Forgive my ignorance, but I had never really heard much about intermittent fasting when I unintentionally started this practice. And for those like me who are unfamiliar, it appears that it’s not just the latest fad diet for weight loss.
Strangely, as popular as it had become, I had never run across it in any of my reading. It wasn’t included in any of the subject matter I was studying which mostly included, anti-aging, nutrition and hormonal imbalances etc. Years ago, I had done cleanses and fasted unsuccessfully (By about 3pm my husband would be looking at me like “Okay, can we eat now?”) And I would succumb to the pressure. (It really didn’t take much.)
Fast forward. I wasn’t even aware that I was doing any type of fasting. It just so happened that my schedule changed when I lost one of my jobs. I used to get up really early, hit the gym, write for a bit and then go make myself breakfast before work. I was typically up at 7am so that I would have at least an hour and a half in the morning for exercise and writing. I tried daily to have a good half hour to just sit with my coffee and just be.
When I was working two jobs, I would start my workday around 11:30 and work until 7:30/8. (I worked 7 days a week) As a result, I was having dinner at 9:30-10, then working a little more. (Dinner was later if I had to go home and cook on days I was in the office) I was having a small snack some nights at 11/11:30 and going to bed around 12/12:30. (ALL BAD. I KNOW BETTER.). Of course, that depended on what I had for dinner.
Once I had one less job and went from a 60+-hour week to a 20-hour week, there was no longer a need to be up at the crack to get my “me/creative,” time in. I was able to start making my dinner whenever I felt like it. It was typically midday when I took a break from my part time work and my classes to eat a late lunch that I would start prepping dinner.
Suddenly I was eating dinner earlier and going to bed earlier. I still got up early because I slept better and was rested. Post Covid, the gym was closed, so I was taking long walks. I was able to spend more time on research, study and writing and wouldn’t be hungry.
I would finally get around to eating a late breakfast at 11:30. (Often at least 14 hours or more after my last meal and snack, if I had one) I did this for several months, but within weeks, I noticed that I was losing weight because my clothes fit differently.
I didn’t actually own a scale, but I could tell. I confirmed this when I went to the Dr. for a blocked salivary duct and they weighed me. (Only me.) I was about ten pounds lighter! I wasn’t trying to lose. I was still eating the same things. I was even still snacking in the evenings even though it was often a roasted chickpea snack I started making. Occasionally, when I was misbehaving, I would have a piece of cheese on a gluten free cracker or two. I was losing weight just from adjusting my eating schedule and breaking my fast (“break-fast!”) later.
I have since started a new position and my schedule has once again changed, so I am eating too late again, but it did prompt me to do a little research on fasting.
Fasting certainly isn’t new. We have been doing this for ages whether intentionally or not! (As in there is no food!) It has been done for cultural and religious reasons. It has been done for medical reasons, such as when you can’t eat because you have to have some sort of test done.
Research has shown some very promising results from intermittent fasting or (IF) which I stumbled upon unknowingly. The basic concept is that just changing the timing of meals, and eating earlier in the day, extends our “fast” and it turns out that this change actually benefits metabolism significantly.
Our bodies have evolved and our metabolism has adapted to eating during the day and sleeping at night. (Which of course, sucks if you work a night shift!). Unfortunately, eating at night has been associated with a higher risk for obesity and as a result, diabetes.
According to Dr. Jason Fung’s 2016 bestseller The Obesity Code as well as some of his presentations you can find on Youtube (check out “A New Paradigm of Insulin Resistance.
”The Obesity Code, by Jason Fung, MD (Greystone Books, 2016).
“IF makes intuitive sense. The food we eat is broken down by enzymes in our gut and eventually ends up as molecules in our bloodstream. Carbohydrates, particularly sugars and refined grains (think white flours and rice), are quickly broken down into sugar, which our cells use for energy. If our cells don’t use it all, we store it in our fat cells as, well, fat. But sugar can only enter our cells with insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas. Insulin brings sugar into the fat cells and keeps it there.
