Intermittent Fasting: When, Why, Why Not?

by CANDICE DEAL

even constipation due to a decrease in overall consumption (fiber is important, and all fiber is not created equal!).

The key to finding out what works for your body is to take on any intermittent fasting regimen slowly. Increasing your fasting window over time and making sure you aren’t cutting out too many calories or nutrients! If you go for too many hours without eating before you get your mind and body trained to do so, the negative side effects could hit you much harder than if you do it gradually. And if you try to do this gradually and still have negative side effects, it may mean that intermittent fasting isn’t a great option for you.

Breaking your fast and what you consume when taking on the ritual of Break-fast, should be full of nutrients, no matter what time of day that happens to be. Taking on intermittent fasting with a goal of increasing your focus or reducing your hunger cravings means you shouldn’t decrease your calorie intake during your eating window, it simply means you pack more food and nutrients into your window. If weight loss is part of your goal in intermittent fasting, then cutting back on your caloric intake will be easier due to your smaller window of consumption. Try starting with your normal volume of food at your meals but minus one entire meal a day. This might mean skipping breakfast and only having coffee. Or skipping dinner, depending on what works best for you, your family and your schedule.

When considering intermittent fasting for men and women, when and how should be significantly different since men go through a full hormonal cycle every twentyfour hours and it takes women an average of twenty-eight days! Women need to be more cognizant of where they are in their hormonal cycle and use that as a gauge as to whether they should fast at all or need to reduce/increase their fasting hours or limit the number of days you fast per week. You can find a lot of good information on this via the web, but a reputable source, like Dr. Stephanie Estima or Dr. Aviva Romm are good choices when surfing the internet.