Intermittent Fasting "Fast Start" Checklist
Wondering if Intermittent fasting is another fad? Starvation? Calorie Restriction? Learn the TRUTH about "IF" and see if it's a fit for you.
How much time money and energy have you already invested into various diets, supplements, jungle juice, powdered this, powdered that, liquid this, liquid that, and not experienced the results you were promised?
In this guide I’m going to give you a simple way to start, track, sustain, and ultimately figure yourself out for your best intermittent fasting regimen!
What we cover in the video and guide that accompanies it - Get it Here!
What Is Intermittent Fasting? And, What is it NOT?
Why Intermittent Fasting?
How to Set and SUCCEED At Your Intermittent Fasting Goals!
How to Start Intermittent Fasting?
What to Track in Your Intermittent Journey?
Resources For Your Intermittent Fasting Success
What Is Intermittent Fasting? And, What is it NOT?
Fasting is a method of eating and living that has the potential to improve your overall health, functionality and longevity.
It is NOT starvation; it is not a diet.
It’s free, it’s flexible, and it’s sustainable. You can do it anywhere, with no advanced planning, other than getting your mind straight. This is important to take note of. There is a difference between feeling hungry and HANGRY, and you know the difference.
We program our body habitually. We program it to need caffeine. To eat at specific times. Marketing has programmed us to believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and do you know where that came from, and gained popularity in the US?
The Kellogg’s cereal brand. Over time, as it was repeated in commercials and marketing, the public began to believe it as fact. Do your own deep research and find where this has ever actually been proven.
So mindset is critical to get past the beginning phases of Intermittent Fasting.
When you feel hungry, drink 8 ounces of water. Wait 30 minutes.
When you feel hangry - like you are at your breaking point - EAT. No matter what the clock says.
Intermittent fasting is about WHEN you eat and not what you eat. You will learn over time, depending on your goals, that what you eat DOES matter. And, that is for another time!
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Why Intermittent Fasting
Here are some of the benefits reported by many all around the globe who have tried, succeeded with and adapted "IF" into their lifestyle:
Hormone balancing - most of us don’t give our hormones a lot of thought. They are there, they do their job, and sometimes they don’t. We aren’t really educated about what to expect, and for women, beyond PMS and hot flashes as we enter menopause. We are kind of led to believe that it’s just the way it is and we need to accept it. But is that true? Not always. IF has balanced hormones for many people, including me. What if it might do the same for you?
Weight loss/Fat loss - maybe this is your primary goal. If so, you will likely see use benefits over time. Some people experience immediate weight and fat loss. I did. Just note this - intermittent fasting activates certain key hormones, which enhance your ability to use fuel more effectively and stop storing fat.
Better sleep - when your hormones are more balanced and less insulin is being released into your body by eating constantly, you’ll find your sleep will likely improve.
Fat Adaptation - This is the ability for your body and cells to switch between using carbohydrates and fat as a fuel source. Similar to metabolic flexibility. You can burn carbs as soon as you eat them, and fat, also. And, your body will begin to burn stored fat and carbs when you are not eating.
Your metabolism becomes flexible and will use whatever fuel is available. This often creates weight and fat loss! Bonus! It also offers higher energy levels, fewer blood sugar spikes and dips; less cravings and more.
Cellular cleanup (Autophagy) - I’ll get into more on this later, but this is essentially your body’s innate process of cleaning out and cleaning up tired, worn out and defective cells. Your body naturally does it, but prolonged eating throughout the day can dramatically slow it down. Fasting speeds things up and gets your body’s natural process working better.
Reduced Joint Pain/Inflammation - autophagy helps clean out inflammation, which is often the root cause of joint pain.
Gut Issues - Bloating, Acid Reflux, Leaky Gut - again, it only makes sense that cleaning up and cleaning out your body will work to heal and eliminate some of these symptoms.
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How to Set and SUCCEED At Your Intermittent Fasting Goals!
This is the best place to start. It all starts with WHY, and a strong reason for doing this will help keep you on track?
What do you want to accomplish? Weight loss? Fat loss (skinny shorts)? Hormone balance? Better Sleep? Fat Adapt your body? There is no right or wrong - it’s personal to you. Chances are, you’ll accomplish all of these, over time through the process.
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How to Start Intermittent Fasting?
A confused mind says no. How many new years resolution have you broken because you attempted to take on too much too quickly?
Sure, I could get you started with where I am NOW, after more than 3 years. But that’s not a recipe for success.
I’m not going to have you go to your pantry, your refrigerator and cabinets to clean out everything that’s considered a bad boy, go to the grocery store with some extended list. And change everything about the way you eat.
What would be the odds of success? OF sticking with it for more than a day or two?
History and data tells us it’s pretty slim. So, let’s start small.
We’ll get to healthier food choices, but let’s just start with one thing at a time.
