Intermittent Fasting A Complete Guide

May 12 – 10 minute read

 

HEALTHY BODY

I was recently researching intermittent fasting for a Youtube Hypnosis session on Intermittent fasting.  I had so many questions myself and figured a fair few of you might have them too so I put together this post all of the common Intermittent fast questions and answers, including all the links to the research I found and the Intermittent Fasting Hypnosis session on Youtube. Enjoy!

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting (IF) also known as intermittent energy restriction is an overarching term for a pattern of voluntary eating and fasting cycles of various meal timing schedules over a day or week.

How do you do intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting cycles generally fit into 3 methods, daily time-restricted feeding windows, periodic fasting and alternate-day fasting. Generally, you will hear the below terms made popular by books.

  • OMAD diet (One Meal a Day): generally one mean per day with an hour eating window or feeding window
  • Warrior Diet (20:4) fast for 20 hours eat during a 4-hour feeding window
  • 16:8: Also called the Leangains protocol method fast for 16 hours and eat your meals during the 8-hour window. This is the most popular as it’s the easiest because you are sleeping half do the fast window.
  • Eat Stop Eat: also known as the fast diet: once or twice a week you fast for 24 hours, for example, you eat dinner and then don’t eat anything again until dinner the next night
  • 5:2 Diet: this diet you chose two days per week that you only eat around 500-600 calories.
  • eTRF (early time-restricted feeding): eTRF is the practice of eating between 8 am and 2 pm. A 6-hour feeding window with extended fasting until 8 am the next day. There is very promising research for this method (see research section below)
  • Fast 800 Diet: this method was created by doctors and backed by research.  Basically it’s eating 800 calories a day or the 5:2 diet. Depending on what you want to achieve.

Can I do intermittent fasting for the rest of my life?

You could do intermittent fasting as a lifestyle choice if it suited you, studies support the long term benefits of Intermittent fasting. From what I read most people feel better with this lifestyle choice.  Not all people need to fast nor do you have to fast to lose weight or be healthy.  As with any lifestyle choice that choice is always yours. I know this doesn’t give you an answer but there are no right or wrong answers here.

Is it ok to intermittent fasting every day?

There are a large number of people who naturally fast every day with an incident and with intuitive eating.  Anything that restricts your lifestyle or your normal way of life in a way that you cant enjoy ‘normalness’ I would er on the side of no as it can leave you with all the negativeness we create within ourselves when we eventually don’t stick to it because that is going to happen.  So yes, it’s ok to intermittent fast every day to a degree but allows yourself not to at those times when life calls for it.

Why do people intermittent fast?

The main reason why most people fast these days is for weight loss and/or health. Fasting is part of our DNA, our cavemen didn’t sit around watching Netflix all day nor did they have access to dominos home delivery.  For the most part, they fasted for up to days at a time.  It’s one of the main reasons our bodies store fat in the first place.

Others may fast for religious reasons and at times people fasted because of famine or environment and others may fast while sick.

Intermittent Fasting Hypnosis

I created this intermittent fasting hypnosis that covers all the common struggles people have while fasting. Like Fear of hunger, feeling hungry, missing the ritual of eating, fasting while others are eating, dealing with people offering your food, social gatherings while fasting, eat healthy during your feeding window, mindful diet and lots more all while sleeping if you wish.

So it doesn’t matter If you are fasting with 16-8 diet, 20-4 diet, 5 2 diet weight loss, eat stop eat diet, eTRF, warrior diet, Leangains intermittent fasting, OMAD weight loss, Sleep hypnosis, weight loss intermittent fasting, fasting weight loss hypnosis, hypnosis for healthy eating, intermittent fasting hypnosis, weight loss intermittent fasting, mindful eating hypnosis, this weight loss sleep hypnosis session covers all of you.

Click the image below to watch now.

What can you eat on intermittent fasting?

Most health professionals or fasting experts suggest going for high fibre and high protein whole foods during your feeding window, no shocks here.  (Every time I say feeding window it conjures up visions of ravenous people during a feeding frenzy frantically eating everything in sight much like the Myer stocktake sales where goods are flung around and mums and nannas get into fisty cuffs over the 80% off table).

What can you eat to stop feeling hungry?

All the good stuff that nature makes – Fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, tofu, legumes, nuts, seeds, natural fats, drinking lots of water, herbal teas, black coffee or tea.

If you get hungry during your fast or finding it a struggle to hold out to the feeding zone, try:

  • drinking water with apple cider vinegar,
  • bulletproof coffee or bulletproof tea. Black coffee and tea or bulletproof coffee or tea don’t kick you out of your fast and both are hunger suppressants.
  • Putting salt on your wrist and licking it off, I’ve tried it and I don’t know why but it works!

