Friday, May 25, 2012

Long fast complete

Today is the end of my long, long fast to try to counteract some of the damage I did while on vacation last weekend...I ate two meals a day for a few days and definitely ate too much!

So I started this fast on Tuesday Evening at about 9pm and will end it tonight at about 5pm. That makes about 68 hours. Phew! I felt great though, no hunger, not weak...and now I feel much better. I was pretty bloated after all that indulging over the weekend!

Planning to have some yummy mexican food and a glass of wine outside on our new patio set tonight.

Intermittent fasting is so great for getting things back in line...even when you stumble.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Intermittent Fasting is good for the brain

ANOTHER fantastic article on the benefits of fasting! Check out this link, and excerpt below:

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The scientific evidence is compelling, Mark Mattson says. Reducing your caloric intake and fasting regularly can prolong life, lead to a healthier life, and particularly help preserve brain function.
“Our genes, our genetics, are geared to us having food intermittently,” Mattson, an internationally recognized authority oncalorie restriction, told an audience of about 120 people Tuesday during a medical-education conference at St. John’s Hospital on “healthy brain aging.”
Mattson, 55, a biologist, is laboratory chief of neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore. He said he knows it’s heresy for some people to consider anything other than the American standard of three meals a day.
But three meals a day isn’t what the research indicates is best for promoting a long, healthy life or for delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, he said.
“I’m comfortable with saying that it’s healthy, it’s fine, to skip meals,” he said after his presentation. “The animal studies are very clear.”

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Saturday, May 12, 2012

Long Term Intermittent Fasting

Had a comment asking me if I have stuck with this since I started in January of 2010.

YES!

I fast every single day for 19 hours. Of course there have been times when I went off plan, but only for a few days on vacation or a day or two during Christmas. Nothing substantial.

I also do a long fast every Sunday, meaning that I do not eat at all on Sundays. I take a break on that during the summer months, but Spring, Winter and Fall, I fast all day, every Sunday.

Also, sometimes before and/or after a vacation where I may eat outside my window or indulge a bit more than usual, I may include a three day fast before and after to try to counteract the excess food.

Despite all of this, I still struggle with over eating during my eating window. Fasting helps this issue not effect my weight in any significant way, but I do want to fix this problem in my life eventually. I am so grateful for intermittent fasting because it has helped me control the effects that my over eating has on my body and my health.

For me, because I have been practicing intermittent fasting for a long time, it just feels natural. It has become my way of eating, my lifestyle, my routine. I rarely think about it, and find that I only feel hungry when it would normally be time to break my fast. It really is something that the body can easily adapt to. I truly believe that humans were made to eat this way...early humans had to hunt for food, not just make a trip to the store. It would have been common to go without food for long periods of time followed by short time of plenty, after a kill.

I feel like what is abnormal is eating constantly. The body doesn't know how to handle all the food and it is a lot of work to be in a constant state of digestion.

Funny story, there was this young girl on the train with me the other day. She was telling her friend about her dinner the night before. She said: "Like, I was SO hungry, I was like, give me food NOW or I am going to DIE! I am STARVING! I mean, I hadn't eaten one thing at all since lunch!"

People do think it is abnormal to not eat constantly...eating between meals is common and expected. People think that skipping a snack means that they are STARVING...honestly I find this a bit arrogant. They have no idea what true starving is and have never even tested their bodies tolerance to lack of food.

Fasting calms my body and my mind. I could never go back. I will practice intermittent fasting for the rest of my life.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Fasting in the News

Another article on the benefits of intermittent fasting.
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