WATER!!! …and Other Helpful Advice For Intermittent Fasters
One thing that has changed about me since I’ve been doing intermittent fasting is I LOVE WATER! I never avoided drinking water before, but I would drink anything put in front of me and water wasn’t always the first choice. Now, water is my number one top choice of drink over anything else!
For religious reasons, I have always gone on a full fast once a month since I was 8 years old from dinner to dinner. When I say “full fast” I mean that I don’t consume anything! No water, no vitamins, nothing! although it’s a great way to show God that I have some self-control and discipline over my carnal desires, it’s kind of tortuous at times. That’s why intermittent fasting is so much easier, you can drink water during your fasting period! BOOM! I love it!
One of the things I love best about Intermittent Fasting is that it is very flexible. You can make it work for you, your schedule, your dietary requirements and what you want to get out of intermittent fasting.
The only rule is to fast at some point longer than 16 hours or longer so your body can switch into fat burning mode. That’s it. Everything else is up to you. You can fast for 24 hours a few days a week, stick to a schedule of fasting 16 to 20 hours every day, or you can take it down to eating just one large meal per day. Do whatever works best for you.
And there’s a lot you can do to make the fasting hours go by faster (no pun intended). One of the best strategies is to sleep through some of it. If you’re fasting for 16 hours or more a day, schedule your last meal a few hours before you go to bed. You want to time it so you’re going to bed slightly hungry and then sleep for a good 8 hours. By the time you wake up, you won’t have long before it’s time to eat. In the meantime, fill your belly with a cup or two of black coffee.
If you’re fasting one or two days per week, stay busy during those days and keep yourself distracted. If that’s not an option, take it as an opportunity to catch up on sleep. Grab a nap during the day when you feel like eating.
Here’s an interesting fact. The areas in your brain that control hunger and thirst are right next to each other. That means that we sometimes get a little confused. We think we’re hungry or just need “a little something”. In other words we want a snack. In reality though, we may just be thirsty. That’s why the age old advice of “Go get a glass of water” actually works. It keeps us hydrated, relieves the thirst and as an added benefit, it fills our stomach.
Drinking a cup of black coffee or tea works along the same lines. Plus caffeine can be a bit of an appetite suppressant. Just stay away from any sweeteners, even the low or non-calorie kind. They will increase your appetite and trigger an insulin response that you don’t want.
Above all, realize that fasting is a mind game. If you tell yourself that you are getting light headed and need something to eat, your body believes you. Unless you are suffering from hypoglycemia, that simply isn’t true and you can safely make it without food for a few more hours. Remember we were built to go through fasts that sometimes lasted days if not weeks when we had to go hunt or gather our food instead of driving to the local grocery store.
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Before becoming an intermittent fasting coach, I ran Track and Cross Country through High School and College, I have a Bachelors’ degree in Exercise Science, I’ve worked 14+ years in the healthcare industry, I went from being fit to a chubby dad then back to fit, and I’ve written over 100 articles on intermittent fasting (to date — I’m still going!). I am not a physician. Do not try fasting without consulting first with your physician to know if it’s right for you. All advice on my blog is not medical advice.
