Intermittent Fasting

Keto

When I started getting into the keto diet, I quickly learned that people were doing this crazy thing called intermittent fasting.  It took me a while to come around to the idea, but recently I've started doing a lot more fasting!

I'm finding that it's helping me be more aware of why I'm eating (usually boredom), and scale back the sheer volume of food I'm consuming.  So why is fasting so popular among keto-ers?  


When we're eating keto, our bodies go into a state of ketosis... Turns out the benefits of fasting are generally due to this same state of ketosis, although it's induced by restriction of food rather than choice of food.  So intermittent fasting can be seen as an extension of a keto diet in some ways.  

In my experience, being on the keto diet reduces my hunger / cravings, so it makes sense that fasting would be easier if my body were already keto adapted.  While fasting in general doesn't specify which foods you can eat during your eating window, I stick to keto-friendly foods so that I keep my body in ketosis even when I'm not fasting.  The main point of fasting is to have a planned and structured approach to timing your meals.  

Benefits

There are many benefits to fasting.  Fasting reduces blood glucose and insulin levels.  It encourages fat burning since you're in ketosis and using fat for energy rather than carbs.  Many people also report mental clarity and improved energy.  Further, studies have shown improvements in cholesterol and metabolic health. 

Types of Fasting

Intermittent Fasting covers a wide range of meal schedules.  Here are a few that you might most commonly encounter:
16:8 - This means you'd be fasting for 16 hours of the day, eating during an 8 hour window and getting your full calories consumed during that time, usually in 3 meals.  There are also variations such as 14:10, etc.
OMAD - You're eating One Meal A Day; essentially this is a 23-hour fast with a 1-hour eating window.  With such a short eating window, it's difficult to eat a full-day's calories.  
5:2 - In this setup, you would be eating normally 5 days of the week, then fasting for 2 days.  It may be two consecutive days, or split.  Some people eat 500-600 calories on the 'fast' days, others have only water.

With any of these types of fasting, it's important to stay well hydrated.  Water, black coffee, and plain tea are allowed.  

Don't Deny, Delay!

Fasting is a part of everyday life!  That's why we call the first meal of the day 'Breakfast'.  The idea of intermittent fasting isn't to deny food, but to delay it.  For a more in-depth look at the history behind fasting, and the many scientifically proven health benefits, check out the book: My First Fast on Amazon.  It's included free with Kindle Unlimited, or just $3.99 to buy.

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