Oh my word, you HAVE to read this book! Jason Fung (MD) and Jimmy Moore teamed up and wrote a truly amazing book. The Complete Guide to Fasting is filled with scientific knowledge, helpful tips, and oodles of hope. I loved this book and have been practicing the power of fasting in my own life. I’ll share more about my experience with fasting in another post…but for now, some highlights from the book!
Some Highlights from Fung and Moore’s Book
Why Diets Usually Fail
HOMEOSTASIS: Our bodies adapt to the changing environment caused by the diet and we stop obtaining results
This environment can lead to insulin remaining high, which prevents our body from obtaining access to energy stored as fat
Weight loss requires INTERMITTENT strategies
This intermittent process prevents the body from becoming stagnant
“The body wants to stay a certain weight, and any deviation above or below that weight triggers adaptive mechanisms to get us to return to that weight. That’s why, after weight loss, we become hungrier and our metabolism relentlessly slows, so that we have to eat even less just to maintain our lower weight. That’s the body trying to get us to gain weight to get us back to our set weight.”
But Chelsea, I Can’t Fast! It’s Too Hard
People can fast if they simply try
Change the fasting protocol to make it work for you
Examples: fast one meal a day, every other day, 24hours, 36hours, 12 hours, etc.
Fasting is mind over matter
Staying busy is key
Feast and Fast
Ancient civilizations understood this principle very clearly; it was a part of their culture
Indulge on holidays and vacations and fast the next day
Life is all about finding a balance
Some Fasting Benefits
Increased mental clarity
Antiaging
Cholesterol and heart health
More Advantages of Fasting:
It’s Simple
“Explained in two sentences: “Eat nothing. Drink water, tea, coffee, or bone broth.”
It’s Convenient
“There is no time spent buying groceries, preparing ingredients, cooking, and cleaning up. It is a way to simplify your life.”
You Can Enjoy Life’s Simple Pleasures
“Some diets advise people to never, ever again eat ice cream or desserts. Good advice for weight loss, obviously. But I don’t think it is actually very practical advice….[F]asting restores the ability to occasionally enjoy that dessert by balancing out the feast. It is, after all, the cycle of life. Feasts follow fasts. Fasts follow feasts.”
It’s Powerful
“[L]ow-fat diets, low-carbohydrate diets, Paleo diets, and indeed almost all diets work for some people but not others, and when a diet doesn’t work for you, there is little you can do to make it more effective. However, with fasting, all you need to do is increase the amount of time spent fasting. The longer you go, the more likely you are to lose weight — and it will happen eventually.”
It’s Flexible
“Fasting can be done at any time. There is no set duration. You may fast for sixteen hours or sixteen days. You can mix and match time periods. you are never locked into a pattern.”
It Works With Any Diet
You don’t eat meat? You can still fast.
You don’t eat wheat? You can still fast.
You have a nut allergy? You can still fast.
You don’t have time? You can still fast.
You don’t have money? You can still fast.
You are traveling all the time? You can still fast.
You don’t cook? You can still fast.
You are eighty years old? you can still fast.
You have problems chewing? you can still fast.
So Why Don’t We Fast?
We FEAR Hunger
Hunger starts in the mind
Hunger is a partially learned phenomenon
Fasting is more psychological than physiological
Tips to Fight Hunger
Drink water
Stay busy
Drink coffee
Don’t tell everyone
Give yourself a month
Eat low carb and high fat when you do eat
Don’t binge
Fit it into your lifestyle
Natural Appetite Suppressants
Water
Green tea
Cinnamon
Coffee
Fasting Fluids
Lemon, lime & vinegar water
Chia or ground flax seed (1 Tbsp in 1 cup of water)
Bone broth
Replace Bad Habits
Eat only at the table
Break mindless eating
Different Types of Fasts
12 Hour Fast
Fast from 7 pm – 7 am
This works well for preventative weight gain
16 Hour Fast
Spend only 8 hours eating in a day
Skip breakfast BUT eat lunch and dinner
This works best with a low-carb diet
10 Hour Fast “Warrior Diet”
Only eating dinner
Eat natural and unprocessed foods
HIIT training
24 Hour Fast
Fasting from breakfast to breakfast OR dinner to dinner
You still eat one meal on this fasting day
Try 2-3 days a week
36 Hour Fast
Day 1: Eat dinner at 6 pm (last meal)
Day 2: No food
Day 3: Eat first meal at 12 pm
Give fasting a try and see how you feel! The benefits are worth it! You may fail the first few times, but don’t give up and continue to believe that you are strong and able for every task.
