Is Intermittent Fasting For You?

Right now, for many, losing weight is #1 on their list of New Years resolutions. And, right now, intermittent fasting is a ‘hot trend’ that many are looking at (or actually using) to lose weight. I myself have been intermittent fasting for almost 16 months and have had some incredible benefits, along with a few struggles.

First, what IS intermittent fasting?

(IF) is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It doesn’t specify which foods you should eat but rather when you should eat them. So it isn’t a diet, but more of an eating pattern. The two most common patterns are daily 16-hour fasts or fasting for 24 hours, twice per week. During the fasting periods, you eat either very little or nothing at all (the ‘clean’ version of fasting and the most effective).

These are the most popular methods:

The 16/8 method: Also called the Leangains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 12-8 pm. Then you fast for 16 hours in between. This is the method I have used successfully and many find the easiest out of the options.
Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.
The 5:2 plan: With this method, you consume only 500–600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days.

All of these methods involve a sort of calorie restriction (to a certain degree..though you could ‘make up’ the calories during your eating times…just not likely once you get into the groove) which can involve weight loss. I myself have lost over 20 pounds, though that wasn’t the reason I started IF. I started IF for the health benefits as recommended to me by my naturopathic doctor.

Health Benefits

When you fast, several things happen in your body on the cellular and molecular level. For example, your body adjusts hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible (you burn fat easier). Your cells also initiate important repair processes and change the expression of genes.

Here are some changes that occur in your body when you fast:

Human Growth Hormone (HGH): The levels of growth hormone skyrocket, increasing as much as 5-fold. This has benefits for fat loss and muscle gain, to name a few.
Insulin: Insulin sensitivity improves and levels of insulin drop dramatically. Lower insulin levels make stored body fat more accessible.
Cellular repair: When fasted, your cells initiate cellular repair processes. This includes autophagy, where cells digest and remove old and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells (this is HUGE).
Gene expression: There are changes in the function of genes related to longevity and protection against disease (live longer and healthier? yes please).

These changes in hormone levels, cell function and gene expression are considered the biggest benefits of IF and were the main reason I started doing it.

Here is something wonderful about IF: it costs you nothing. You don’t have to buy special foods, or books, or programs. AND you can eat WHAT YOU WANT. You are not denying yourself anything- merely delaying it. And something that is rarely mentioned: you actually save money (you are eating less meals).

Here is the biggest challenge: a ‘clean’ fast. During your period of fasting you need it to be 100% clean if you want the most benefits from it. That means water, coffee and tea only, with absolutely no added fat, artificial sweeteners or the like. No bone broth, no water with lemon, no flavored teas. No gum, no mints and nothing with calories, period. The goal is to deprive your body of anything that triggers insulin production, because an insulin-deprived body turns to fat stores for energy. Are you a coffee with cream drinker? That is one of the biggest hurdles for many- switching to black coffee (or tea) instead.

When I first started IF, I did it for almost 6 months at the recommendation of my naturopathic doctor and I HATED it. I remember starting it thinking, “wait, I WAKE up hungry, how is this gonna work?” and guess what? I was hangry, bitter and grumpy about it. After almost 6 months (which I did lose lots of weight and was seeing other benefits occurring) I stopped doing it because I was ‘always hungry’. Fast forward a couple months later and I am with my psychiatrist reviewing brain scans that were done. One of the first things he says is, ‘we recommend for optimum brain health to consider intermittent fasting’. WHAT?! Again I am being told to do this?

This is when I learned that IF also supports the survival and growth of neurons in our brains.

Know your why before you try

It was after this that I really sat down and studied my WHY. What did I want to achieve? Optimal health. What was something that kept coming up for this? Intermittent fasting.

My second round with IF is amazing. It has been almost a year now of consistent IF, with the right attitude and a clear WHY and several things have happened:

it is now EASY to follow and I am no longer hungry during my fast times (or if I am, it is easier to ignore)
I have seen vast improvement in energy & focus
as mentioned; I have lost over 20 pounds

What about breakfast being the most important meal?

The question that I do get asked a lot is: “but isn’t breakfast the most important meal?” Yes, it is. Though the time matters not. Breaking your fast (aka breakfast…aka your first meal of the day) is the most important meal as it sets the tone for the rest of your day till you fast again. Whether breakfast is at 7am or 12pm, it is important that you start your eating pattern with great nutritious foods and trust me, as you get into the groove of IF you will actually crave good foods.

Could it be for you?

I do want to note…with IF I eat what I want. I am not low carb or calorie counting and I eat a dessert almost everyday. I also eat whole, real foods (most of the time) and somehow with IF this became something my body actually craves. So can you eat what you want with IF? Yes. But I bet you will also wanna eat real, wholesome foods too and when you do, you will feel and see the greatest impact ever…if IF is for you. It isn’t for everyone as it requires some serious self control to get kickstarted with the right mindset and a solid WHY.

I would love to hear what you think and if you have tried it?