Part 2 - Fixing the body so it can lose weight!

So now that we know some of the major reasons it's so hard to lose weight from my previous Health tips . . . today we're going to talk about one of my favorite ways to kick start our body and metabolism into action.

Now . . . let me ask you some questions . . . Have you ever noticed that most people start a diet first thing in the morning? And that most of the time by dinner we're feeling defeated?

Do you remember in my first post on "How do we lose weight?", we spoke about due to the stress in our life and the processed foods we eat . . . our "pancreas" becomes overworked and our stomach acids become insufficient to break down the food we eat correctly? . . . Well, a tired pancreas messes up our "insulin" hormone and many other functions of the body including weight loss. So today we need to talk about how to give the "pancreas" a little break.

And that would be with "intermittent fasting".

So you ask . . . what is "intermittent fasting? Well . . . this method of fasting gives the body an opportunity to rest and heal, all while still giving it nourishment and nutrients. Mind you now . . . I DO NOT believe in total fasting and I actually believe we "must" eat to lose weight. So this is NOT about starving ourselves.

When doing this "intermittent" fasting, we get a significant "reduction" in blood sugar and insulin levels, as well as a drastic "increase" in human growth hormones (remember those are the ones that regulate how much muscle and fat we have in the body). In doing this protocol, some research suggests it can protect against disease including heart disease, type II diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and others.

"Intermittent" fasting is an eating pattern done for only 1 - 3 days, where you cycle between periods of eating and fasting to correct your internal dialogue and give the pancreas some much needed relief. Remember we spoke of the "Leptin" hormone being your "fasting" hormone. Well, you're already doing most of the fasting you need when you sleep and you don't even know it. That's what makes this fasting so easy to do.

The two most popular intermittent fasting's are the 16/8 and the 18/6 fasting. So what the heck is that you ask??? Well . . . simply said . . . the time frame you eat or not!

My favorite is the 18/6 so I'll give you an example of what I do once a month. I would fast for 18 hours and eat in the other 6 hours of a 24 hour day. Simple right?

And to make it even easier . . . this is what I do . . . I would start this fast at 6 "PM", (not in the morning like most people do) and drink water, water with lemon, no-caffeine tea, water with magnesium or water with chlorophyll if I needed something in my tummy until I'd go to bed about 9 "PM". I'd sleep all night and wake in the morning to again drink the liquids I just mentioned. Then at 12 "NOON" I would eat a healthy lunch. Mid-afternoon, I'd eat a healthy snack and 5 "PM" I'd eat a healthy dinner.