Intermittent Fasting Benefits & My Personal Experience

Intermittent Fasting Benefits & My Personal Experience

Intermittent Fasting is ALL the health and fitness rage, well that and Keto. It’s interesting to watch these trends/fads/tips come and go and while some are amazing, some aren’t.

But ya know me… I can’t help myself when it comes to trying things and sharing my own experience.

P.S. I do love the keto diet, and although I do not follow it 100% to the T, I do have a higher fat diet, but I love my carbs and they love me.

So when I heard fasting was all the rage, I was thinking to myself, ‘who the HELL wants to go without eating?’ because really, who does?!

But then I read up on it, watched some videos from some Fitness Youtubers I like, and figured it may be worth a shot.

Except I didn’t do it right away because the thought of fasting literally has ‘hell no’ written all over it, plus I’m #CrabbyAbby when it comes to not eating on schedule.

However, one really busy Tuesday came up. I went to the gym (I don’t usually eat before the gym), had to quickly come back and get a few things done for my biz, then get ready and head out to my dress fitting for the upcoming wedding. By the time I was done and could eat, it was close to 12:30/1pm in the afternoon.

So I intermittent fasted without even knowing it. And you know what? It wasn’t THAT bad. So I figured that the best way for me to fast was on busy mornings that I wouldn’t pay attention to food and something I could do a few times a week to help burn some stubborn fat that wasn’t moving as quickly as I’d like.

So for about one week, I did IF {short for Intermittent Fasting} 3x a week, then the NEXT week I did it about 4x and then the following 3rd week, I did it everyday.

First things first. IF is great if you do it a few times a week. IF SUCKS when you do it everyday. At least for me. But my fiance would beg to differ. He does it almost everyday till about 11am or 12 and Lord only knows how he does because I’d lose my shit.

So what IS Intermittent Fasting and HOW does it Benefit us?

Intermittent Fasting is basically NOT eating anything for a span of anywhere from 10-16 hours (anything LESS than that is basically going to bed, sleeping 8 hours then getting up to eat and anything MORE than that is just crazy, although some people do like fasting for a full 24 hours or doing fasts for spiritual/religious purposes).

WHY do it? Well there are a host of beneficial reasons, and tons of scientific nerdy reasons to do it (which I LOVE reading about because I’m all about the interesting facts), but in a nutshell it REALLY improves a few things:

1. Cognitive function – aka thinking more clearly. Strangely enough, when you fast and get past the initial ‘Im FUNGRY’ thoughts floating through your head, you start to actually tap into what I refer to as your 2nd wind. This is a whole new level of mental energy, stamina and clarity that usually gets muted when you eat a carb heavy diet or processed diet. Plus you also SLEEP better when your body has less to digest and break down. Huh, go figure. However, I will NOT go to bed hungry if I can help it. So my last meal of the day is usually around 7:30/8pm and I’m usually going to bed between 9-10pm. MORE on Brain Health and Fasting HERE!
2. Digestive Break – When your body doesn’t have to digest food, your giving your organs and digestive system a break. Eating every few hours IS a lot of work for your body and takes time. If you eat every 2-3 hours like I usually do, this is a nice way to ease up on the gas pedal and let your digestive system rest.
3. Burning Stubborn Fat/Hormone Balance – Most of our body’s metabolism runs off carbs because we eat a higher carb diet here in America. However, when you aren’t running off glycogen (aka carbs), your metabolism turns to stored fat as fuel for a period of time, called Ketosis. During IF your body will used stored fat to help you sustain everyday functioning. However, a warning of caution here.. those who DON’T EAT ENOUGH and fast TOO long, heed this information – your body will start to eat muscle tissue because it sees fat as a more important source for stored fuel for when it feels at risk of deprivation. So don’t go crazy with fasting and remember eating is good!

Now in my opinion, when you come out of a fast, its IDEAL to have healthy fats like avocado, eggs, butter, coconut oil, chia seeds, etc. paired with protein and a complex carb source; something like an apple or sprouted grain piece of toast with a nut butter.

The supplements I use when I do intermittent fasting is:

1. Metabolic One – all natural metabolic booster aka natures fat burner
2. Adapt – Moomiyo supplement ideal before workouts
3. Aminos – great for muscle support and recovery
4. Greens – I love the supplement company I’ve partnered with for their high quality control, and high standard of ingredients.
5. And if I’m seriously suppppper hungry and need something to just get me to 10am, I will do a super healthy protein shake and do my best to hold off on solid food.

Here’s a cute little guide to help you stay accountable and visualize the step by step on how to your own IF journey! download it now, click here

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