Ok now that I’ve got your attention, what if I told you you could eat what you’re eating now and lose weight? Have you heard about intermittent fasting?
What is Intermittent Fasting ?
Intermittent fasting (or IF) is best described as squeezing your eating into a window of time and then fasting the rest of the day and evening. Do you sometimes skip breakfast? You may already be practicing IF. For instance if you have dinner at 7:00 pm, forego breakfast and don’t eat lunch till noon, you’ve already fasted for 17 hours. By doing this you’re essentially eating in a 7 hour window and fasting for the other 17. Of course you can vary your window to accommodate your lifestyle which is what makes this “diet” so appealing. Other methods include fasting every other day, only eating one meal a day, doing a 24 hour fast and skipping meals when it’s convenient. I’ve found the 7/17 or 8/16 hour eat/fast the easiest to incorporate.
Why would you try this?
Some of the benefits of IF include weight loss, increased energy, mental clarity, boosting metabolism, disease prevention and even increased lifespan. It may also drop insulin levels, increase human growth hormone and induce cellular repair. For a more in depth look click here: healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting In our hunter/gatherer age we ate like this all the time. Food wasn’t nearly as plentiful as it is today and our bodies are designed to do this. We haven’t yet evolved to burn calories by sitting at a desk all day and eat 3 meals plus snacks all day. IF is also a great way to be more mindful of what and how often you are eating.
Can I have coffee?
If you’re like me, you can’t even think about starting your day without it. So is it ok to have coffee or tea when practicing IF? Purists will say only if it’s black and that once you’ve added cream and sugar you’ve stopped your fast. However there is a way around this if you don’t like your coffee black. You can add coconut or MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil and even grass fed butter. This is called Bulletproof Coffee which Dave Asprey does a much better job of explaining than I do. If you’ve ever flown with me and wondered why I add butter and Four Sigmatic mushroom powder to my coffee, now you know 😉
In Summary
I’ve been practicing IF for probably about 2 years. I decided to write this post when I got stuck in New York at an airport hotel without a whole lot of food. It can be a great tool for travel and I’ve even read about passengers trying it on long-haul international flights. I haven’t tried this myself yet but plan to the next time I’m traveling internationally for fun instead of work. You all know how I hate airplane food! Next time you’re trying to decide what food to pack for your trip, think about skipping a meal and see how you feel! Have you tried IF? What was your experience? Comment below and let me know!
In Health,
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