Good morning! Dr Kelly here. I skipped breakfast today. Are you?
What are the ins and outs of fasting? How long can I fast for?
Fasting is to abstain from all or some kinds of food or drink, especially as a religious observance.
Starvation is when you do not know when food is going to be available. It is important to not move into starvation mode. One of the reasons you may choose to fast is to maintain weight.
If you are not fueling your body properly, your body may think you do not have food. It may not know when your next meal will come from. Then the body will hold onto everything you have stored in case you will need it down the road.
This is not what fasting is all about. Fasting allows your body to take a break and focus on healing.
How long does a fast need to be? 12, 16, 24 hours
You can fast for as long as you feel comfortable. I prefer a 16 hour fast.
If you think about it, growing up, once dinner was finished, the kitchen was closed. You didn’t keep snacking after dinner. You in theory you fasted from dinner to the next morning. Probably a 12 hour fast every day.
Now you are taking that fast & adding a few hours. So if you are done eating dinner by 7pm, your next meal will be by 11am the next day. I find this a reasonable time for me.
It gives your body time to not have any extra food to break down. Time to use up what is in your system. Time, if needed, to pull from what you have stored.
It is the use of this stored energy (fat) that your body burns for fuel.
Picture a car and it’s gas tank. You eat breakfast and the tank is full. You drive around and burn some energy. But then you eat again…refilling the tank. Then you sit around and don’t burn any fuel, but you eat again…refilling the tank. The tank is now overflowing.
When you are fasting you give your body time to use up all that fuel.
If you are fasting for 16 hours per day, that leaves you an 8 hour window to eat.
During your 16 hour fast, make sure you are drinking plenty of water. You want to stay out of a crisis. Keep hydrated, allow the body to pull from what you have stored.
What do you do during the fasting time? Keep busy!
Schedule a meeting. Go for a walk. I love fasting on days that I work. The time goes by fast & I don’t even have a chance to think about eating. I break my fast during the lunch hour. Refuel my body and ready to go.
Working out. That is a little trickier. You need to listen to your body. Working out right before you end your fast is perfect.
You work out on the fast. At the end of the workout, you end the fast with a protein shake to help replenish what you used during the workout.
Coffee – can you drink coffee while you are fasting? Some theories say yes, some say no. I say if you feel ok with caffeine, drink coffee with nothing added into it.
Say thing goes for tea. You can start your morning with a warm cup of tea – with nothing added to it. I recommend an herbal tea with no caffeine.
A fast does not need to be skipping breakfast. If it works better for your schedule, skip dinner. Eat a breakfast and lunch, then fast until the next morning.
No matter how long you fast for, enjoy your time
You can reach out by responding to this email or text us if you want more info on fasting. Even better, ask me about it at your next visit.
Yours in Healthy Naturally,
Dr. Kelly