Fasting

***TRIGGER WARNING*** fasting may NOT be advisable for those struggling in the past or present with eating disorders, disordered eating or unhealthy behaviours related to food. Please speak to your GP before embarking on a new routine for eating.

What’s fasting?

Fasting is easy to understand – it’s taking a break from eating for a period of time. That period of time can vary, and the time you fast for can bring significant and different health benefits.

What types of fasting are there?

 Dr Mindy Pelz is a fasting expert and sets out six types of fasting, which range from not eating (and drinking anything that raises your blood sugar) for 12 hours, to 72 hours (that’s not a typo!).

You might’ve also heard about the 5:2 diet or The Fast 800 diet, both developed by Dr Michael Mosley.

Dr Amy Shah is known as the Fasting MD and wrote the gloriously named book ‘I’m So Effing Tired‘ and ‘I’m So Effing Hungry‘. 

I have followed the 16:8 programme pretty easily on and off in the past, and I actually found it easier to stick to than I thought I would. Skipping breakfast in the morning turned out to be no big deal most of the time, and I just used to eat around lunchtime for the first meal of the day.

Which type of fasting should I do?

Start off gently. 12 hours may seem like forever to go without eating, but it’s pretty straightforward to remember when you last ate and when you’re due to eat again with this option.

It’s generally good practice to stop eating at least three hours before you go to bed anyway, but this should also include drinks that can raise your blood sugar. Beer, wine, fizzy drinks and even squash should all stop being consumed at the same time you have your last meal of the day.

With a 12 hour fasting window, say you stop eating at 6pm, you can then eat next at 6am, which can be pretty early for lots of people.

It gives your body enough time to start to repair itself and recover from eating, and it’s an easy way for you to get into the fasting mindset.

Personally, I find it easier to do something every day rather than say once a week, because then it just becomes part of my routine. But you can even try a 12 hour fast just once or twice a week at the beginning.

After a few weeks of consistent fasting, you might find you’re ready to widen your fasting window to 14, 16 or 18 hours.

But go gently and step things up incrementally. 

Dr Mindy Pelz has done an exceptional amount of research into fasting, and specifically related to the menopause and peri. Her advice to keep fasting healthy and simple is to NOT FAST for the week before your period (if you still have them). If you don’t still have periods, or they’re really inconsistent, follow the moon. When the new moon comes, take that as day 1 of fasting. From days 21-28 stop fasting, then pick it up back up with the next new moon.

Will I be hungry if I fast?

Short answer is probably actually not. 

12 hours without eating is actually not all that long, and you can still drink water, or black tea/coffee.

Once you’re in the swing of fasting, you’ll probably find that the benefits, like glorious energy and reduced bloating far outweigh any little hunger grumbles you might get from time to time.

Will I be angry if I fast?

I’m going to give the same answer as ‘will I be hungry?’ – I don’t think you’ll be angry either. 

You might want to call on discipline if someone’s offering out cakes while you’re in your fasting window, but practicing discipline is an excellent skill to build!

Will I be angry if I fast?

I’m going to give the same answer as ‘will I be hungry?’ – I don’t think you’ll be angry either. 

You might want to call on discipline if someone’s offering out cakes while you’re in your fasting window, but practicing discipline is an excellent skill to build!

What should I eat when fasting?

Lots of people who fast find that they can eat the exact same food as when they don’t fast, and feel huge changes in things like energy levels and headaches.

I remember when I first followed 16:8, I’d read about it in Men’s Health magazine, and one of the writers at the magazine had eaten the exact same food as normal, and just introduced a 16 hour fasting window. He lost a tonne of weight and noticed a whole bunch of benefits, which is what inspired me to give it a bash too.

It’s advisable to eat food that doesn’t spike your blood sugar (stuff like donuts, bread, cakes) but eat foods rich in protein and fats, which stabilise your blood sugar and keep you fuller for longer (avocado, dark chocolate, fish, chicken, meat, oils) and probiotic foods (kefir, sauerkraut)

What is the point of fasting?

There are so many benefits to fasting, it sounds a bit cheesy but the question should almost be, ‘why WOULDN’T you want to try fasting?’

From better quality sleep to cell regeneration, more energy and weight loss, more and more benefits to fasting are being discovered as time goes on.

Will I lose weight fasting?

You may do, you may not do. If all you eat is ultra processed food and drink sugary fizz during your eating window, you may not be setting yourself up for some stellar weight loss.

While the sole purpose of fasting can be to lose some weight, many people often do it for additional reasons. For example, to help the gut repair itself, for autophagy (rubbish cells get eaten by the good ones, but this can only happen in the absence of eating), or perhaps to help ease bloating.

Consider what you’re eating as well as when you’re eating, and make sure you’re not just shovelling in poor quality junk.

Will I sleep poorly if I fast?

Your sleep will probably be fricking amazing, to be blunt.

When you stop eating a good few hours before you go to bed, it gives your body a chance to digest your last meal. If you go to bed soon after you’ve eaten, that food is going to stay stagnant and sit in your digestive tract overnight. Gravity can’t take effect if you’re laying down. Gross.