Have you heard of intermittent fasting?
It’s this new exciting approach to fat loss, better health and longevity.
OK, maybe it’s not new at all but it may be new to you and worth trying on for size.
Here’s 8 tips to make your fasting experience a huge success.
WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?
Without making it complicated, Intermittent Fasting consists of periods during which you would consume food combined with periods during which you would abstain from eating.
Simple….and easy for some, but not so easy for others.
The periods without food can range from a few hours to a couple days predicated by your goals, willpower and a myriad of other important factors such as stress, work schedule, pregnancy, & sleep.
WHO IS IT FOR?
Once you’ve become aware of Intermittent Fasting and begun contemplating a test run, the next question to answer will be “is it for me?”
The primary reason people switch to Intermittent Fasting is to shed some extra body fat more quickly than they’ve been able to currently.
Since Intermittent Fasting comes along with a restricted eating window, in general, people do lose some body fat as they are consuming less calories.
If your goal is the opposite, especially adding lean muscle mass, it can be more difficult for the same reason… eating more food in less time is challenging and Intermittent Fasting probably isn’t for you.
The one area that seems to be fairly solid is maintaining weight loss. It makes sense that consuming one or two less meals every day will be a convenient way to keep a leaner body mass over time.
There may be some longevity or other health benefits to fasting as well.
But more importantly, the unique benefits of fasting extend beyond weight loss. One study demonstrated that intermittent fasting was more successful in helping your body work better (measured by metabolic function) than long term dieting.
HOW DO YOU DO IT?
There’s plenty of ways to start testing out Intermittent Fasting.
12 / 12 – don’t eat for 12 hours followed by all food consumption compressed in the following 12-hour window.
16 / 8 – no food for 16 hours, 8 hour eating window.
5 / 2 – 5 days of normal eating and 2 days of restricted calorie intake.
Alternate days – alternate between eating normal and 24-hour fasting.
Weekly 24 – one day per week fast for 24 hours.
Skip meals – simply skip some meals with no set schedule.
MAKE YOUR FASTING EXPERIENCE A SUCCESS
There are some great online resources (check them out here, here, here, and here) to help you go deeper into Intermittent Fasting but here’s a short list of tips to help optimize your experience.
- Start small.
- Avoid the minutia. Focus on the principle.
- Give it time.
- Don’t make drastic changes.
- Move and be active.
- Avoid ending a fast with a feast.
- Stay hydrated.
- When you do eat, make it count.
Intermittent fasting may not be the perfect plan for everyone but for most, it is worth testing out.
Unless you’re currently under very elevated stress levels, pregnant or breastfeeding, there’s likely no reason you can’t find out for yourself if Intermittent Fasting will be a big hit or a miss.
Are you already trying Intermittent Fasting? What’s working for you? What have your challenges been?
Dr. Derek Gallant
Dr. Derek Gallant has committed himself to helping others live the best life possible. After graduating from Wesleyan University, he received his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from Life Chiropractic College West where he finished 2nd in his class. He is the owner of Beverly Family Chiropractic and co-founder of The Well Family Foundation. Dr. Gallant is certified through the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) in the Webster technique, an analysis focused on assisting pregnant women in a healthy pregnancy and natural birth. He has inspired thousands of people to take control of their own health using the Life By Design method. Apart from full time practice you can find Derek at the parks and coffee shops around Beverly with his family, training hard at the gym, or at the beach surfing.
