Fasting. The second most people hear the word "Fast" in regards to food they freak out and say, "No way I could do that." We live in a culture that says you're hungry (or you THINK you're hungry) - EAT.
But amazing results can come through fasting. And there are all different ways to fast. Fasting doesn't always mean nothing but water all day. Sometimes fasting is only eating certain hours of the day. Sometimes it's only eating limited calories every other day or 2 days a week. My point is there are options to all day fasting which will still produce great results.
Recently, I listened to a talk given by Dr. John Berardi, of Precision Nutrition. He outlined these amazing benefits of fasting:
Reduced
1. Blood lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides)
2. Blood pressure
3. Inflammation (CRP, IL-6, TNF, BDNF - linked to alzheimers)
4. Oxidative stress
5. Risk of Cancer
Increased
1. Cell turnover and repair
2. Fat burning (fatty acid oxidation later in the fast)
3. Growth hormone (longer fast goes (24-36hr+ 500% increase)
4. Metabolic Rate
5. Mental clarity
Currently, I am following an intermittent fasting program where I stop eating 3 hours before bed and don't eat again until after my workout (which is close to 11:30am most days). On my rest days I often won't eat until after noon. At first it was hard. I'll admit it. But after a day or two I found that my hungry "pains" passed fairly easily after drinking a glass of water. I've lost a few nagging pounds. I can see my ab muscles just a bit better. And in a few months I'll retest my blood to see what benefits have been had in that area.
So, give it a try. Not sure how to proceed with an intermittent fast. Want to talk more about your options? Give me a call. I'd love to help.
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