Fasting has been around FOREVER!

It is used nowadays as a diet but has been around for ages, certain cultures and religions use it and swear by the health benefits.

There are many benefits associated with fasting. Your digestive gets a well-earned rest for starters!

Example of what an IF is: Intermittent fasting can be as simple as extending that fast a little longer. You can do this by skipping breakfast, eating your first meal at noon and your last meal at 8 pm. Then you're technically fasting for 16 hours every day, and restricting your eating to an 8-hour eating window.

However I know the term “intermittent fasting can be very loosely used, many people looking to lose weight, claim to use intermittent fasting but then sip on lattes all morning – that’s not a fast!

There are also times where you can easily OVER EAT when you break your fast!

SO the very thing you’re hoping to achieve (go on a calorie deficit) can be very quickly compromised when you wolf down meal 1 !!!

In fact so many people I’ve helped throughout the years STILL to this day find it hard to do it right on a weekly basis. Eat on a deficit throughout the working week and then go Olympically OFF IT throughout the weekend

IS THIS YOU?

I hope that you find the following tips useful (or also listen to the video) in case you’re looking into starting Intermittent fasting x

1. CONVENIENCE
You just can’t beat the convenience! Breakfast being the most important meal of the day is now a myth, we know that. Personally, for me, it works very well as I train after school run.

2. FAST WELL BUT BREAK IT BETTER!
For me, fasting means drinking water or herbal teas ONLY. I may have a cheeky coffee first thing and that’s it. But if you’re looking into a STRUCTURED fast then I would stick to just water. Breaking the fast is probably one of the most important factors. You can very easily overeat on your first meal (for obvious reasons sometimes extremely hungry) but what I do is to drink a large glass or water or greens smoothie, then wait a few mins and then eat.

3. FASTING IS NOT FOR EVERYONE
You can get past the “hangry” stage that’s fine, we all go through that when just starting out. But what I mean here is more important. 

Pregnant ladies/diabetics or those on heavy meds should not be encouraged to do fasting. I also need to advise that if you’ve done restrictive dieting in the past and hasn’t worked well. There are better ways to reduce the calories in your day.

4. CAN YOU TRAIN AND FAST?
Totally! Unless you’re an athlete or undergoing heavy training, intermittent fasting can actually help your performance! Just ensure you drink plenty of water before/during and post-workout and break your fast with rich protein food.

5. MY BIGGEST TIP
I have seen many people explode into BINGES after doing IF incorrectly. More so overeat in the day or weekends, then get frustrated that IF is not for them. The bottom line is – if you RESTRICT too much you’re risking a binge. So we use Intermittent Fasting AS PART OF OUR WEEKLY tools and NOT AS THE ONLY ONE J Personally I don’t do it more than 2 or 3 times a week.

COMPARISONS:

Keto or fasting?

I have many friends who do keto. Personally, I hated it when I tried to do it. I couldn’t stick with it. If you have one slip up, you throw yourself out of ketosis, and it takes days to get back into ketosis. I’m an advocate for anything that is maintainable long-term!! For me, keto wasn’t maintainable long-term. I couldn’t go have drinks, I couldn’t go out and celebrate with a nice dinner that included any kind of carbohydrates, so it wasn’t for me.

Veggie, Vegan?
I do find lately that everything is shifting more and more. I am not yet ready to take the plunge but I do tend to have less chicken and little to no meat than before. I love fish though, so I gearing towards pescatarian if anything.

But yes I believe that veganism is on a steady rise.

So there you have it!

I do hope this is useful and let me know how you get along – I always LOVE to hear from you !!!

Hugs
Nat xxx