If you’ve ever gone on a diet – and I have! – you’ll know that the minute you stop the diet, the weight comes back.
I think I can say I tried everything in diets. I’ve done Weight Watchers (twice!), Jenny Craig (expensive!), Joel Fuhrman’s Eat To Live (very expensive!) and dozens more. I lost weight on all of them, to varying extents, only to regain the weight the moment I stopped. They were all paths to failure.
Continuous calorie restriction, which is what all diets are based on, slows your metabolism right down. I’m probably not telling you anything new here. That’s why diets don’t work.
We all knew what would happen to the contestants on The Biggest Loser. We all know why there are no reunion shows five years on!
FASTING IS DIFFERENT
Fasting is different. Because it is on again, off again, your metabolism doesn’t slow down significantly. So the weight stays off.
Your body never “thinks” it is starving and never slows down your metabolism to compensate, because just when it starts to “think” that – hey presto! – you stop fasting. Only to start again a few days later.
In this way, you keep your metabolism on its toes the whole time, never knowing what to expect, and never slowing down.
HOW LONG SHOULD I FAST?
You can fast as much or as little as you like. It’s really common for people to fast 16/8. This means they’re fasting for 16 hours of every 24 hour period, with an 8 hour eating “window” every day.
This seems to be the most common and convenient way for people to fast, and you can do this if you like.
16/8 it is a great way to start, when training yourself for longer fasts which are more useful and effective. But longer fasts are definitely a better way to go.
You see, evidence seems to suggest that ideal fasting length is at least 48 hours (two days), and possibly longer.
This is because it takes at least 12 hours for a lot of people to fully enter ketosis, the point at which they have switched over to burning fat for fuel instead of sugar.
It takes about 18 hours for autophagy to kick in, and 24 hours for inflammation to drop and for cardiac and brain function to improve.
Furthermore, it is at about 48 hours into a fast that stem cell stimulation really kicks in, and your body undergoes all the healing and repair it needs in a huge way.
Watch this video by Dr Berg for more information on fasting.
FIT, FED AND FASTED
Fit, Fed and Fasted teaches you how to work up from fasting just a couple of hours a day through to managing regular longer fasts, unlocking all the benefits they have to offer.
IS FASTING DIFFICULT?
Yes, in the same way that riding a bike is difficult if you’ve never done it before.
That’s why you learn, a step at a time. Learning step by step makes fasting accessible for just about everyone.
fit, fed and fasted 