Between meals, as long as we don’t snack, our insulin levels will go down and our fat cells can then release their stored sugar, to be used as energy. We lose weight if we let our insulin levels go down. The entire idea of IF is to allow the insulin levels to go down far enough and for long enough that we burn off our fat.”
According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine by Rafael de Cabo, Ph.D., and Mark P. Mattson, Ph.D. entitled “Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging and Disease” https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2001176?query=recirc_curatedRelated_article
Link to Updated Article 4/30/20
“Evidence is accumulating that eating in a 6-hour period and fasting for 18 hours can trigger a metabolic switch from glucose-based to ketone-based energy, with increased stress resistance, increased longevity, and a decreased incidence of diseases, including cancer and obesity.”
Of course, it doesn’t have to be eighteen hours to obtain benefits from fasting. Fasting triggers several essential cellular functions.
To further explain, think of your body like a hybrid car with two sources of fuel. (Fuel we eat and fuel we have stored) When we change energy sources by fasting, research has shown not only an improvement in metabolism and blood sugar levels, but a reduction in inflammation and issues related to inflammation such as arthritis, asthma, and MS, as well as eliminating toxins and damaged cells. (A major cause of cancers) Additional benefits include the potential to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Research also suggests newly recognized positive effects include prolonging a healthy life span, improving cognitive functions, as well as activating autophagy.
Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells, according to Priya Khorana, PhD, in nutrition education from Columbia University. “Auto” means self and “phagy” means eat. So the literal meaning of autophagy is “self-eating.”
Again, it doesn’t have to be 18 hours! That can be challenging to do, so try easing into the concept slowly and realistically.
Metabolic expert Dr. Deborah Wexler, Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical School.
There is evidence to suggest that the circadian rhythm fasting approach, where meals are restricted to an eight to 10-hour period of the daytime, is effective.”
Intermittent fasting is about timing. Not eating food or fasting for such a long period places the body in a state of short-term ketosis. (Fat-burning for energy!) The key mechanism of fasting is a /hybrid switch!) Our body goes from absorbing glucose supplied by the food we eat to utilizing ketones and the body’s own fat deposits.
The body uses energy constantly! I’m sure you know that just because you are sleep, doesn’t mean that your body isn’t using energy. Your body works 24/7/365. It’s busy while you are sleep. Let’s be real. If it wasn’t your ass wouldn’t wake up!
If nothing else, fasting gives all of our overtaxed organs a break and frees up all that energy that is typically needed for digestive processes.
The moral of the story is this.
Let your body burn fat between meals. And you can help it out by being active and building muscle tone through body weight and weight bearing exercises. You do NOT need a gym. Those muscles need to be fed.
Limit the hours you eat to a specific eight to ten hour period and the earlier the better. (You’re sleep for most of the period, so it isn’t crazy hard.)
Lose the snacks. Definitely, lose them at night. Let dinner be the last thing you put in your mouth unless you need medication and of course, water is always the exception. Drink plenty of that.
And, if you are like me and want your coffee to start your day, Doctor Eric Rimm, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says you can drink water, tea, or coffee during the fasting period.
I have heard of this recently. My nutritionist suggested I give it a try in an attempt to help correct my constipation/bloating problem. I wasn’t interested because I didn’t think I could perform my job without eating 3 meals a day. It’s interesting though.
You can go without food for longer than you think, but there may be some unpleasant side effects. With intermittent fasting, you are still eating your three meals a day. You are just eating them earlier in the day and in a smaller window of time. Most people work a 9-5, but if you can keep your three meals between the hours of say 10am to 6pm or 11am to 7pm, that would be a good start. It depends on what time you get up and what time you typically go to bed. And since, like most, you probably have to go home and cook, prepping meals on the weekend for a few days makes it easier to accomplish. I am sure she has you examining “what” you are eating. As we get older, those issues can be quite common. You also don’t want to eat too close to bedtime! Let us know how it works out!