Perhaps you’ve heard of a new weight loss solution that has swelled in popularity over the past few years called intermittent fasting. From gym-junkies to stay-at-home moms, intermittent fasting has attracted many people looking to lose some extra body weight.

It’s easy enough to understand. You stop eating after dinner, around 8 pm. And fast until noon the next day. It’s 16 hours of fasting with an 8-hour eating window. Easy.

As a dedicated intermittent faster for over two years, I can verify that this style of fasting is a powerful weight-loss tool.

I can also admit that it is very challenging at the beginning, a hangry Danielle is one everybody should avoid.

However, after the first two weeks, I began to notice the many benefits.

Even during long spells of traveling without access to a gym, I’ve been able to not only become stronger, but stay lean while traveling.

All while still occasionally indulging in chocolate, plenty of carbohydrates, which I used to view as the devil and fro-yo!

• What does fasting do?
• What causes these health benefits?
• Improving Mental Clarity
• The Effects Of Fasting On The Brain
• Maximize Your Workout Efficiency
• How Can I Incorporate it into my life?

What does fasting do?

But what else does intermittent fasting do for our bodies besides limiting calories, stimulating fat-burning and defying us of our beloved brunch dates?

Recent studies have shown there may be numerous other promising benefits that intermittent fasting could potentially have on our bodies!

Specifically on the impact fasting has on our general health, inside our brain, and other surprising effects of intermittent fasting.

Reducing the risk of deadly diseases, even cancer!

One of the most exciting benefits of intermittent fasting might not even be weight loss!

Studies have shown a link between fasting and a reduced risk of liver and heart disease.

Researchers have also found evidence that intermittent fasting can be used to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, and maybe some forms of cancer!

What Causes These Extraordinary Health Benefits?

Well, when our bodies fast we exert high levels of stress on our cells. After 16 hours without eating, our bodies begin a process called autophagy.

“Auto” is Latin for body. The Latin suffix “-phagy” means eating. So, during autophagy, our bodies literally begin to eat itself.

Now, this may sound counter-productive, but it is actually a very natural evolutionary function humans have developed over thousands of years to survive.

To better understand this process, imagine what happens when we donate blood. Using needles, blood is extracted from our bodies.

Once the old blood is removed, we begin to regenerate new, healthy blood cells.

The same happens when we fast. When our stressed cells resort to feeding on old, unhealthy cells for energy, our bodies produce new, healthy cells.

This cleansing purifies our body and can protect us from many deadly diseases.

And when we eat less, our pancreas releases less insulin for energy, resulting in lower rates of diabetes and high blood pressure.

Also, our pituitary glands produce more human growth hormones (or HGH), which kickstarts our glucose and fat metabolism.

This has been linked to possibly delaying how quickly our bodies age, as well as increasing heart function. 

All of these factors, as a result of intermittent fasting, can potentially:

• slow the aging process
• reduce the risk of liver and heart disease, as well as Alzheimer’s
• prevent some forms of cancer and diabetes

Improving Mental Clarity

Fasting for the benefit of improving brain function has been around for thousands of years. The famous Greek philosopher, Plato, surmised, “I fast for greater physical and mental efficiency.”

But how does withholding nourishment from our body increase our mental clarity?

It must be noted that some of the world’s greatest thinkers were adamant believers in fasting and it’s effect on the mind.

Ancient Greek philosophers, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, and Gandhi recognized the value fasting has on the mind.

Religious leaders – Jesus, Buddha, and Muhammed all preached to their followers the benefits of fasting.

Although they came from all corners of the globe, stretching vast time periods, these men were right!

Modern scientific research has proven that fasting has a powerful effect on the brain. 

It all begins with our very first ancestors – when humans existed as hunter-gatherers. Our brains evolved and adapted to long stretches (and high levels of stress) without food. When faced with the reality of food (energy) deprivation, the brain is forced to do its best thinking to find food and avoid shutting down. 

