The Benefits of Fasting

What if there was a way that you could kick-start your metabolism, feel more energized and enjoy so lots of other health benefits without having to count calories or stick to strict meal plans?

What I’m talking about are some of the many benefits of fasting: 

-lower cholesterol levels

-lower overall body inflammation

-stimulate weight loss

-help normalize insulin sensitivity

-increase secretion of HGH

-decrease arthritic pain

-prevent Alzheimer’s

-lower blood pressure

-decreased effects of asthma

…the list goes on!

Overall, fasting is an amazing technique/tool/discipline when it comes to our health. If done well, the results not only show in the physical, but the mental as well!

From what we’ve learned over recent years, our brain and gut are very connected. A lot of the bacteria in our gut and how we cultivate it has an aeffect on our overall health. Fasting has big benefits to creating this.

Let’s start with the physical of what fasting really is. Simply put, it’s a rest for the digestive system. It allows your body the chance to use energy elsewhere as opposed to the basic function of digestion and distribution of nutrients. It allows your digestive system time to HEAL along with other areas of your body.

One of the biggest misconceptions people make about fasting is that it is meant to be a diet or simply calorie restriction.

By restricting the AMOUNT of food put in, the body can move into a calorie deficit and ultimately the metabolism slows down. If there is too much calorie restriction, the body will even begin to break down muscle as energy. Overall this is a negative for health.

You see, Fasting doesn’t mean eating less. In fact it’s quite the opposite. The goal is to eat the normal amount you usually would just eating less hours of the day.

There are two types of fasting that I recommend.

1.     Time restriction eating

This is where you abstain from food for anywhere between 12–16 hours. During your eating window, you can eat as much of your favorite healthy foods as you’d like. For example: if you finish dinner at 7pm, you wouldn’t eat again until 7am at the earliest the next day. You sleep a large chunk of the fasting time so this is a good way to introduce fasting. I personally do this Monday-Friday. My typical schedule is 7:30pm-9:30am the next day fasting.this gives me about a 10 hour window to eat daily.

2.     Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting which can also be called cyclic fasting is usually done in 14-16 hour intervals. However some people take it all the way up to 18 hours. For men the optimal eating window is 8 hours with a 16 hour fast where females experience better results with a 10 hour eating window and a 14 hour fast. This can be done at any point in the day. Again, the reason this is called cyclic fasting is there is no set schedule for when you fast. You have to decide what’s better for your body. Some people fast all night and through lunch, while others have an eating window of breakfast and lunch and then fast lunch all the way to the following morning. Ex: wake up at 6am and eat breakfast, then lunch at 1 and then the fast begins from 2pm all the way until 6am the next morning.

There are many types of fasts out there. These are two of the most common/beneficial and also easy to implement into daily life. Happy fasting! 

Remember, dieting will change how you look but fasting has the potential to also change how you see.

Love you guys,

Dr. Matt Horn