so what is all this fasting about? and why is it good for you?
I started researching fasting around 2018 as I wanted to find out what it was all about. I read up on various on line and read quite a few fasting books too. The one really found written well, easy to understand was The Complete Guide to Fasting by Jimmy Moore and Dr Jason Fung. It inspired me into trying fasting for myself. And I never looked back. And have fasted once a week for at least 24 hours every week, ever since.
Previous to this., as a body builder and with my knowledge in nutrition, I always had said to people who have asked about Fasting diets words to this effect 'I can't see how they can be good for you, as your body will go into starvation mode, and your body needs a constant flow of macro nutrients (Carbs/Proteins/Fats) and micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals), so starving them of these can't be good'.....Or can it?
Fasting experts will quickly say that Fasting isn't starving.
In simple terms - For purpose of dieting, fasting is generally done for a pretty short period of time, normally 12/24/36/42 hours or however ever many hours you prefer depending on your needs. It can take up to 24 hours to deplete your glycogen stores (this is the fuel stored in your tissues produced by eating mostly simple/complex carbs, but also proteins too). This is the preferred fuel of the brain and body and will use up this resource before it moves onto it's second favourite fuel. Ketones. These are produced when the body burns fat for fuel. As you may have possibly read about on some of my blogs, and my journey too in My Ketosis Journey blog.
So once your glycogen runs out, the body automatically switches to living off your fat stores. That's what our clever bodies are made to do. That's how we are made to work. We are still not in starvation mode. Your body is still using it's own available fuel. Eating up your fat resources. Or put simply... fat burning.
Once your fat stores starts running too low, your body will reach a point when it starts naturally fighting against using fat for fuel . It's only then will then start fuelling using your muscle tissues and organs. This is starvation mode. You will not and should not ever reach this point during these short fasting periods unless you are fasting already under weight. Which should not be an option for you anyway if this is the case. So if body fat is int abundance, starvation is very unlikely.
Previous to this., as a body builder and with my knowledge in nutrition, I always had said to people who have asked about Fasting diets words to this effect 'I can't see how they can be good for you, as your body will go into starvation mode, and your body needs a constant flow of macro nutrients (Carbs/Proteins/Fats) and micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals), so starving them of these can't be good'.....Or can it?
Fasting experts will quickly say that Fasting isn't starving.
In simple terms - For purpose of dieting, fasting is generally done for a pretty short period of time, normally 12/24/36/42 hours or however ever many hours you prefer depending on your needs. It can take up to 24 hours to deplete your glycogen stores (this is the fuel stored in your tissues produced by eating mostly simple/complex carbs, but also proteins too). This is the preferred fuel of the brain and body and will use up this resource before it moves onto it's second favourite fuel. Ketones. These are produced when the body burns fat for fuel. As you may have possibly read about on some of my blogs, and my journey too in My Ketosis Journey blog.
So once your glycogen runs out, the body automatically switches to living off your fat stores. That's what our clever bodies are made to do. That's how we are made to work. We are still not in starvation mode. Your body is still using it's own available fuel. Eating up your fat resources. Or put simply... fat burning.
Once your fat stores starts running too low, your body will reach a point when it starts naturally fighting against using fat for fuel . It's only then will then start fuelling using your muscle tissues and organs. This is starvation mode. You will not and should not ever reach this point during these short fasting periods unless you are fasting already under weight. Which should not be an option for you anyway if this is the case. So if body fat is int abundance, starvation is very unlikely.
In 1973 the longest ever recorded fast is 382 days! This subject weighed in at 456 pounds. And he lost 276 pounds during the fast. Five years after the fast ended, the patient’s weight was reported at consistent to around 196 pounds. And had no ill effect during and after the fast. Have a read of some statistics and more information here on this amazing Longest Fast link.
There is a number of reason why you shouldn't fast. So if you are considering it, check you have none of the below conditions, before you include it in your regime -
If you are still unsure, I would always advise you speak to your GP before you try it.
So what are the benefits of a fasting for weight loss, or simply to add it to your lifestyle?
Have a read here 10 Evidence Based Reasons for Fasting to find out more information on the health benefits of fasting, or have a read of The Complete Guide to Fasting by Jimmy Moore and Dr Jason Fung. for more in depth information on fasting benefits. It really is a fascinating read!
I fast weekly for reasons of cleansing, detox and resting the digestive system. I find my stress readings lessen on fast days. I put this down to my body has a day off. No working its way through all that food we eat and need to break down. So I consume water only, sparkling and still and no added artificial sweeteners in hot drinks.
I find it easy. I eat my last meal at 18.00. And the next time I eat, will be 18.00 the following day. So a 24 hr fast does not mean going a whole day without food. That would be a 36 hr fast.
Here are the tips I had follow to help me get you through the day -
Keep busy - It takes your mind off of food. A busy work day I find works well. I can easily not realise where that day has gone when engrossed in work.