Why am I getting cold while fasting?

Your body is getting cold because the fat that normally generates heat is turning into fat that is being burned for fuel.

During this process, your fat from White adipose tissue (belly fat) is taking on properties of visceral fat.

As this fat changes over it no longer has the ability to create heat. The body is probably trying to conserve heat around the organs (survival mode) thus making you feel cold in your extremities.

During Fasting Your body burns visceral fat SIX (6) times faster during fasting.

If you are not cold during fasting it doesn’t mean that you’re not burning fat.

If you have low levels of orexin, (Orexin is a neurotransmitter in the brain.) then you will feel colder than others, if your orexin is high or normal you probably won’t feel cold. I think I have no Orexin because I’m cold all the time!

So what do you do? apparently, drink hot drinks like coffee, wear socks and extra clothes.

Some say that you may not be eating enough calories.  This could also be true? I did test this out and ate more calories, it did help, but I’m still cold.

What happens to your body during fasting hour by hour Breakdown

Fasting Benefits Timeline

If you are interested in intermittent fasting You might also like this post -: Can Hypnosis Stop Emotional Eating? Click to read…

 

Why am I gaining weight on intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is just like any other diet or way of life, if you eat crap and loads of it during your eating window then you will gain weight.  Keep it simple, less crap, more nutrition and mind your calorie intake.

Also, live normally, try not to be rigid with it, as with any lifestyle change, the change is only as good as the one you CAN change for life.  If you cant go and have a piece of cake with friends or enjoy the food at a social gathering then you are more than likely not to continue for very long.

Is intermittent fasting healthy?

Intermittent fasting allows our body the chance to rest and clean out any build-up of food, toxins or bugs.  Ther are so many health benefits with the main gold star ones below;

  • Autophagy is a natural mechanism of a cell that removes damaged and dysfunctional cells when we fast it gives our cells the signal to start cell repair process clearing out damaged cells and generate new healthier cells
  • Insulin: some people may have developed insulin resistance due to life long battles with weight or other health issues. Intermittent fast helps improve insulin sensitivity because insulin drops dramatically during fasting thus making stored fast for accessible.
  • HGH human growth hormone levels can increase up to 5 times the normal amount. This hormone is what helps you lose fat and increase muscle.

How much weight can you lose in a month with intermittent fasting?

July 2016 research communication published in FASEB Journal Vol 20 explain that IF and CR reduced body weight with the major loss occurring during the first 2-3 weeks, followed by a slow and steady weight loss over the 16 week test period.

Intermittent fasting research

There is a lot of great research if you want to wade through it. I have listed a few that you might find interesting;

This review purpose was to identify research studies that provided high-quality evidence.

This review is of how intermittent fasting on the hippocampus and the ability of dietary restriction (DR) to protect neurons in animals models of severe epileptic seizures, stroke and neurodegenerative disorders.

This research journal is a good source of information on the health benefits of intermittent fasting, weight loss benefits of intermittent fasting with detailed analysis of during and after Intermittent fasting a calorie restriction.

The purpose of this investigation is to compare alternate day fasting vs calorie restriction for weight loss, weight maintenance and risk indicators.

This article is on an alternate day fasting and if this method is feasible for nonobese humans and whether it improves known biomarkers of longevity.

This Meta-analysis objective was to examine the effectiveness of IER for the treatment of overweight and obese adults.

The object of this review is to provide an overview of intermittent fasting regimens and summerise the evidence.

This article covers the evidence eating during a 6-hour window and fasting for 18 hours.

This clinical report highlights the effects of eTRF (early time-restricted feeding) between 8 am and 2 pm.  Very interesting reading!

Which intermittent fasting is the best?

The best intermitted fast method Is the one that fits with your lifestyle wants and needs.  In this 2018 study researchers explain that intermittent energy restriction (IER) methods including IMF intermittent fasting and TRF time restricting fasting over 9 out of 11 studies shows no difference between groups with relation to fat loss or body fat loss.  Meaning most Intermittent fasting methods work the same so choose one that suits you and that you believe can fit into your lifestyle on going.

Dangers of intermitted fasting

As with anything some people (listed below) should not fast or choose this lifestyle but always, I say ALWAYS consult your doctor before embarking on ANY dietary or lifestyle change.

  • Those with disordered eating
  • Lactating mothers
  • Pregnant
  • Type 1 diabetes
  • Underweight
  • You have high caloric needs
  • Children

What tools are available for intermittent fasting?

There are various apps for intermittent fasting below are just a few, have a little looksy and see which one suits you best;

  • Life fasting tracker
  • ZERO
  • Fast habit
  • Do Fasting
  • Fasten
  • Zero Calories Fasting Tracker
  • Fasting Tracker

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