diving into intermittent fasting

You’ve likely heard of Intermittent Fasting (IF), but you might now know much about it. What is it? What are the benefits? How long do you fast? I want to address all of these questions, as well as add some of my own personal experiences with it.

IF is a way of eating, not a diet. IF is when you establish specific windows of feasting and fasting (i.e. not eating). The feasting window is shorter than the fasting window; in some cases, it is half the time of the fasting window.

Intermittent Fasting has been shown to have a positive impact on insulin resistance, and can lead to reductions in blood sugar levels. IF has also been shown to improve a number of risk factors in heart disease patients such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglycerides.

Here are a few examples of how clients implement IF into their daily routine are as follows:

• Fasting for 16 hours, eating for 8 hours. Specifically, fasting between 5p-9a, and eating between 9a-5p.
• Others choose a 6-hour feeding window, or even a 4-hour feeding window.
• My personal recommendation is to fast for 16 hours, and set your eating window for 8 hours.

I personally have seen great things come out of intermittent fasting. Initially it was a intimidating idea--to not eat for 16 hours. But once I started doing it, I learned a lot about my eating patterns. My fasting window is from 5p-9a. I have always had one time of day that I am the hungriest, at 3p. Once I started intermittent fasting, my food fell in line with what my body wanted. Now I fuel my body at the right time of day to drive my performance. I am on the go for the most of my feasting window, so grab-and-go foods are a must. I also work a couple evenings out of the week, so I have to be strategic with my schedule.

I hope this helps in understanding IF. If you are looking for more guidance, contact me for your free 15-minute consultation!

Blessings,

MacKenzie