So what is intermittent fasting anyway? There are many different theories when it comes to fasting. Skipping one meal per day, night time fasting, one day per week, day on/day off...the information can be a bit overwhelming. I have personally found a fasting regimen that works incredibly well for my body, and is a breeze for me to stick to. My decision was to "go big or go home" and start fasting with my transition to keto living. Again, this was based on health concerns for me. As with any change in eating or nutrition, a doctors visit to discuss the benefits vs risks for your body is always recommended, this article is based solely on the information that helped me find my own personal benefits!
As you can see, intermittent fasting has immense body benefits and my desire to research the method came from a video that came up on my Youtube feed "out of the blue". I took notice and I am so glad that I watched and absorbed the information that it contained. The video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgMwL6Y--HU, by Subah Jain (who I think is amazing!). The video, entitled, "Take Out the Toxins From Your Body", is incredibly informative and really opens your eyes as to how long our system takes to digest and process foods, especially processed foods! It started my quest to find out more, and boy did I ever. Fasting is healing for the entire digestive system, for your brain and helps with anti-aging, along with a plethora of other benefits! As someone with massive liver, kidney and gallbladder issues, this solidified that I needed to try it and see if I saw any benefits.
Now into my keto and intermittent fasting plan for over one month, I see drastic differences in my body and not just in weight (though this is an excellent perk and I am down many inches and about 20 lbs). My bowels have never worked this well in my entire life span and they work without any supplements or aids. My energy is increasing more and more every day and the best of the benefits (I attribute to keto and fasting combined) is that I have not had any gallbladder pain, indigestion, acid reflux or heartburn for weeks now. This, for me, was chronic and severe every single day for months on end! Fasting and keto have even enabled me to eat my "trigger foods" again! WOW, is all that I can say!
So, how do you decide how to begin an intermittent fasting regime? Again, I cannot stress enough a discussion with your doctor as this will ensure that you are doing what you need for your own body. I, myself, use the 8/16 hour method as seen in the chart below. As someone who has struggled with weight and some hefty eating disorders over the course of my lifetime, it made the most sense to me as my body deals very negatively with deprivation of any kind, as does my psyche. Many old patterns and habits surface when I begin anything that tells my mind and body that I am going to deprive it in any way. I also find it easier to "sleep it off", as most of the fasting hours end up being when I am sleeping. The biggest hurdle was for a devoted snacker to eliminate the urge to eat in the evenings but once I did, it was a breeze to stick to it. I suggest a LOT of water!
Intermittent fasting will be a lifestyle for me for the long term and it has helped me to balance the restrictions of keto eating, giving me a more condensed time period to accumulate the proper macros for my body. I cannot wait to see what the next few months brings with this incredible method and my new found passion for keto!
Comments