Benefits Of Fasting

My church invited us to fast as a community this week, which led me to reflect on fasting. A habit I have adopted since Jan 2021. So today I will share the Benefits Of Fasting with you.

Benefits Of Fasting

I need to confess, when I started fasting, after reading about all the benefits, I had no religious/faith motives to do it.

For me, fasting was an attempt to reset my metabolism and fuel a healthier lifestyle and my weight loss.

I started Intermittent Fasting just overnight and resumed eating around 9AM, then moved to 16:8 and progressed to 20:4, but now I’m more in the 16:8 ratio most days.

Fast 16, eat during the 8 hour period.

How I did it:

How To Start Fasting

Consult with your doctor to see if you are able to start a fast routine.

Plan your meals and calorie intake to make sure you’re getting enough nutrition from the meals you do have.

As you progress, see if fasting is a lifestyle you can live with. Some people can’t.

If you’re going to dig in a bag of chips and burgers during your eating period, there’s no health benefit coming from fasting as a health tool. Calorie intakes should always be looked at while considering such an option for your weight loss or to better your eating habits over a prolonged period of time. While supplements such as Nucific (if you are someone who consumes this supplement, you can search for Nucific coupons on the internet for some discount) could prove useful, if you are going down the fasting route, you have to be diligent.

Start a shorter period and adjust as you go.

Fasting can be a great way to fix your relationship with food too. Most of us have become unconscious eaters, in that we just eat without taking heed of what goes into our body. Fasting allows us to become aware of our patterns of hunger and how we treat our food, allowing us to develop healthy eating habits over time.

An unhealthy relationship with food can also translate into many chronic diseases over time, not to mention the disordered eating habits that could develop due to this. If that is the case, then fasting all of a sudden can lead to more health problems. Considering eating disorder therapy can help you cope with the style of unhealthy eating and better understand where the problem lies, so that it can be resolved. These are some factors that should be remembered before going on an outright fast.

In the beginning, I would feel super hungry when I woke up, now I don’t even think about it.

If you decide to add coffee, tea, remember creamer, milk sweeteners will break your fast, so depending on how strict you are, doing right means black coffee or coffee with ghee butter only. If you want to change up your coffee as well, you may want to see what other types are available by checking out websites like Dodjivi or others that are similar, so you can find something that works with your morning routine.

I personally love creamer in my coffee, so I start coffee around 14/15 hours, which works for me, that has not tinted the benefits of fasting for me.

Different Ways To Fast

Here are a few ways to fast:

16:8 – My favorite, because it allows me to continue to live a busy lifestyle and still do it. When I hike or go to church, which ends around 2PM, I have breakfast those days and break the fast.

You don’t want to pass out, right?

20:4 – I did that type of fasting, where you fast for 20 hours and eat within the 4 hour period to bring discipline to my body and reduce my calorie intake.

It worked great for a while, but it was too restrictive for me.

Liquids only

This fasting, in my opinion is not long term and it’s too strict to stick to.

I can’t imagine keeping a busy, healthy lifestyle, which includes fitness, fasting liquids only.

Water only

Some friends have done this type of fasting, mostly for religious purpose, but I honestly believe, if you are with fasting for the long run, stick to a less strict regimen.

I personally can’t do water only for more than 12 hours. I feel lightheaded and weak.

Fasting Tools

Beverages

Keto Coffee, Aromatic Teas will help you survive the first days without breaking it.

I love this coffee brand!

Nothing better than a warm cup of coffee or tea first thing in the morning, especially in the winter months.

Broths

If you’re planning on a liquid fasting, I highly encourage you to plan ahead and make homemade beef, chicken and vegetable broth to help you with warm comfort and nutrition while you’re doing the liquid fasting.

I love soups as my lunch option in the winter as the best way to break the fast!

Soups from a can usually have a ton of sugars and carbs, so I cook soups in the crockpot and freeze them in individual portions to have them later.

Journal

In the beginning I would journal my fasting period and plan when I would resume eating to prevent me from being distracted.

Trust me, first month I couldn’t wait for the clock to turn to the time that I could eat.

Now, it became a second nature, I don’t really miss food until it’s time to break my fast.

I’ve shared some of my journals and planners HERE.

Fasting & Prayer

I believe fasting is a way to offer a sacrifice, give up something you like, a comfort to have a closer relationship with God.

Scripture talks about fasting and not sharing, not boasting, not telling others, so it took me a whole year to talk about this on the blog, even though, I have not been fasting for faith reasons (only).

So, when our church invited us to fast, I had to add a new purpose to my fasting so it had the meaning of sacrificing something I’m used to having for a better/closer relationship with God. In a similar manner to mine, one of my close friends, when she visited this Church in Sacramento, they had explained to her the worth and honor of fasting and being close to God. The way she described her experience sparked my interest in visiting there one day. Probably one day!

Coming back to fasting, whatever the reason why you’re planning/starting fasting, I recommend you research, talk to your primary doctor or a nutritionist, before starting.

Specially if you plan to adopt fasting a lifestyle routine.

Benefits Of Fasting

Here are some benefits of fasting, some of the reasons I started:

Promotes Blood Sugar Control by Reducing Insulin Resistance

Promotes Better Health by Fighting Inflammation

May Enhance Heart Health by Improving Blood Pressure, Triglycerides and Cholesterol Levels

May Boost Brain Function and Prevent Neurodegenerative Disorders

Aids Weight Loss by Limiting Calorie Intake and Boosting Metabolism

You can read more HERE.

Here are a few great tips and liquids compliant with the: Liquid Fasting

You can check out when I started fasting and my Keto journey HERE

I’ve lost almost 50 pounds with Keto and fasting combined in the past 13 months, but results vary and you should take a look at your own progress and move forward, making adjustments which work for you.

I didn’t lose hardly any weight in the first 3 months, even though I was fasting and doing a super strict Ketogenic Diet, but that didn’t discourage me, I continued and was determined to try it.

I will be sharing my favorite soups and broth recipes soon!

Hope fasting will be a positive aspect of your health journey and can’t hear more about your experience fasting!

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Can’t wait to hear from you!

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