great way to fight cravings, tiredness or mental fog. It works incredibly well! Walking around for 5-15 minutes at a brisk pace is good enough, particularly if you can elevate your heart rate a bit.
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