Implementing intermittent fasting can by scary to some people. It doesn’t have to be. The Truth is that you can make it fit around your life. We all fast when we sleep, unless you are one of those oddballs that gets up in the middle of the night to eat regularly.
So, what holds people back from utilizing it? They may fear that not eating every 3 hours will slow their metabolism down. FAKE NEWS! They may be frightened that their blood sugar will drop way too far. The experience in my own life and many of my patients that use fasting is that their blood sugar becomes more stable over time. Fasting tends to improve the sensitivity to insulin (this is a good thing).
Digestive system complaints seem to disappear when you avoid any food for extended periods. By allowing this system to rest then it essentially cleans and resets itself. How many of you have gas, bloating, or pain on normal basis? It’s a challenge to have a social life with large amounts of rank-smelling flatulence. When your body does not have to devote energy to digesting food then it can heal the lining and improve the gut environment.
Making the fasting work for your life, requires you to analyze your current eating patterns/habits and your daily schedule. Sometimes just eating a later breakfast is a simply way to start. Instead of eating at 6 or 7 AM, than wait until 10 to eat breakfast. An alternative way, especially if you get home late and you are tired, is just to skip that late night dinner and hit the sack instead (fasting from lunch/afternoon until the next morning). My general recommendations for most patients is to slowly and progressively extend your first meal until later than normal. Start with one hour later than normal then 2 hours later after a few days or a week, then another hour after another week, etc. until you get to lunchtime or even later. My current schedule is fasting until around 2 PM. I stop eating at 6 PM. That gives me a fasting window of 20 hours and a feeding window of 4 hours. If I am going to eat poorly than I will shorten that feeding window to 1-2 hours only. I know that may sound nuts to some people, but that works for me. My weight stays stable and I am not dealing with cravings. It gives me a lot of flexibility and allows me to be more productive (I look for things to accomplish).
Doing a 24 hour fast (dinner one day to dinner the next day) 1-2 days per week can also be an effective way, as well. This plan became popular through Brad Pilon’s “Eat Stop Eat” plan. You fast 2 days per week if you want to lose weight and only 1 day per week if you are maintaining your weight.
If you need some additional counseling don’t hesitate to call us for an appointment at 713-722-2580. Our office, Alternative Health Management, is located at 12900 Queensbury Lane #201, Houston, Texas 77079. It is just south of Katy Freeway on the feeder of Beltway 8, across from the City Centre.
We, Drs. Paula and Robert Shane Howell, specialize in advanced nutritional therapy, Activator Methods chiropractic technique, and Neuroemotional Technique. We love to partner with people that want to take a proactive approach to their health and wellness.
