7 Thoughts on Intermittent Fasting
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Should you be intermittent fasting? Is it really as amazing as all the advocates make it seem? How do you know if it's right for you? I know, I know, there are so many questions about intermittent fasting and I want to try to help you out!
In this episode of Embrace Your Real, I have 7 thoughts to share with you on Intermittent fasting that I highly recommend you consider prior to giving it a try. I’m not trying to persuade you one way or another, I just want you to understand all the pros and cons so you’re fully equipped to decide whether or not it’s right for you.
Episodes mentioned...
Episode 37: Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss: What's the Difference & Why Does it Matter?
Episode 32: 9 Nutrition Mistakes to Avoid
Be sure to follow the podcast on the 'gram, @embraceyourreal, for an extra dose of daily real talk!
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real, with me, Julie Ledbetter, a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I dish you a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get in, let's go.
Hello, and welcome back to the Embrace Your Real podcast. I'm so grateful that you are here spending some time with me today. Wherever you are tuning in, we have listeners all over the world. Whether you're walking, you're jogging, you're cooking, you're cleaning, you're working out, you're driving, you're traveling, you are doing the dang thing, girl. You're choosing to show up to prioritize yourself to become the best possible version of yourself so that you can serve others in your best capacity. Now, today, we're chatting all about intermittent fasting.
This is something that a lot of women inside my Macro Counting Made Simple and Movement with Julie community groups ask about, so I thought that I would dedicate an entire episode to just sharing my full answer as to whether or not it should be something that you should be doing and implementing. Before I want to share my thoughts though on intermittent fasting, I first want to explain what it is for those of you who may not be exactly sure you might've heard of it, or maybe you've never heard of it before, but basically, there are countless different protocols when it comes to intermittent fasting. No matter what protocol you're following, you have a designated window of time where you don't eat, AKA you're fasting, and then a designated window of time where you do eat. The most common protocol that I've seen is a 16/8. This is where you fast for 16 hours, and then have an eight-hour eating window, so this would look like eating between noon and 8:00 PM, and then fasting from 8:00 PM to noon.
Some people do a larger eating window and some people do smaller eating window. It really just depends on the protocol that you're following. Also, some protocols say that you shouldn't have anything aside from water, maybe black coffee when fasting, and others say that it's okay to have ghee, MCT oil, grass-fed butter, collagen, BCAAs or bone broth, but if I'm being honest, it's difficult because there's so many different "Experts" saying different things when it comes to fasting, as with every other diet out there. Let me just kind of break down the science behind intermittent fasting, so your body has two ways of storing food as energy. It can either be stored as carbohydrates.
For more technical listeners, these carbs actually get converted and stored as glycogen, or it can be stored as fat. Your body has very limited storage for carbs or glycogen when your body reaches its capacity, and so the leftover is typically get stored as fat, which your body has unlimited storage for fat. Generally, you are constantly pulling from your carbohydrate stores for energy, so when these stores become depleted, you typically just eat more food rather than dipping into your fat storage for energy. Now, intermittent fasting works to deplete your carb or glycogen storage, allowing you to dive into your body fat for energy rather than intaking more food. Sounds great, right?
Well, I have seven thoughts on intermittent fasting that I want to share with you before you consider giving it a try. I am not persuading you in one way or the other. This is coming from a completely neutral standpoint. I just want you to understand all of the pros and cons of intermittent fasting so that you're fully equipped to decide whether or not you feel like it's right for you. Again, coming from a completely neutral standpoint, because it's really, really important that I just give you the information, and empower, and encourage you to make the best decision possible for yourself.
Before we dive in, I have to share this super sweet review of the day. It comes from Rita19. She says, "Best podcast ever. I have seriously listened to this podcast every day. It's so amazing. Julie has helped me so, so much, and I'm so thankful for her and her podcast."
Thank you so much for the review. I have loved reading all of the ratings and reviews recently. You guys are amazing. In case you didn't know, we have an audacious goal of reaching one million women by the end of 2020, but I cannot do that alone. I need your help, so if you do listen on Apple Podcast or have the opportunity, AKA have an iPad or an iPhone where you can pop over to Apple Podcast and leave a review, it really does help us out in the podcast world. All you have to do is press pause, scroll down, and it takes less than 30 seconds, and it really does help us out, so thank you, thank you, thank you.
All right, so here are my seven thoughts on intermittent fasting. Number one, this is one way to see results, but it's not the only way. Now, just because there are a lot of people who are seeing amazing results through intermittent fasting doesn't mean that it's absolutely the only way to see results. Current studies show you can gain the same benefits of intermittent fasting through a controlled diet, cough, cough, cough, eating enough for what your body needs, AKA eating enough protein, carbs and fats, macro counting, which is what I always talk about, fueling your body optimally. If you're contemplating intermittent fasting, just know that there's other effective ways to achieve the same results that you're searching for.
