Intermittent Fasting
We have all heard many different views on ‘Intermittent Fasting’ as it is widely publicised and spoken about in the media, news, online and amongst health experts and nutritionists. However what do we really know about this type of fasting and does it a) really benefit us b) is it suitable for everyone?
Well I’m here to share my thoughts about it and my personal experience.
What is ‘Intermittent Fasting’?
Intermittent fasting, also known as intermittent energy restriction, is an umbrella term for various meal timing schedules that cycle between voluntary fasting and non-fasting over a given period.
Methods of intermittent fasting include alternate-day fasting, periodic fasting, and daily time-restricted feeding.
These are some of the most common types of fasting:
The 16/8 method: Also called the Lean-gains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 1–9 p.m. Then you fast for 16 hours in between.
Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.
The 5:2 diet: With this method, you consume only 500–600 calories on two nonconsecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days.
By reducing your calorie intake, all of these methods should cause weight loss as long as you don’t compensate by eating much more during the eating periods.
Many people find the 16/8 method to be the simplest, most sustainable and easiest to stick to. It’s also the most popular hence I decided to give it a go.
As many of you will know, I spent 6 weeks away in the States visiting family over the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year period and returned first week of 2022. Taking stock of some of the goals I wanted to meet throughout 2022, one was improving my health through nutrition, healthy eating, avoiding processed foods and increasing my movement to benefit my long standing back and hip problems.
Therefore, I decided to give the 16:8 regime a go and here is what I found.
Over the past 2 weeks (having started 16:8 on the 11th January 2022) I have been sharing with you my meals & snacks on social media.
What did I find out?
✅You don't go hungry
✅Planning is key to eating at the right times of day and the right meals
✅Ensure you have healthy snacks to hand
✅Drink lots of water throughout the day and break it up with some of your favourite herbal teas
✅Weight loss = 4 kgs in 2 weeks (bonus)
This is, by no means, a quick weight loss program.
The 16:8, for me, was about giving the body some time out to rest, restore, recharge and clean out the gut whilst not overworking processing food, and giving the mind a break from overthinking what to eat (3...4....5... meals in a day and when). Because you are planning ahead (hopefully), you know exactly what meals you have planned to cook and eat and when therefore taking the stress of last minute digging around for food!
As you will see from my social media, I shared the meals I enjoyed as well as some of the snacks and even managed to get out and about to enjoy meals out as well as ordering sushi in! So you DON’T go without and this new regime does accommodate your social life, however quiet or busy it may be!
The 16:8 helps get you into a routine, so whenever your 8 hour eating period is, stick to that for the duration of the time you wish to pursue this regime.
For me, my timings were primarily between 11am and 7pm which fit in perfectly to my life style.
If you struggle, when you wake up, have a large glass of warm water (add a squeeze of lemon juice if you wish) and then follow through with a fresh celery juice (adding in an inch of fresh ginger for anti-inflammatory) and then after an hour or so, enjoy a black cup of coffee/tea/herbal tea.
This keeps you nicely full of good liquids until you get to enjoying your first meal of the day, be it breakfast, brunch or lunch. The choice is yours.
After about 3/4 hours, enjoy a healthy snack if you wish, making sure to keep the body hydrated throughout the day.
Towards the end of your 8 hour eating period, enjoy your last meal of the day (dinner) and try not to drink anything within an hour of bed time (limits the number of times you need to rush to the loo) :)
CONCLUSION
All in all, it was a great success for me (lost 4 kgs) and I will be sure to continue with this as I have seen the benefits and it certainly does suit my lifestyle to eat in this way and when you do stick to the 8 hour period for eating, planning is key and takes away the mental overload of what to eat, when!
Check out the Vegan Life Magazine April 2022 edition where I will be sharing more of my experience with the 16:8 fast and the benefits of such regimes as well as some delicious recipes.
If you would like any additional information or support along your ‘health & wellbeing’ journey,
then please get in touch to see what ways I can assist you .
