If you're new to intermittent fasting, you're in the right place. One of my mentors told me that if you want to look smart, make sure the things you're teaching are really complex. On the other hand, if. you want to help people, make sure the things you're teaching are really simple.
While the topic of intermittent fasting is both wide and deep, my goal for today is to keep things simple enough that those who want to try it will be empowered to do so.
Keeping things simple, the most basic definition of intermittent fasting is: not eating.
It's not starving. You're just omitting frequent meals. A lot of times people complicate it. They want to know, "can I have my supplements?" Yes. "Can I have my tea?" Yes, you can have your tea. "Can I drink water?" Yes, you can drink water. "Can I drink coffee?" Yes, you can drink coffee.
But the honest truth is, most health coaches say yes to these things because of some odd pressure to do so. True fasting is no food or water for a period of time. Intermittent fasting however can be done with no food and just water.
The biggest idea about intermittent fasting that simplifies the entire process is to let your body dictate when to eat, and also how long you're going to go without eating. That means the time may very because you only want to eat when you're hungry, and not eat when you're not hungry.
It sounds simple, but let me explain what I mean by that. At the first hint of a slight hunger, most people start eating. That's not what we're talking about.
Take the morning for example. We all have a hormonal spike of adrenal cortisol, that will make you feel hungry, but it quickly passes if you choose not to eat something, and then you're not hungry. So you ignore slight hunger feelings.
What you're looking for is a strong hunger (stomach pains, lightheaded, weak, grouchy). These feelings mean it's time to eat. Especially when you first begin intermittent fasting - you'll feel fine, but then immediately you'll these symptoms. And that's just a blood sugar crash. And there will be a transition period of you getting used to this.
The good news is, the more and more you do this, the more you're going to go from sugar burning to fat burning more efficiently. That transition takes time though, so be patient with yourself.
Another factor to consider is the estimation of time it takes to really get into this hard core so you're fully in ketosis, where it's comfortable, you're experiencing cognitive benefits, you feel focused, you have concentration, your memory is improved, you can actually learn faster - all these things happen over time.
Realistically, for some people this process could take 3-4 months. This is inline with the amount of time it might take to begin to see weight loss in the mid-section. Remember, you're entire life you've been eating one way. And since our bodies are designed to achieve homeostasis, a sudden change in diet doesn't always mean sudden results. Our bodies can be a little sluggish, and the results often lag.
Know that it takes some time and go into this for the long haul. Give it time. 6 months from now you will thank yourself for starting today, and recognizing that this process is a marathon, not a sprint. Go ahead and set your spikes down and lace up those jogging shoes.
The first step in your intermittent fasting journey is to lower your carbs. That's automatically going to start helping you feel less hungry so that you can go longer between eating.
Start simple. By removing carbs, our first benchmark is to simply be able to eat 3 meals in the day with out snacking in between meals.
It's really important to add enough fat and vegetables to make it from one meal to the next. One mistake I often see is that people try to do intermittent fasting with out consuming enough vegetables. You need vegetables because of the potassium, magnesium, and other vitamins and minerals that help lower insulin and heal insulin resistance, as well as the fiber that heals your gut.
The combination of good fat and vegetables is going to help you go from one meal to the next. Then it's a process of learning to listen to your body, and let it dictate when to eat. Eventually you'll be able to skip your breakfast which will put you at 2 meals per day.
Once you've been there for a while, you start to slowly squish those meals together. Let your body tell you when to do it. And eventually those two meals get down to just a single meal a day. That may sound crazy to some of you, but a lot of people are doing this. And they didn't go from 3 meals with snacks inbetween meals on one day to just a single meal a day the next day.
This is a process and it takes time; different time for each person.
On this site you'll see other blog posts that include my recommendation for a natural supplement that can aid in suppressing appetite by adjusting your leptin to balanced levels. This is a simple veggie capsule taken daily that does not break your fast.
Another huge aid while intermittent fasting is just keeping yourself busy. There's nothing worse than sitting at home in front of the tv or computer and just watching the clock, wondering, "when am I going to eat again?"
Get out of the house. Go somewhere. Find activities that can occupy your thoughts and time but don't just sit at home.
Sea salt is also very important. When you're drinking water but not consuming sodium, you can actually dehydrate your body. This can result in lacking the amount of minerals you need to be able to draw on while you're fasting. The way you know you're having enough sea salt is that you're not having headaches, you're not feeling weak muscles, you're feeling strong. Try shooting for a single teaspoon per day.
Another fabulous aid in the intermittent fasting process are electrolytes for potassium, magnesium, calcium, etc. Electrolytes will help you have energy while fasting.
Lastly, convince a friend or family member to intermittent fast with you. Most journeys are more enjoyable when you have companions join you.
You don't really know when you're going to eat because you're going to go as long as you can until you're hungry. Bring your food with you so that you're prepared for when you get hungry. You don't want to get hungry and realize that you're out of food.
Have your food available so you can eat the correct food when true hunger strikes. Hopefully this post helps simplify intermittent fasting and gives you a clear view of how you can begin doing it today.
If you liked this post and would like to learn more about intermittent fasting in successive posts, let me know in the comments section below. There's so much more to share on the topic for those who want to dive deep into it.
❤️ Hope Williams
