What is Intermittent Fasting?
It is not easy to talk about fasting because we have learned to be afraid of food restrictions ... It is undoubtedly the case for a very large number of people, our older generation for example, who lived through wars, might think that this practice of food restriction is ridiculous and dangerous for our health … In reality, it is far from the truth!
On the contrary, a very large number of studies now a day highlight the incredible therapeutic and purifying virtues of fasting. Weight loss, improvement of certain chronic diseases, improvement of cognitive faculties, cleaning of the digestive system and an overall purging of our body; the benefits of fasting are innumerable!
Furthermore, fasting is a millennial therapy present in many teachings and spiritual movements as well as in a very large number of traditional medicines throughout the world. One simple reason is that it is one of the best ways to purify the body and mind.
Long forgotten, fasting is back in fashion and more and more people are becoming adepts at intermittent fasting for maintaining their health and vitality.
So let me tell you more specifically about the benefits of intermittent fasting.
Intermittent Fasting, what is it?
Intermittent fasting is like “part time” eating!
Instead of staying days without eating (the traditional fasting) we are going to ALTERNATE fasting periods with normal food intake periods during a 24-hour day.
Intermittent Fasting options!
The 16/8 method (also 17/7, 18/6, 19/5 etc.) involves daily fasts of 16 hours. Each day you’ll restrict your eating to an 8 or less hours “eating window” where you can fit in 2, 3, or more meals.
The 5:2 diet involves eating 500-600 calories for two days out of the week and eating normally the other 5 days.
Eat-Stop-Eat is an intermittent fasting program with one or two 24-hour fasts per week.
Alternate-day fasting means fasting every other day, either by not eating anything or only eating a few hundred calories.
The Warrior Diet is about eating only small amounts of vegetables and fruits during the day and eating one huge meal at night.
OMAD or One Meal A Day diet is just as it says, you fast for 23 hours and eat in the same 1-hour window each day. It's recommended you consume your one meal after your most active part of the day.
Another more "natural" way to do intermittent fasting is to simply skip one or two meals when you don't feel hungry or don't have time to eat.
Keep in mind that the longer the fasting period, the more effective the intermittent fasting will be.
Although intermittent fasting is a simplified version of traditional water fasting, it will not necessarily be an easy walk for everyone ...
Eating as soon as you wake up is a bad habit!
The main challenge for the fasting apprentice will be to NOT eat in the morning!
Indeed it can be very hard not to eat in the morning, especially for people who are not used to skip breakfast.
A few minutes after waking up we often find ourselves with that damn painful belly that growls and that we very often associate (wrongly) with a sign of hunger.
In reality this is a natural signal from your body that shows you that your digestive system is in full purge.
This is precisely the goal of intermittent fasting! If you are in pain it is a good sign, it means that your body has work to do!
Fortunately, after a while on an intermittent fasting routine, the grunting of your belly will stop completely in the morning and you will be able to do without food with no difficulty.
Once your body gets used to you practicing intermittent fasting; this need for food in the morning will simply disappear.
Besides, did you know that eating early in the morning is not something natural for humans?
Hard to believe, but eating as soon as you wake up is actually a bad habit!
When we take a step back we realize that intermittent fasting actually replicates the way our ancestors fed (ancestors of the Palaeolithic mainly).
In those days they did not have a fridge on hand and they had to look for food in their environment before they could eat much later in the morning. Our bodies have been genetically programmed to function this way.
It was not until much later, alongside the development of the modern industry, clock radios and early morning work, that breakfast was introduced to provide the energy and stimulation necessary to make the worker more productive. What could be better than a croissant and a coffee to start your day … right?
In France, where I come from, Lunch is called “Déjeuner” (which literally means “stop fasting”) and it is traditionally a meal taken around noon, not on waking up.
It was only later that the “Petit-Déjeuner” (breakfast for the English speakers) appeared and quickly became the most important meal (culturally), while for our body (physiologically) this meal does not make sense, especially if it is composed of sugary juices, cereals and pastries!
So why is intermittent fasting so good for our health?
Intermittent fasting is for everyone: men and women, young (but not children under 18) and old, people with big health problems (medically supervised), but also people who just want to stay healthy and in shape.
Seriously, the practice of fasting is one of the best therapies that exist to prevent a very large number of pathologies and many believe it should be part of our lifestyle. When you are sick, often the last thing you want to do is eat, you generally just want to rest and subconsciously let the body do its healing.
There is one primary thing that you need to understand; when you fast your body systematically goes into cleansing and repair mode.
Fasting is the ON button for your body's reboot. It is completely free and accessible to all at any time and can set in motion the law of homeostasis.
