Intermittent fasting is a pattern of eating that alternates between periods of fasting and non-fasting. Fasting usually involves not eating or drinking anything but water for an extended period of time, typically ranging from 12 to 24 hours. This type of diet has been gaining popularity in recent years due to its potential health benefits.
While intermittent fasting can be beneficial for some people, it is not suitable for everyone. Before starting this type of diet, individuals should discuss their goals and health concerns with one of our physicians.
How does intermittent fasting work?
Fasting has been around for ages for multiple reasons. The reasons range from losing weight, and mental-emotional health to spiritual growth or just plain discipline as a goal.
Intermittent fasting works on the concept of restricting your eating window to a certain number of hours. During the non-fasting window, you would eat normally and according to your caloric needs.
Intermittent fasting and goals are tied to each other. A goal is something I understand, which means these are the actions I am going to take to achieve this specific result. I do this every time I create a treatment plan for a patient. But as we know, there are a lot of variables in life.
This is one of the reasons why intermittent fasting works, it’s eliminating one of the variables.
At What Time Do You Eat When You Intermittent Fast?
The time you choose to eat when intermittent fasting is really up to you. Generally, people tend to pick an 8-hour window in which they will eat, but some may pick a 6 or 4-hour window. The key is to stay consistent and stick to the same eating window each day.
One thing to keep in mind is that the time you pick for your eating window should be based on your lifestyle needs and preferences. If you prefer to eat earlier in the day, you may want to start your fasting window in the evening and end it at breakfast. But if you're more of a night owl, you may prefer to start your window in the morning and end it at dinner.
The body is not going to store fat for energy if it knows when it will be getting fuel/ nutrients on a consistent basis for energy. Fat is stored energy plus toxins. If your body is getting nutrients consistently, it doesn’t need to store energy just in case. Detoxing is getting rid of the things that the body/mind/spirit is holding onto that are not working for us but against us.
Boundaries are a way to detox. When you set a boundary on when you're going to eat, it also makes you look at what you are going to eat and why you want to eat that particular thing. Food is not just nutrients, it is something that we have behavioral, emotional societal, and cultural attachments to.
Ironically, anatomy and physiology connections in our body point us to function in the following structure: the vagus nerve covers the top of the stomach. The vagus nerve is our rest, relaxation, and digestive switch. When it is on, we are enjoying our food and get what we call secondary digestion.
Our food is digested twice; it is called parasympathetic digestion. We are what we eat, but we also break down more of what we enjoy. It leads me to the realization it’s better to have boundaries with which foods you choose to enjoy and when.
Should You Try Intermittent Fasting?
So I decided to try it out. I downloaded an app to see what the buzz was about, and I did learn something big. When we are intentional it does change our whole world because that is what our time, energy, and focus is on that intention.
Focusing your intention in your daily life and habits can make the biggest changes in your overall well-being because it is what we do every day that adds up. Intermittent fasting is a way to not have your system running ON all the time but consistently ON and OFF at specific times, now it can work more optimally.
Weight loss, Anti-aging, mental health, and longevity are all benefits of intermittent fasting. No Wonder my patients can’t stop raving about and getting consistent results. The key is Lifestyle is one of the major causes of disease, anything that helps your lifestyle helps you.
Also, taking the time to focus on yourself is a big part of it. What are you eating, what are you drinking, what are you consuming, when are you sleeping, when are you eating or drinking gives us the much-needed time for a quick check-in.
So, is Intermittent Fasting Right For You?
We can run on fight or flight all day long making sure things are done and not checking in with our body's needs, which can lead to unhealthy consequences. Food cravings, emotional/night eating, overeating, not knowing when full, and no appetite are all consequences of poor self-care. It is time to make time for you, intermittent fasting is one way to start living a longer, healthier life.
I am Dr. Taina Rodriguez with Eastern Acupuncture and Wellness if you like any help with your healing journey.
Thank you for reading my Spilling the Tea with Dr. T
