By Lisa Freeman
Fasting rules should never be broken. The foods to avoid when breaking a fast. How to safely break a fast, and intermittent fasting for women and more.
The first rule is build up your fasting muscle gradually. Fasting is like a muscle. We need to build it up. Fasting is a very powerful tool. If you are brand new to fasting you would NOT just start with a 24 hour to 48 hour fast. Start with a 12 hour. Work your way up. An example of this would be last meal at 8 PM and don’t eat anything until 8 AM the following day. Now you can build this up overtime and extend your breakfast till 9 AM or 10 or continue on to extend the time of your fast. Eating window will be six hours.
Now if you would like to extend your time of fasting and want to incorporate coffee or tea you will need to test your blood glucose before you consume coffee or tea. After you’ve consumed the coffee or tea, 30 minutes later you will need to check your glucose again. If your blood glucose level has risen more than five points that is a sign that you are breaking your fast. When that happens you are losing the autophagy cellular repair benefits that fasting offers. Higher levels of growth hormone is released after a 16+hour fast. People are different in this area with regard to glucose rising numbers. Test yourself so you understand when you go over five points, and what it took to do that. I strongly recommended doing this and find how your body is reacting to tea or coffee.
Now the second rule – stay hydrated and keep your electrolytes up. Here’s what happens when you fast. You go through a process called diuresis or another way to look at is electrolyte dumping. Your kidneys produce extra urine when your body needs to get rid of a substance. This is what is happening. When you are fasting you are releasing stored water from your kidneys. During your fasting window it is IMPERATIVE to stay hydrated with quality water, which can be easily prepared by adding a little sea salt and quality electrolytes to your water. If you do not include hydration you will get a headache and potentially “hangry”. You may feel awful during your fasting window if you do not consume quality water and electrolytes and this could lead to becoming discouraged and giving up. First rules of thumb: Drink when you’re thirsty; Try to get your urine as clear as possible; Try to use the bathroom every 2 [hours] minimal.
Next week we will publish rules 3, 4 and 5, don’t miss them!
Note: if you have any further questions or concerns I am available for a consultation or just a pop in and we can chat. Massage at The Clinic Call 415 107 0147.
Be kind to yourself
