At Revitalize Weight Loss and Wellness, we encourage all our clients to try intermittent fasting. So, what exactly is intermittent fasting? It’s a pattern of fasting that involves choosing a designated time of the day to eat. We call it your “eating window.” Intermittent fasting is a simple, regulated, and healthy way to eat with numerous benefits. 

First and foremost, intermittent fasting promotes weight loss by requiring the body to burn off fat stores as fuel. It also regulates blood sugar levels, which prevents spikes and crashes, while simultaneously giving your digestive system an opportunity to rest and recover. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Intermittent fasting reduces oxidative stress—the stuff that makes us prone to illnesses. It also improves cognition and has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body. The most exciting benefit? Intermittent fasting improves biometric markers, which help us age slower. 

If it’s your first time trying intermittent fasting, we suggest an eight-hour period for eating. This might look like only eating from eleven o’clock in the morning to seven o’clock in the evening.  Or perhaps eating from noon to eight in the evening works best for you. Whatever eight-hour window is most convenient for you, will yield the best results. The remaining sixteen hours of your day should only include drinking water or indulging in zero-calorie drinks. We recommend drinking hot tea, black coffee, or sugar-free carbonated beverages to blunt cravings or hunger pangs. Most folks find it easiest to start their fast after dinner (the night before), go to sleep without snacks, skip breakfast the next morning,  and then eat their first meal the following day around noon. Throughout the day, eat as often as you’d like, as long as your last meal is before your eight hours end. 

By now, you may be thinking, “Isn’t breakfast the most important meal of the day?” Marketers working for cereal companies over the past fifty years have certainly made it seem that way. Science, however, doesn’t back that up. There are plenty of health benefits from skipping breakfast. Sure, some people love breakfast, and they do well on it, but not everybody.

Contrary to popular belief, intermittent fasting is one of the most natural ways of eating. Let’s face it — our early ancestors didn’t get out of bed, pour a cup of coffee from their programmed coffee pot, and pull something out of the fridge to eat. They woke up, stretched, maybe scratched an itch, then wandered outside to look for a berry or two to eat for brunch. At the end of the day, they were back home snuggling around a fire with nothing sweet, salty or crunchy to snack on before bed. In other words, they were intermittent fasters. 

By embracing the way your body naturally functions with intermittent fasting, rather than resisting it, you can burn more calories and actively lose weight. If you are interested in intermittent fasting as a weight loss method, our health coaches at Revitalize can help you every step of the way. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of our nutrition specialists. 

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