Here are a few small shifts that you could make. Number one, become aware of how much you are snacking throughout the day. Just being aware and keen to what you're feeding your body and what the nutrients are is so important. Number two, maybe you tell yourself you're going to have three big meals and a few snacks, and fueling your body optimally so that you can cut the habit of mindless nighttime snacking, so just saying like, "I am going to eat this, and this, and meal plan accordingly," so that you feel satisfied and you're fueling your body enough so you don't feel the need to overindulge for what your body needs just because you're mindless snacking. Number three, focus on eating the right amount of calories, carbs, protein, fat every single day.
I talk about this a lot, but it's so important that you're properly fueling your body. Number four, incorporating nutrient-dense, fibrous foods into your daily intake, and number five, moving your body. Now, simply focusing on these five things that I just mentioned, can help tap into your fat stores, for a lack of a better term, and burn fat as fuel just as efficiently as intermittent fasting. Number two, believe it or not, intermittent fasting isn't always the healthiest choice for women. Now, intermittent fasting is widely accepted as safe for men, but doctors tend to have varying opinions on whether it's safe for women.
If intermittent fasting is not done correctly, it can cause serious and harmful hormonal imbalances in women. Fasting heavily influences estrogen levels, and as women, when our estrogen levels get out of whack, it can mean missed or lost periods, which can be a super serious issue. Plus, it could mean that your mood, digestion, muscle recovery, and growth can also be affected. It may also lead to hunger hormones being thrown off balance, causing an increased appetite and food cravings. For women, many health professionals agree that fasting for 12 hours, followed by a 12-hour eating window is probably the safest.
Longer fast have shown to cause negative health effects. Now, please, please, please know that I'm no expert when it comes to this. This is just from the research that I've personally done, and I challenge you to do your own research as well before participating in any sort of type of diet or lifestyle change, as I always say that each person is different and it's best for you to experiment what works best for you, not what works best for somebody else, and also keep in mind that I am a huge proponent of a sustainable lifestyle. I'm not going to tell you to do something and say, "Only do this for four weeks, and then do whatever you want." I try to give you the facts.
I try to give you my opinions, my experiences, and let you run with it, and you have the decision to decide what is sustainable for you long-term. Number three, while people use it in a healthy way, it also can be used as a fad diet. Now, I've seen this a lot, especially on Instagram, on Facebook. For some people, this is just their lifestyle. They have found what makes them feel best, and it fits seamlessly into their lives, which is so awesome, but for others, this is just another fad diet bandwagon that they're hopping on, and they're trying to use it as a quick fix solution for weight loss.
Now, as long as you have a fad diet, quick fix mentality when it comes to health and fitness, you are going to struggle to see results that you actually want long-term. I can promise you that intermittent fasting isn't going to be the solution if that's what you're looking for. You will never find a solution until you heal your relationship with your body, with food, and with yourself, so if this is you, if you are wanting to dive into intermittent fasting because you just want it to be a quick fix, before trying intermittent fasting, I need to challenge you to work on those other relationships, relationship with your body, relationship with your food, and relationship with yourself. If you don't, intermittent fasting will just be another fad diet in your toxic dieting cycle. Number four, it can trigger binges.
I typically don't like to use the word binge or eating disorder, but intermittent fasting can be a cover-up for both of those things, so if you have a history of either, I would highly recommend just focusing on nourishing your body with what it needs and not worrying about incorporating intermittent fasting into the mix. Number five, on the flip side, intermittent fasting can trigger undereating, so instead of skipping breakfast and making up for the calories later in the day, some people skip breakfast and never make up for those calories. You know how I feel about undereating. I've talked about it so much, and I've talked endlessly about the harm of undereating and what it does to your body, but in a nutshell, it causes hormonal balances, it can slow your metabolism down, it can trigger you to store body fat, and so much more. If you want to learn more about like the harmful effects that undereating can place on your body, be sure to check out episode 18.
It's titled What Happens When You Don't Eat Enough. Again, intermittent fasting is not an excuse to eat less. If you are intermittent fasting, make sure that you are doing it with the right intentions. Number six, for most people, and I'm just speaking in general terms and from studies that I found on Examine.com, for most people, this is not a sustainable lifestyle long-term. You know me, I am all about creating and building sustainable habits in your lifestyle, so if your habits are not sustainable, your results are not going to be sustainable either, and remember that. Intermittent fasting can be difficult, especially if you have a family who eats at certain times and you can't eat with them, or you're going out with friends in the weekends or whatever it may be. It can definitely put a damper on experiences that you have with loved ones, so I always, always, always recommend finding habits and creating habits that you can stick with long-term.
