Intermittent Fasting (IF) is wildly popular and for good reason. The benefits include reducing insulin resistance and inflammation, promoting brain health and reducing the risk of developing dementia-related diseases, and weight loss.
Doing it successfully is actually harder than you would think. I mean, skipping meals isn’t that hard right? WRONG! You can do it wrong and greatly harm your health!
If you overdo it pr use it as an excuse to binge during your eating times you won’t experience any benefits and can absolutely destroy your metabolism and cause more inflammation in your body. Doing it correctly is essential for you to reach your health goals!
Before you starting Intermittent Fasting, there are 5 steps to take to be successful.
5 steps for Successful Intermittent Fasting
#1 Eat Well
Before you start the IF journey, your diet needs to be spot on. This is a health tool, not a diet. You need to be eating an anti-inflammatory diet rich in
- fresh produce
- healthy fats
- quality protein
- and eating minimal to no highly processed and junk foods.
If you aren’t there yet, master this before starting Intermittent Fasting. My Meal Planning Made Easy course is a great place to start and will make your IF journey successful too.
#2 Detox First
IF will lead to weight loss. Do you know what is stored in your fat cells? Toxins. Adipose tissue is where your body stores environmental toxins that can’t be filtered out quickly enough so they don’t make you violently ill. When you IF, all these toxins are released and your body needs to filter them out. Don’t go grab a juicing cleanse though. Instead, watch this webinar to learn how to detox correctly, do that, then you can start your IF journey.
#3 Avoid Sugary Treats the Day Before and the Day After
When you indulge in a lot of added sugar, it gets your blood sugar going on a rollercoaster. If you are fasting the next day, your hunger will be exponentially more and thus make it more difficult to fast until the time you designated to break it. If you eat added sugar during or after your fast, you’re ruining all your hard work and reversing any health benefits you may have experienced or even be worse off than before. It’s just not worth it. Minimizing added sugar is important anyways but definitely save it for when you aren’t going into or out of a fast.
#4 BREAK YOUR FAST WITH FAT, FIBER, & PROTEIN
When it is time for you to eat, the worst thing you can do is eat a sandwich with a bag of chips and a diet coke. Or with a venti Starbucks latte and a turkey wrap.
Instead, you need to break it in a way that will keep your blood sugar stable and you satiated all day long. To do that you need to eat a fat, fiber, and protein. So eggs with sauteed vegetables cooked in butter (like this breakfast bowl) is a great option for example. You can download my free Breakfast Guide for a more in-depth explanation of why plus recipes to get you inspired and started.
#5 Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated will help keep your hunger at bay. One of the first symptoms of mild dehydration is hunger. Drinking plenty of water is one of the best things you can do to help manage your hunger and help keep toxins moving out of your body. It is recommended that you drink at least half of your body weight in ounces.
Bonus Tip: If you get hungry, drink this
Coffee is an appetite suppressant. All the coffee drinkers can celebrate! Drinking plain black coffee (investing in a high-quality bean for best flavor is recommended), or adding MCT oil (also known as BulletProof Coffee) can help sustain you until it’s time to break your fast.
Intermittent Fasting has amazing health benefits and by following these steps it’ll be an amazing health tool. Learn more about IF, the harmful myths around it, and how to do it correctly so you can reap all the benefits by watching this webinar.