Ride the waves - Hunger comes in waves, but then it goes. Hunger is an emotion...a feeling. It isn't a physical reaction created from within, it is just a feeling or a want. It can be triggered by smells, that M&S TV advert, a memory of a good meal and more importantly a routine. If you are used to having a meal at the same time each day, you will learn to feel hungry around that time. Fasting will help you break that routine, which will help you to feel less hungry on eating days, as the routine trigger fades. Ride the waves of hunger, know it will go away soon, and break the daily routine of those times you eat.
Drink lots of water/mineral water- We all know that thirst is often mistaken for hunger, so stay hydrated. It has been found that mineral water helps stop the stomach from rumbling. I found drinking a 3 -4 litres of water throughout the day does help.
Drink coffee and herbal/green teas - The caffeine in coffee and teas acts as an appetite suppressant and a metabolism booster too. So you can have up to 6 cups of these through the day. Keep it black and sugar and milk free
Make a bone broth - These are good to have a couple of times during the fast. They have a small trace of calories, and you can add turmeric, ginger and cinnamon - all natural appetite suppressants - and also get some minerals in you during your fast. Vitamins and minerals are what's known as micro nutrients. Whereas most vitamins can be produced within the body but minerals are not. We need these to be fed to us in our food and drink. Phosphorus, calcium, sodium and magnesium may need topping up, so between the bone broth and mineral water this would be more than enough to do the job during these short fasts. Click here to see my Bone Broth recipe
There is a number of reason why you shouldn't fast. So if you are considering it, check you have none of the below conditions, before you include it in your regime -
- Anyone who is already under weight.
- Children and young adults under 18, they are still developing and need all nutrients.
- Pregnant woman and breast feeding woman, again as they need a constant flow of nutrients.
- Any one with anorexia, of course. This is a mental illness where someone sees themselves fatter than they actually are, and shouldn't be attempting a diet at all.
- People with Type 1 diabetes, due to their already low levels of insulin. Fasting has been proven to lower insulin, so this could be dangerous with these type of diabetics.
- People on medication that needs to be taken with food.
If you are still unsure, I would always advise you speak to your GP before you try it.
So what are the benefits of a fasting for weight loss, or simply to add it to your lifestyle?
- It's free - If you are doing it for weight loss reasons, it's the easiest and cheapest diet out there!
- You save money - On less groceries
- No prep - 2 days less of food preparation
- No complex dietary routine or restrictions to follow.
- Even if you have allergies or intolerance's to foods, you can still follow a fasting plan.
- It can help to make you feel less hungry. Many reports from fasters say they see there hunger levels drop dramatically on the days that you are eating. My hunger has definitely subsided since I started regular fasting.
- It's a life style diet - Once losing your weight through fasting, research has shown that weight loss stays consistent. As well as that you would continue to use it to help maintain your weight. So after that feast you had at that part or wedding, follow it with a fast day. Feast then Famine. It can balance out the meal and get you back on track. Most fasters who have lost weight manage to maintain the weight loss. Remember the man who did the Longest Fast ? The weight never went back on.
- Faster weight loss - When I fasted for weight loss, I was be under eating each week by nearly 3800 calories by not eating for 2 days. The other days I ate my normal BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate which is your personal calories calculation). So bearing in mind 1lb fat equates to 3500, I would loose roughly 1lb a week. Remember what I said about how traditional diets rarely working as your body gets used to surviving on low calories as it gets used to the routine? We it doesn't on fasting diets. Research has shown that fasting diets tend to not plateau, you do lose the weight you should each week from your days of no eating. Because your body doesn't get used to a low calorie intake. As you eat what it needs on the other 5 days when you eat normally.
- It has many health benefits too - It has been used to reverse the effects of Type 2 Diabetes due to the fact it reduces insulin levels. See my client Paul's Keto and Fasting Journey to see how it works.
- It helps with healthy cell regeneration. When you fast for a minimum of 24 hours, something called Autophagy happens. The word means to 'eat one self'. Essentially, this is the body’s mechanism of getting rid of all the broken down, old cells when there’s no longer enough energy to sustain it. So it cleans out the old, and then recycles and helps in regenerating new. Think about it, clearing out old damaged cells and regenerates now. This process has been believed to help reduce chances of cancer as it removes broken cells from the body before they grow into something more sinister. Simply by fasting. Prevention is better than cure. Check out the Diabetes website for more detail here.
- It elevates growth hormone levels (and this is why I always suggest to keep training on fasting diets, as it can assist with muscle growth). Testosterone and growth hormone (GH) are both potent anabolic (muscle-building) hormones, and they have been shown to correlate with each other. Excitingly, research has shown that you can enhance your GH levels naturally by as much as 2000% with just a 24-hour fast! And ladies, both women and men need and use testosterone and growth hormone in our bodies. Maintaining good levels of these will help us with energy and and keeps our bodies younger as they deplete with age naturally.
- It can also quickly reduce visceral fat, the internal 'dangerous' fat around your organs too. As once you have depleted those glycogen stores within around 24 hours, fat is very quickly its only food source, so is a faster way of controlling just fat loss.
Have a read here 10 Evidence Based Reasons for Fasting to find out more information on the health benefits of fasting, or have a read of The Complete Guide to Fasting by Jimmy Moore and Dr Jason Fung. for more in depth information on fasting benefits. It really is a fascinating read!
