Without even knowing it, we’ve been trained to equate hunger with pain. In a society with ample food choices and aggressive marketing campaigns, it can feel uncomfortable or even scary to make that first fast and confront your hunger. Studies show, however, that this feeling most likely has more to do with the time of your day you’ve conditioned your body to expect food than actual hunger. We’ve gotten so used to avoiding hunger that even missing a meal can feel like a big deal.
The good news is that this doesn’t last. Once your body starts to tap into its natural stores of fat in your body, that initial feeling of hunger will subside. From here, your body is taking its energy from the fat that you’ve already been trying to get rid of while stabilizing your insulin levels.
Exercise is Fine
While you should exercise caution just as you would in your normal life, exercising during a fast is perfectly fine. In case, there’s been anecdotal evidence from a number of athletes that suggests that fasting can even improve performance, especially during training.
End Calorie Worries
When it comes to counting calories, fasting can actually make your life a whole lot easier. Aside from the obvious fact that you won’t be taking in any calories while on a fast, you can even try out intermittent fasting to lose weight. There are many different varieties of intermittent fasting, but they all involve fasting for a short period of time followed by eating a normal, healthy amount of food. Because of the caloric deficit and weight loss that you’re guaranteed to see while fasting, you’ll have a little more leeway with your eating once you do start eating again. No one enjoys having to count every last calorie, so this kind of regimen can eliminate that.
Getting Started
Now that you’ve heard what fasting is and is not, you want to make that leap and try it out for yourself. But where do you start? First, you’ll want to decide what kind of fast you’re doing. Will this be an intermittent fast where you don’t eat for less than a day, or will you be fasting for 2-3 days? Are you allowing yourself juice and coffee, or strictly water? These things are important to know before you get started.
One thing you might not consider is your support system. Since there are still a lot of misconceptions about fasting, you might get some responses from people trying to dissuade you. They might mean well, but they tend to make these arguments from fear instead of facts. Try to only tell those who will be supportive, if possible. From there, be sure to monitor yourself for the duration of the fast, drink plenty of water, and keep doing what you’re doing.
Why pay an arm and a leg for diet pills and other expensive regimens that will be hard to stick with when you can do something that will save you both time and money? The facts are there: Fasting is an excellent way to get and stay healthy.
#sendthanks
Companion Article: Benefits of Fasting Part 1
