Monthly Archives: May 2020

Meal Prep

Why I choose Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is a term buzzing around the health and fitness industry. It is being utilized to improve digestive health, assist weight loss, and simplify one’s lifestyle.

I began to incorporate what was explained to me as ‘eating windows’ after I had my son Sawyer. I was nursing and getting insanely hungry at night and eating all the things! I was eating far too many calories in a 24-hour period. I had to do something. I began with a 10-hour eating window. I ate all of my calories and drank all of my water within this 10-hour window. Consider the term ‘breakfast’; This refers to the meal that ‘breaks your fast’ – which is done daily. Intermittent fasting is not something unusual and curious, but is already a part of everyday, normal, life. At its very core, intermittent fasting simply allows the body to use its stored energy on burning fat.

Life is about balance. The good and the bad, the yin and the yang. The same applies to eating and fasting. Fasting, after all, is simply the flip side of eating. If you are not eating, then you are fasting. Intermittent fasting can change hormone levels to facilitate weight loss. In addition to potentially lowering insulin and increasing growth hormone levels, it can increase the release of the fat burning hormone norepinephrine (noradrenaline). When you fast, several things happen in your body on the cellular and molecular level. For example, your body adjusts hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible for burning stored fat. In essence, intermittent fasting allows the body to utilize its stored energy. After all, that’s what it is there for. That is how our bodies are designed. That’s what dogs, cats, lions and bears do. That’s what humans do. If you are eating every third hour, as is often recommended, then your body will constantly use the incoming food energy. It may not need to burn much body fat, if any. You may just be storing fat. Your body may be saving it for a time when there is nothing to eat.

The most obvious benefit from intermittent fasting is the potential  weight loss. However, there are a many potential benefits beyond this, some of which have been known about since ancient times. The fasting periods were often called ‘cleanses’, ‘detoxifications’, or ‘purifications’, but the idea is similar – e.g. to abstain from eating food for a certain period of time, often for health or spiritual reasons. People imagined that this period of abstinence from food would clear their bodies’ systems of toxins and rejuvenate them. Our ancestors may have been more ahead of their time than they knew. Some of the purported health benefits of intermittent fasting may include:

  • Possible weight and body fat loss.
  • Increased fat burning.
  • Lowered blood insulin and sugar levels.
  • Possible reversal of type 2 diabetes.
  • Possible improved mental clarity and concentration.
  • Possible increase in energy.
  • Possible increase in growth hormone production. (at least in the short term)
  • Possible improved blood cholesterol profile.
  • Possible increased longevity of life.
  • Possible activation of cellular cleansing by stimulating autophagy.
  • Possible inflammation reduction.

 

In addition, fasting offers many important unique advantages that may not be available in typical diets. Where diets can complicate life, intermittent fasting may simplify it. Where diets can be expensive, intermittent fasting can be free. Where diets can take extra time in preparation, fasting saves time. Where diets may be limited in their availability, fasting is available everywhere. And, as discussed earlier, fasting is a potentially powerful method for lowering insulin and decreasing body weight. As someone who has applied ‘eating windows’ or ‘Intermittent fasting’ for almost two and half years I have noticed my digestive system has become super regular. I don’t feel that “overly full feeling” or bloating at the end of the day like I used to. I have more energy throughout the day. My sleep has been more restful! My life feels more balanced, and simply healthier. So, there you have it! That’s why I choose to incorporate intermittent fasting in my life friends!

**Please be sure to consult your physician before beginning any diet or workout regimen**

Fitness

Water and weight loss

Many studies support the theory that drinking water is beneficial for weight loss. Also, hydration is key for many factors that play a role in weight loss, including digestion and muscle function. Let’s explore how drinking water may help a person to lose weight and look their best!

Water will naturally suppress the appetite

When the stomach senses that it is full, it sends signals to the brain to stop eating. Water can help to take up space in the stomach, leading to a feeling of fullness and reducing hunger. A person may also think that they are hungry when they are actually thirsty. Drinking a glass of water before reaching for something to eat can help to curb unnecessary snacking.

