How Intermittent Fasting Helped Me Reset My Body

Body and metabolism “resets” seem to always be a hot topic.

There are a variety of ways to jump-start your metabolism, but I have found that intermittent fasting is one of the most effective. As I explain in my free Intermittent Fasting For Beginners Guide, here's how I used intermittent fasting to nourish my body and help reset my metabolism.

What Happens When We Stay Fed

Most of us are in a constant state of being fed. While the body is in this “fed” state, it is working hard to digest, breakdown, and assimilate the nutrients. However, there are no calories being burned. For years we have been told to eat small portions frequently, which actually puts our bodies under more stress with a never-ending cycle of sugar and grains. As a result, our body is working hard with little to no outcome. In other words, the body works nonstop with no time to repair or reset a healthy metabolism, ultimately bringing it to a halt.

What Happens When We Are Not Fed

When you don’t eat, your body has a chance to initialize repairing processes, allowing natural cell death called apoptosis. In a “non-fed” state, the body will use its glycogen and fat stores as fuel in a process called ketosis. This is the point where metabolism becomes more consistent as the body gets enough time to rest, recover, and use the calories it has stored.

Intermittent Fasting: A Great Option To Reset Your Body

Intermittent fasting is considered to be period of between 16 and 24 hours during which the body receives no food. However, research shows that for women, fasting for 14-16 hours is most effective. When you fast longer it can cause imbalances in your hormones. I have also found that I become pretty “hangry” after more that 16 hours. So I prefer the 16:8 form of fasting where you eat for 8 hours and fast for 16.

For example, I would have dinner around 6 p.m., abstain from breakfast, and then eat lunch at noon. I just make sure my meal is before 8 pm so that my fasting is from 8pm until noon the next day. Intermittent fasting affects both insulin and growth hormones. In the non-fed state, insulin levels decrease, allowing the body to access fat reserves as fuel. Meanwhile, growth hormone levels increase, allowing the body to build lean muscle tissue.

Basic Guidelines For Successful Intermittent Fasting

• Increase your fluid intake one to two days prior to fasting. This may include water as well as herbals teas.
• Try to consume raw food, particularly fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and try to avoid flours, sugars, meats, dairy, or any processed foods.
• Start by fasting a few hours a day, then gradually increasing the duration.
• Ideally, you should fast during the morning as it helps the body rev up for another day by eliminating the waste collected while you slept.

As you grow accustomed to intermittent fasting, you will begin to become less and less aware of it and it will become a lifestyle. I have found that when I combine this way of caring for my body with carving out some time each day to destress – I sleep better, can keep the weight off and am more present for my family.

As a busy woman, sometimes that hardest part is actually committing to those few minuets of daily self-care but it is so important to your health and wellbeing.

I have designed a program with this hurdle in mind.

Mamma’s Quick Fix Program is a 10-day program for just 10 minutes a day that will give you the tools to let go of the daily stress.  When you cultivate this space, you will feel relaxed and ready to be the badass woman you are made to be!