Start by simply eliminating snacks. Focus on 3 solid meals a day and no snacking in between. Do this for 3 days.
Once you’ve gone a couple of days of eliminating snacks from your routine, let’s take you to a 12 hour eating window and a 12 hour fasting window. That’s often called at 12/12.
Here’s what that might look like: You have dinner at 6 PM, you sleep all night, and you don’t eat again until 6 AM.
Listen closely though, you don’t eat again.
Meaning 0 calories in your body. And zero anything else. You can have water, Black coffee and green tea. Nothing that even possibly stimulates your tongue and your taste buds that food is coming.
That’s the problem with diet sodas, and any fake sugars. We tend to think those are OK because they have 0 calories, but the bottom line is they still release insulin into our system. Because our brain believes that food is coming, when that sensation hits our tongue and taste buds.
Try the 12/12 routine for three days, and see how you feel.
It’s pretty simple. Now start extending that to 13/11, add an hour to your fasting schedule, one week at a time. Then get really brave and go 14/10.
Do what works for you. Again, no right or wrong. You can alternate back and forth day to day. You can take a break for a day. There are many ways to do this.
My "go to" goal every day is a 16/8, where I fast for 16 hours, and eat in an 8 hour window. That might be breakfast 10am, lunch at 1 and dinner by 6pm. No snacks.
And, I have found that my absolute sweet spot is an 18/6 - 10am to 4pm.
I already hear you saying but what about a social life? I hear you. I said - this is my SWEET SPOT. Now that I am in a committed habit of fasting, I give myself plenty of opportunity to change things up when I need to.
If I have social plans, I adapt my plan for the day, Simple as that. There is no right or wrong and you can’t “mess up.”
If I miss my target goal for a day I start again tomorrow with no bad feelings and no beating myself up. I know my goals, which number one is to FEEL good physically. I know that that is worth to me.
If I go on vacation, I do the best that I can. I listen to my body, and I live my life and enjoy it. Knowing my overall commitment frees me from the torture of the past of being too hard on myself.
What to Track in Your Intermittent Journey?
You can't "Hack What You Don't Track!"
I am big on tracking everything to begin with so day 1, here is what I suggest:
Weigh yourself, Take your Body Measurements, note what your typical eating patterns have been, and how you’ve felt. Use the guide to fill these things in so you can look back.
I personally track daily, including Fast and Feast Windows/times. What I eat, how I feel after, all body sensations - brain fog? Tired? numbness in extremities, as that is something I have experienced, and it scares me.
Tracking daily works for me. And, I coach others so it’s important for me to be able to share what I experienced, certain foods that I can determine are not good for me. Canola oil, for instance. I have eliminated all store bought salad dressings. It took some time to figure out that was what was triggering me. I thought is was garbanzo beans, and hummus to be specific. then I made my own with olive oil and was fine.
You and I, like my clients, may have totally different experiences. It’s a reference point and a solid place for me to look back and see how far I’ve come. And, share with others just in case.
If daily tracking seems overwhelming, I recommend weekly, to begin with. As you become more in tune with your body, and how it feels during fasting, after eating, and so on, you’ll figure some things out for yourself more quickly.
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Your Simple Guide to Intermittent Fasting Success
So, there you have it! A very simple, yet proven effective way to test, tweak and determine if Intermittent Fasting is right for you. What might you lose by giving it a try?
Oh, I don’t know, maybe those frustrating symptoms, aggravating conditions, weight and excess fat, to name a few! o
And, what might you gain by giving it a try? An overall better feeling about yourself physically, emotionally, better sleep, a more positive outlook.
A few bonus things are:
More time - when you aren’t eating all the time, or planning food all of the time, you will be amazed how much time you have for other things. When I finish eating by 4 in the afternoon on a regular day, and I feel energized after meals, I often go for a walk, or work on a new program or project and get so much done.
More money - it may sound crazy, but IF actually can save you money because you will begin to eat less. You’ll realize how much you over eat and all of the wasted calories you consume, This often allows people to purchase healthier food options - more organic and healthy items without changing their food budget. Processed foods get expensive and over time, as you get in tune with your body, you may naturally want to let go of these foods and add in other options.
Resources For Your Intermittent Fasting Success
You may have questions and want to do research before you dive in. I strongly encourage this. Below are a few of the authorities I follow and have based my own Intermittent Fasting journey on, and from which I developed my coaching practice and programs. More can be found on my Blog.
Dr. Jason Fung - Life in the Fasting Lane
Cynthia Thurlow - Intermittent Fasting Transformation
Gin Stephens - Fast, Feast, Repeat
Ready to take it to a new level? Join me in my Intermittent Fasting - the Myths, the Magic and the Methods program. Weekly step by step guidance, coaching and RECIPES, along with all of the scientific documentation that supports the process!
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