The Law of Homeostasis: The principles of self-healing of the human body!
This great law that governs nature tells us that:
“Any system left to itself in the absence of external disturbance returns spontaneously after a certain time to its state of stability, balance, or equilibrium (which is a state of full health, joy, and abundance) through multiple regulatory processes.”
In short, when our body is no longer constantly in full digestion, it becomes able to mobilize its vital energy to activate the self-healing capacities necessary for its cleansing and repairing.
Eating too much tires and prevents self-healing capacity of our body, and eating constantly pumps out too much energy for the body to do its work efficiently and for it to activate the regenerative forces of homeostasis!
Did you know that digestion uses more than 30% of our energy resources and that some foods even require several hours to be fully digested? Have you ever wondered why you often feel tired after a large meal?
The foods we eat are also responsible for the release of large amounts of toxic by-products, wastes and unusable materials that the body’s detoxification organs have to deal with (especially if we eat unhealthy foods). Those byproducts can also cause serious levels of inflammation in our body because our immune system is constantly on the defensive.
List of beneficial effects of intermittent fasting!
The benefits of intermittent fasting are many, and aim to purify the whole body and improve all of its functions. Here is a small non-exhaustive list of the effects of intermittent fasting:
Improves weight and satiety regulation
Decreases inflammation
Improves cognitive functions
Slows aging of the brain
Has positive effects on bad cholesterol levels in the blood
Reduces insulin production and regulates fat and sugar storage in the body
Stimulates secretion of growth hormone
Promotes cell regeneration
Cleans the body and stimulates autophagy or self-cleaning function of the body within its own cells
Reduces cell oxidation and premature aging of cells
Prevents overweight and reduces risks of certain associated pathologies: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc.
Intermittent fasting: a very good way to lose weight!
Intermittent fasting is also a very good way to regulate your weight by eliminating excess fat, the reason is simple; when you fast, you no longer provide enough glucose (sugars) to your body, this is normal since you no longer eat….
The body then finds itself in a state of stress and will come to draw on its own reserve of glucose for a while then will switch to fat tissues to provide the body with the energy it needs.
Furthermore, researchers at Intermountain Medical Center (Murray) Utah have shown that fasting will cause a significant increase in the level of growth hormone (GH) secreted by our bodies.
This GH is a hormone called "fat burner", it also helps protect muscle mass and regulate blood glucose and various other hormones.
Intermittent fasting will therefore be very useful if you want to accelerate your fat loss.
Start your intermittent fasting routine: The 3 steps!
Step 1 - Choose your type of intermittent fasting
To start your intermittent fasting, you must first choose your fasting method as we saw above.
16–8, 5:2, OMAD, etc.
If you are a beginner I advise you to start with the version 16-8 which is the easiest, but nothing prevents you from testing something stronger after a while if you want more results.
Remember that the longer the fasting period, the greater the health benefits.
Step 2 - choose how many days you want to fast
There is not really a rule, it will depend on your motivation, your tolerance for fasting and your professional / family constraints.
You can start by devoting 1 day of your week to intermittent fasting and then gradually increase by going to 2, 3, 4, etc.
Some people practice this lifestyle every day of the year (or almost).
Others organize one or more weeks in the spring or at other times of the year.
You can also do it over a weekend to cleanse yourself of the week's mishaps in terms of bad dieting.
Step 3 - What should you eat?
During the feeding phases: you eat as you usually do and especially when you are hungry! There are no changes at this level, but since you generally will be reducing your overall calories, make them count and eat healthily by avoiding foods that provide a lot of calories without much nutritional value such as processed carbohydrate-based desserts, cakes, cookies, biscuits, donuts, muffins, granola bars, and upload on nutrient-dense foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients important for health.
Furthermore, if opting for a lengthy fast of 24 hours of more, the only precaution concerns the first meal of the day which comes to break the fast, avoid foods that are too heavy to digest such as processes foods, meats and dairy products ... Start instead with vegetables (preferably cooked) and fruits (unless you are doing Keto but that is for another blog).
During the fasting phases: Remember to drink plenty of water, and you can also prepare plant infusions that support detox organs.
Finally - My personal tips
The phases of fasting are good periods to refocusing on oneself. To facilitate the regenerative work of the body, it is preferable to find yourself in a calm and serene environment, without stressors.
I personally like to give myself time to do gentle exercises such as yoga or a nature walk, mindfulness meditations, read a good books or listening to music.
If due to work commitments you cannot allow yourself these moments of peace, its ok, just be careful not to put yourself in a big state of stress at work.
Above all, trust the process and enjoy the journey!
If you enjoyed this article, you might enjoy these too!