I have some of my greatest Ideas in the morning while in a fasted state.

It’s when my productivity is at an all time high. I will admit, I would find it very difficult without my french press of coffee and lemon water.

However black coffee and tea is allowed while fasting as it does not take your body out of a fasted state. So sip away friends!

The effects fasting has on the brain are very similar to how our body responds to exercise

When we work out, we impose high levels of stress on our cells. This increases the number of mitochondria (aka the cell’s powerhouse – as you may remember from high school biology) in cells in our muscles. 

Fasting acts in a similar fashion. When we abstain from food, we increase our mitochondria neurons; which, in turn, increase our cell’s ability to form new synapses (chemical signals from neuron to neuron).

These synapses are responsible for growth in memory and learning ability.

Lab researchers have conducted numerous experiments with various animals using intermittent fasting.

Animals that ate on a fasted diet showed higher levels of neuron activity, resulting in optimized learning and better memory retention in maze experiments.

They even demonstrated lower levels of risk to brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Humans have come a long way from hunting and gathering for food. We no longer need to endure long periods between meals.

But evolution is a slow, meticulous process. Deciding to live like our ancient ancestors may not be as crazy as you’d think!

Maximize Your Workout Efficiency

If benefitting your overall health and mind wasn’t enough, intermittent fasting can also be a powerful tool to make your workouts much more efficient.

It’s no secret that losing weight can improve your physique. But fasting can also activate triggers in your body to help boost muscle growth.

I began fasting around the same time I began Pilates, I was amazed at what my body was capable of doing, all while fasting.

I had increased levels of energy and noticed when I was running I would want to go a lot faster and for much longer! When I worked out, I did not want it to end.

As I’ve referenced earlier, intermittent fasting raises the level of human growth hormones (HGH) our bodies produce.

HGH targets fat burning while increasing muscle mass and repairs fatigued tissue.  Although working out in a fasted state may worry some people, it’s actually very beneficial to train your body in this manner.

When you are in a fasted state, your body begins to burn muscle glycogen (or stored carbohydrates) in your body.

By eating after a workout, the food that normally would be stored as fat is used to replenish your muscle glycogen stores, thereby, increasing muscle mass more efficiently.

How Can I Incorporate it into my life?

Intermittent fasting is a lifestyle choice. Therefore, you need to do it to suit your needs. Do it at a time that suits you.

If you’re an early riser, begin eating at 12pm and stop at 8pm. If you are a night owl who enjoys their sleep ins or stomach doesn’t wake up for a while in the morning, stop eating at 11pm and eat the next day at 3pm.

Intermittent fasting can allow you eat more freely without the guilt but that does not mean that you go hell for leather during your 8 hour eating window.

If you want to see results, and overall care for your health, choose healthier foods with real ingredients and avoid overly processed choices.

\If you want more of an idea on food groups and what you can eat for a healthier lifestyle you can see my article on it here.

Don’t dread the fast, enjoy it. You’ll begin to see many benefits when you do and learn to appreciate food a lot more.

It completely changed my unhealthy relationship with food to now viewing it as something i’m so grateful to have to fuel my body.

If you have any doubt about how intermittent fasting can heighten your workouts, go check out the numerous celebrities and personal trainers who swear by it to achieve their bodies.

Terry Crews, Beyonce, Hugh Jackman, Miranda Kerr, and Chris Hemsworth all employ some form of intermittent fasting to get themselves ready for the big screen.

And if it’s good enough for Wolverine, Thor, and the Queen B – maybe there’s some merit to fasting!

Intermittent fasting can be a wonderful way to enhance your life.

It has mine! But it doesn’t magically protect you from developing liver disease, make you a great philosopher like Plato, or give you a Victoria Secrets Model body.  

Yet, it can still benefit you in numerous ways.

If you want to reduce risks of disease, think clearer, and exercise efficiently, intermittent fasting is the lifestyle choice for you!

Happy Fasting!

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