If you don't see yourself doing something in six months, or one year, or five years from now, then don't do it. On the flip side though, if this is something that you don't struggle with, then go for it. What is sustainable for one person might be not sustainable for another person and vice versa. Again, I need you to just listen to your intuition on what's best for you, what's best for your body, what's best for your health, and for your sanity. Number seven, I need you to get down to the basics first.
Now, I know a lot of people who intermittent fast, but during their eating windows, aren't nourishing themselves with what they need, and then they're getting frustrated that they're not seeing results. Think of intermittent fasting as an advanced level in nutrition. With anything, you can't just skip to being advanced without mastering the basics, so first, you need to start with learning how to properly fuel your body with the right amount of carbs, protein, and fat daily, and then focus on what works best for you in terms of eating your favorite foods and eating nutrient-dense foods. Then, ask yourself about your lifestyle like, "When do you prefer to eat and what works with your lifestyle?" We all live different lifestyles, we all have different professions, we all have different schedules, and so what works for one person might not work for another person, but I would encourage you if you are considering intermittent fasting, to have a solid nutrition foundation first before you implement this eating preference.
Some other things that I wanted to touch on with intermittent fasting when it comes to, like if this is something fit for you, ask yourself if you enjoy having breakfast in the morning. Does it fuel you? Is it something that you enjoy doing or drinking coffee in the morning? What does your lifestyle or profession look like? I know some people, and they work night shifts, they are sleeping throughout the day, so for them, having a 16 or 12-hour fasting window and eight or 12-hour eating window might work best for them, but again, it's totally up to your lifestyle.
I know for me, I've dabbled in intermittent fasting. I tried it for like two months back in 2016, and I thought that I would like it because I would have a shorter eating window, but what I realized was that it was not sustainable for me and it was not enjoyable because I'm just a person, honestly, that loves my breakfast. I love a morning snack. I love having smaller, more frequent meals versus having one or two very large meals. I've just found for me that I feel my best when I'm consistently getting nutrients throughout the day.
Again, at the end of the day, it matters that you are eating enough for what your body needs. Intermittent fasting, in my opinion is not a diet. Intermittent fasting is an eating preference, and I just shared with you seven things and seven thoughts that I have on intermittent fasting, really trying to come from a neutral standpoint because I have found people, and we've worked with people inside of our community group that are meeting their macronutrient goals through intermittent fasting because it just is what works best for them in terms of their profession, their preference, and overall just meeting their macros daily. Then, I've also worked with other people who have tried it and have said, "This is not sustainable, this is not something that I enjoy," and worked with tons of other ladies that have just had smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day, fitting into their macros. Again, I need you to take this information with a grain of salt. I need you to do your own research as well.
Ask yourself what is most sustainable for you and kind of go from there. I hope that you enjoyed this episode. I love doing these nutrition episodes, just kind of like educating you on what I have found in my own research, what I have found in my experience, and working with thousands of women over the last eight or so years in this industry. Again, I hope you found it helpful. If you have somebody or a few people in your life that you feel like this episode would benefit, I just encourage you to share it out with them in a text message.
You can post it up on your Story. Tag me, Juliealedbetter. Remember, remember, remember this, at the end of the day, it is so important that you find something that you both enjoy and that you can see yourself doing long-term, so for me, I'm just going to be straight up honest with you, I couldn't intermittent fast. I've tried it. It doesn't work for me. I don't prefer it.
It's not enjoyable for me, but that doesn't mean just because it doesn't work for me or it's not something that I prefer, that it might not be something that would work in your life, but I need you to take all of these seven thoughts seriously and ask yourself if this is the healthiest, most sustainable option for you. If you love this episode, I know you will also love episode 37, Weight Loss Vs. Fat Loss: What is the Difference and Why Does it Matter? In this episode, I explain how one changes your body composition and how the other one doesn't, and what you need to do in order to lose what you are actually wanting to lose, and then in episode 32, 9 Nutrition Mistakes to Avoid. In this episode, I talk about the nine most common mistakes I see amongst women, and I share what you should do instead. You can go and listen to either of those episodes.
I will link them in the show notes below. Thank you so much for tuning in, and I will talk to you guys on the next episode. All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the 'Gram, be sure to do so, Juliealedbetter. Yes, it's with a name and middle, for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check.
The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcast to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world, and I'm going to leave you with one last thought, the most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface, so go out there and embrace your real, because you're worth it.