I fast weekly for reasons of cleansing, detox and resting the digestive system. I find my stress readings lessen on fast days. I put this down to my body has a day off. No working its way through all that food we eat and need to break down. So I consume water only, sparkling and still and no added artificial sweeteners in hot drinks.
I find it easy. I eat my last meal at 18.00. And the next time I eat, will be 18.00 the following day. So a 24 hr fast does not mean going a whole day without food. That would be a 36 hr fast.
Here are the tips I had follow to help me get you through the day -
Keep busy - It takes your mind off of food. A busy work day I find works well. I can easily not realise where that day has gone when engrossed in work.
Ride the waves - Hunger comes in waves, but then it goes. Hunger is an emotion...a feeling. It isn't a physical reaction created from within, it is just a feeling or a want. It can be triggered by smells, that M&S TV advert, a memory of a good meal and more importantly a routine. If you are used to having a meal at the same time each day, you will learn to feel hungry around that time. Fasting will help you break that routine, which will help you to feel less hungry on eating days, as the routine trigger fades. Ride the waves of hunger, know it will go away soon, and break the daily routine of those times you eat.
Drink lots of water/mineral water- We all know that thirst is often mistaken for hunger, so stay hydrated. It has been found that mineral water helps stop the stomach from rumbling. I found drinking a 3 -4 litres of water throughout the day does help.
Drink coffee and herbal/green teas - The caffeine in coffee and teas acts as an appetite suppressant and a metabolism booster too. So you can have up to 6 cups of these through the day. Keep it black and sugar and milk free
Make a bone broth - These are good to have a couple of times during the fast. They have a small trace of calories, and you can add turmeric, ginger and cinnamon - all natural appetite suppressants - and also get some minerals in you during your fast. Vitamins and minerals are what's known as micro nutrients. Whereas most vitamins can be produced within the body but minerals are not. We need these to be fed to us in our food and drink. Phosphorus, calcium, sodium and magnesium may need topping up, so between the bone broth and mineral water this would be more than enough to do the job during these short fasts. Click here to see my Bone Broth recipe
Don't plan a fast day when there is an event - It's sort of obvious, but you don't want to be fasting at a wedding, or at your birthday meal. Work your fast into your week. That's why I chose the 24 hr one. If I know I'm out for a meal or a do, I plan to either start a fast at 7 pm the day before, then know I can eat the meal at 7 pm the following day, or many prefer doing a fast the day after a meal or function, as a lot of people find it easier mentally after a bit of a feast the night before.
Stay away from artificial sweeteners - The detox effect away from all chemicals can be an added bonus mentally and physically. But also it has been found that tasting the sweetness can trigger the same insulin spikes and reactions in the body that sugar does. And you don't want to risk that sudden carb craving that sudden sugar spikes and dips can sometimes cause. Research has been done Into Why artificial sweeteners can increase appetite so click on the link to read the findings in more detail.
There's no way I can go a day without food! I hear some of your say. Well, you can. Just simply don't eat. It's one day. You should be the one in control of your body. Simply say no. Hunger is an emotion. And is also triggered by routine. Have you ever heard of Pavlov's Dogs experiment? He researched over time a bunch of dogs, to see what triggered salivation. It was initially obvious that meals times and presence of food made the dogs salivate. Over time he trained the dogs to salivate when they heard a bell, and even towards the end when they saw the white doctors coat triggered salivation too. This he said, proved that hunger was controlled by routine and the mind as opposed to a true physical need. And he won a Nobel prize for this research too.
For me, it'll be with me for life. Since starting fasting my weight has been stable, I have been eating a great range of tasty food, my hunger is reduced and I feel more in control, and weight maintenance is easy. I go out for meals with friends, spend less on shopping, and know my dying cells are getting cleared out. Therefore, I believe its a non brainer.
Happy fasting!
Stay away from artificial sweeteners - The detox effect away from all chemicals can be an added bonus mentally and physically. But also it has been found that tasting the sweetness can trigger the same insulin spikes and reactions in the body that sugar does. And you don't want to risk that sudden carb craving that sudden sugar spikes and dips can sometimes cause. Research has been done Into Why artificial sweeteners can increase appetite so click on the link to read the findings in more detail.
There's no way I can go a day without food! I hear some of your say. Well, you can. Just simply don't eat. It's one day. You should be the one in control of your body. Simply say no. Hunger is an emotion. And is also triggered by routine. Have you ever heard of Pavlov's Dogs experiment? He researched over time a bunch of dogs, to see what triggered salivation. It was initially obvious that meals times and presence of food made the dogs salivate. Over time he trained the dogs to salivate when they heard a bell, and even towards the end when they saw the white doctors coat triggered salivation too. This he said, proved that hunger was controlled by routine and the mind as opposed to a true physical need. And he won a Nobel prize for this research too.
For me, it'll be with me for life. Since starting fasting my weight has been stable, I have been eating a great range of tasty food, my hunger is reduced and I feel more in control, and weight maintenance is easy. I go out for meals with friends, spend less on shopping, and know my dying cells are getting cleared out. Therefore, I believe its a non brainer.
Happy fasting!