By Successful weight loss is should be quite easy to accomplish, allowing you to have peak energy levels, health, and vitality for life. That’s something I did not experience over seven years of unsuccessful dieting. My goal was to find a diet that would help me lose weight and keep it off for good. Was that too much to ask? I know I was getting older, and my body was beginning to wear the war of my competitive dieting. But surely, I could do something to gain my life back and lose this weight? I can’t lie to you in saying that Intermittent fasting is the ultimate weight loss strategy, based on human evolution and the study of metabolism. I’m guessing that most of you reading this have tried some diet that’s probably failed. The reason why it fails is there is a missing component that triggers particular fat loss hormones. When we fast, we allow our bodies to be a lot more efficient and self-protective. It’s an in-build function of our bodies, often diminished with modern-day culinary defeats.
A few differences are happening to you in a fed and non fed state.
When you aren’t fasting, your cells turn on cellular growth and proliferation. It also shuts off genes related to fat metabolism, stress resistance and damage repair. With intermittent fasting, some of your fat gets turned into ketone bodies that appear to reactivate these genes, lowering inflammation & stress resistance in the brain. Ketones also turn on genes related to the antioxidant process and damage repair.
Here is a breakdown of what happens during the IF process and what stage is the most profound for fat loss:
Twelve hours – it’s time for ketosis. During this time, the body starts to break down and burn fat for energy. During IF, ketone bodies generated by your liver partly replace glucose as fuel for your brain and other organs.
Ketones used by the brain is why intermittent fasting claims to promote mental clarity and a positive mood.
Ketones seem to produce less inflammatory products as they are being metabolised than glucose. They can even kick start brain growth, reduce cellular damage and cell death in neurons, and reduce inflammation in other cell types. Eighteen Hours – It’s the full-blown fat-burning mode with significant ketone generation. It’s the best time to start some exercise. Exercise during this fasting timeframe leads to improved learning and memory. To further accelerate this, why not do a little bit of carb restriction too. Your body will naturally increase stress-busting pathways that reduce inflammation and repair damaged DNA. Twenty-four hours – The process of recycling old cell components and breaking down proteins linked to Alzheimer’s, as well as other diseases. Welcome to Autophagy. The critical function of Autophagy is the process of cellular and tissue rejuvenation, remove damaged cellular components, including misfolded proteins. When the cells don’t initiate this process, the results may indicate a susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases. Ageing seems to reduce this process. IF is the one way you can increase Autophagy in your cells and reduce the effects of ageing. You are more likely to trigger Autophagy during an 18 hour fast than 12 hours. Forty-eight hours – Growth hormone is five times higher than when you first started fasting, occurring when your body has very few calories, carbs or protein available. Growth hormone helps preserve lean muscle mass and reduces fat tissue accumulation, particularly as we age. Growth hormone appears to play a large part in longevity & promotes wound healing and cardiovascular health. Fifty-four hours – Insulin is at its lowest point now, and your body is increasing its Insulin sensitivity.Diminished insulin markers generate a reduction in inflammation, making you more insulin sensitive. This protects you from diseases of ageing and including cancer. There are timeframes beyond 54 hours, and a 12-16 hour window seems sufficient for the body to start burning fat for energy. There is a distinct advantage to going beyond 18 hours if you have a substantial amount of body fat to lose. If you do not, you will get a lot of benefit from 12-18 hour fasts regularly. Why not try fasting for seven days once or twice a week for the magnificent cell rejuvenation benefits? It is important to consult with your doctor to check you have no underlying health conditions which could worsen. What about re-feedingWhen it comes to re-feeding after fasts, it’s best to schedule a nutrient-rich breakfast- like oats, wheat bix, and some form of protein. Stay away from tones of carbs and sugars that will negate all the hours of hard work. If you keep your re-feed as natural as possible, you simply can’t go wrong. Happy Fasting