In a 2014 study, 50 overweight females drank 500 milliliters (mL) of water 30 minutes before breakfast, lunch, and dinner, in addition to their regular water consumption, for 8 consecutive weeks. The participants experienced a reduction in body weight, body fat, and body mass index. They also reported appetite suppression.

Water naturally increases calorie burning

Some research indicates that drinking water can help to burn calories  In a 2014 study, 12 people who drank 500 mL of cold and room temperature water experienced an increase in energy expenditure. They burned between 2 and 3 percent more calories than usual in the 90 minutes after drinking the water. Water may also temporarily increase the body’s resting energy expenditure, or the number of calories burned while resting. Drinking cold water may enhance the calorie-burning benefits, because the body expends energy, or calories, by heating up the water for digestion.

Water helps to remove waste and toxins from the body

When the body is dehydrated, it cannot correctly remove waste as urine or feces. Water helps the kidneys to filter toxins and waste while the organ retains essential nutrients and electrolytes. When the body is dehydrated, the kidneys retain fluid. Dehydration  can also result in hard or lumpy stools and constipation  and, who wants that — am I right? 😉 Water keeps waste moving by softening or loosening hardened stools.

Water also helps the body to recover from digestive problems, such as diarrhea,  and indigestion. When waste builds up in the body, people may feel bloated, swollen, and slugish. Bloating can add inches to a person’s waist. Staying hydrated is a good way to avoid retaining waste, which may add a few extra pounds.

Drinking water reduces overall liquid calorie intake

It is easy to accumulate liquid calories by drinking soda, juice, or sweetened coffee or tea. Most people also ignore how many calories they consume in sports drinks or alcoholic beverages. Replacing even a few high-calorie drinks each day for water or other no-calorie beverages, such as herbal tea, may have long-term weight loss benefits.

Authors of a 2012 study found that replacing two or more high-caloric beverages for non-caloric drinks every day for 6 months resulted in an average weight loss of between 2 and 2.5 percent in a group of females with obesity. In a study from 2015, female participants drank 250 mL of water after lunch each day while attending a 24-week weight loss program. They lost 13.6 percent more weight than women in the same program who drank the same volume of diet beverages after lunch.

Results of a large-scale study showed that men and women who replaced one serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage for water or a low-calorie drink every day for 4 years gained 0.49 fewer kilograms (kg) than a similar group who had made no changes. The same study found that adults who replaced at least one serving of fruit juice with water or a low-calorie drink gained 0.35 kg less than their counterparts.

 Water is essential to burn fat!

Without water, the body cannot properly metabolize stored fat or carbohydrates. The process of metabolizing fat is called lipolysis. The first step of this process is hydrolysis, which occurs when water molecules interact with triglycerides (fats) to create glycerol and fatty acids.

Drinking enough water is essential for burning off fat from food and drink, as well as stored fat.

Water naturally supports workouts

One of the most important components of any weight loss plan is exercise. Water helps muscles, connective tissues, and joints to move properly. It also helps the lungs, heart, and other organs to work efficiently as they ramp up activity during exercise.

Being hydrated reduces the risk of things that can get in the way of a solid workout, such as muscle cramps and fatigue.  Always drink water before, during, and after exercise to avoid dehydration. Keeping water close at hand is essential, especially if exercising in hot, humid, or very sunny conditions.

Water naturally supports healthy glowing skin.

The fact is that skin is an organ, and just like any other part of the body, your skin is made up of cells. And skin cells, like any other cell in the body, are made up of water. Without water, the organs will certainly not function properly or at their best. If your skin is not getting the sufficient amount of water, the lack of hydration will present itself by turning your skin dry, tight and flaky. Dry skin has less resilience and is more prone to wrinkling. The more hydrated you stay, the fewer wrinkles and fine lines you’ll see. Water helps your skin maintain moisture, which increases your elasticity. The more elastic your skin, the fewer wrinkles you’ll see.

So there you have it my friends! Drinking water will help you on your journey to a fabfitlife!