Intermittent Fasting 101

Written By Tamika Henry

Intermittent fasting is an umbrella term for various eating diet plans that cycle between a period of fasting and non-fasting over a defined period. There are several different ways of doing intermittent fasting — all of which involve splitting the day or week into eating and fasting periods.

These are the most popular methods:

The 16/8 method: Also called the Leangains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 1–9 p.m. Then you fast for 16 hours in between.

Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.

The 5:2 diet: With this methods, you consume only 500–600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days.

Many people find the 16/8 method to be the simplest, most sustainable and easiest to stick to. This is the most popular method with our patients.

Health Benefits

When you fast, several things happen in your body on the cellular and molecular level. For example, your body adjusts hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible. Your cells also initiate important repair processes and change the expression of genes.

Here are some changes that occur in your body when you fast:

Human Growth Hormone (HGH): The levels of growth hormone skyrocket, increasing as much as 5-fold. This has benefits for fat loss and muscle gain, to name a few 

Insulin: Insulin sensitivity improves and levels of insulin drop dramatically. Lower insulin levels make stored body fat more accessible and reduce the risk of diabetes

Cellular repair: When fasted, your cells initiate cellular repair processes. This includes autophagy, where cells digest and remove old and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells 

Gene expression: There are changes in the function of genes related to longevity and protection against disease 

Our Preferred Method

Week 1 and 2:

DaysSTART EatingSTOP EatingMonday through Friday10:30AM5:30-6:30PM

*Can drink water and herbal teas during fasting time. DRINKING GREEN TEA HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO HELP CONTROL HUNGER.

* You can wake up Saturday and have breakfast in the morning, eat your regular meals at regular times, even a later dinner. On Sunday, you can wake up and have breakfast in the morning, eat your regular meals at regular times but dinner must be no later than 5:30PM to prepare for next week’s fasting.

Week 3 to 5:

DaysSTART EatingSTOP EatingMonday through Friday12:30PM5:30-6:30PM

*Can drink water and herbal teas during fasting time. DRINKING GREEN TEA HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO HELP CONTROL HUNGER.

* You can wake up Saturday and have breakfast in the morning, eat your regular meals at regular times, even a later dinner. On Sunday, you can wake up and have breakfast in the morning, eat your regular meals at regular times but dinner must be no later than 5:30PM to prepare for next week’s fasting.

Week 6 to 8:

DaysSTART EatingSTOP EatingMonday through Friday10:30AM5:30-6:30PM

*Can drink water and herbal teas during fasting time. DRINKING GREEN TEA HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO HELP CONTROL HUNGER.

General Guidelines

  • During the 8 weeks of the IF (Intermittent Fasting) Program, you must follow your previously discussed dietary guidelines

  • IF Program is not designed as a caloric restriction, so please make sure you eat around the same amount of food and calories as you’ve been eating before. The only thing that changes is the times of when you’re eating them

  • Make sure you drink plenty of water (half of your body weight in ounces)

  • If you are taking any prescription medication or supplements, make sure you take them with food (when you start eating)

  • If you feel very hungry before it’s time to eat, you can have a glass of celery juice to make you go through that fasting period until you first meal. If it has been allowed by the doctor, you can also have a cup of black coffee in the morning. Eventually, you should go through your fasting period only drinking water and/or tea.

  • Remember these are suggested guidelines for intermittent fasting. We recommend working with a health professional  to assist you along the way.

    How to Break the Fast

    • Eat a protein with a fat. Do not eat carbohydrates in your first meal when breaking the fast unless it’s leafy greens

    • Two hours after your first meal you can eat a carbohydrate (sweet potato, squashes, carrots, beets, simple mills crackers, etc) together with a protein (soft boiled egg, chicken, almond cheese, etc) and nuts

    • Continue eating your normal diet

    How to Finish your Fast

    • After your last meal, drink 1 glass of water with 2 TBS phyllium husk and have a fat source (1 TBS almond butter, 1/3 avocado, 5-6 kalamata olives, etc). This will help you stay satiated longer during your fasting period

    This is an exciting time for you and your health transformation. Take one day at a time. The key to success is showing up and doing the work. 

    Remember, Unlimited Thinking. Unlimited YOU!!

Tamika Henry
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