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intermittent fasting and autophagy

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It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks. I’ve been hit with wave upon wave of sickness (courtesy of my daughter), and I am SO ready for a break from the preschool plagues!

However, I’m still devoted to this intermittent fasting (IF) journey. And it is working! I stick to my fasting window of 15-16 hours six days a week, taking one day off a week when I’m allowed to eat or enjoy an adult beverage outside of my designated fasting window (for date nights, Mama’s sanity, etc).

I am rarely hungry, I get fuller faster when I eat, I’m sleeping better, and the pounds are melting away with very little effort. So far, I have lost 8 pounds. I haven’t counted anything or denied myself anything; if I feel like I need a piece of chocolate, I eat the dang chocolate. But I will say that I’m more mindful now about what I choose to eat and how much of it I really need to feel satisfied. And it was a natural evolution of thought, stemming from the two new routines in my life: meditation and IF.

Others have joined me on this journey, and I’ve gotten some AMAZING feedback! A friend recently shared her success with me, and I was completely blown away. Here is the message I received from her after less than a week of IF:

Now I will admit, I had no idea what autophagy was when she mentioned it. But since she’s in the medical field, I knew it was worth looking into! So I set off on a google search and found a 4-minute video on Youtube that talks about what autophagy is, and how IF triggers it. Rather than me trying to summarize (or butcher) the information in the video, I’ll post the link here so you can see for yourself: Autophagy & Intermittent Fasting: Activate Garbage Recycling and Cellular Remodeling

After watching that video, there’s really nothing more or better I can say about the benefits of IF and why everyone should be doing it. The craziest thing about all of this is that I never thought I would join the meditating or fasting bandwagons. If someone had told me a few months ago that I’d be doing these things, I would have laughed them out of the room.

But I did pray, asking for God’s help with my health goals. Then I talked to a friend (a fellow believer) about my struggles, and that led me to IF. So I’m going to take these blessings and run with them.

If you haven’t already, I would love for you to join me and share your feedback! 🙂

Blessings,
Emily

intermittent fasting (IF)

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Along this path towards overall health, I’ve recently discovered another gem used to increase health and longevity: intermittent fasting (IF).

I’m sure most of us have all encountered the idea of fasting at some point, whether for religious purposes or for medical necessity. And never has it ever been fun. So when one of my friends first mentioned to me that she was doing IF, I nodded and smiled and asked a few questions, all the while knowing I had ZERO desire to take part in it myself. Boy was I ignorant.

Fast forward a few months after that conversation, as the crappiness of being unhealthy started taking a bigger toll on how I felt, I shared my struggles with this friend, and once again she brought up IF. This time, I felt bad enough to start researching. And everywhere I looked, people were raving about the benefits of IF. Then I randomly saw an article about it posted on a health site that I regularly follow. It appeared that all signs were pointing to IF, and how it might be exactly what I should be doing.

Well amigos, here I sit. I’m doing this IF thing, and dern if I don’t feel better after just a few days of it.

It’s not hard at all. I have no idea why I was so obstinate for so long. Oh wait, yes I do. That’s kinda my thing. Sigh.

Anywho, the idea is that you eat within a specified timeframe every day, and then you have a fasting timeframe. There’s no counting things, or not eating certain things, or only eating certain things. The goal of IF is to simply allow your body to fast long enough that it begins to utilize the sugar stored up in your fat cells as energy, before you eat again.

But this one small goal of IF leads to SO many bigger-picture health advantages. Because you can only eat during a certain window of the day (which you determine), you also naturally end up consuming less calories each day (barring you don’t go berserk during your eating window). Other amazing things start happening inside your body as well, as it is allowed to basically “reset” during the fasting window.

From everything I have been reading, it appears that consistent IF actually increases longevity, insulin sensitivity, AND decreases the risk for type II diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. I’m sure there are many other health benefits that I have yet to discover, but I’ll keep researching and sharing! 🙂

First, you have to get over the word “fasting”, which makes you envision yourself starving in the desert for days without food. Possibly considering that buzzard for dinner. But this is simply not reality.

For example, right now, I’ve decided that my fasting timeframe is from 6pm to 9am. I don’t eat anything after 6pm each night, until 9am the next day. This equates to 15 hours of fasting, most of which I am sleeping away. Eventually, I may increase the fasting window to 16 hours, depending on how everything goes with the 15-hour fast.

I’ve read quite a bit about IF in the last few weeks, and the general consensus is to start slow and work up to your desired fasting-window goal. Start with fasting for 12 hours, and then slowly increase as you have success. So far, I have nothing but good news to report. My energy has increased, my appetite has decreased, and I just FEEL better.

I’ll post a link below for a quick intro to IF. If you’re interested and open-minded, give it a read, do a little googling of your own, and let me know what you think about IF. And please – if you have ANY health conditions, be sure to discuss this with your doctor or medical professional before you start any new eating or fasting plan.

How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight

I’ll be posting more about IF as I gain more knowledge and experience with it. Here’s to better health! 🙂

Blessings,
Emily