INTERMITTENT FASTING: FOR BEGINNERS
WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?
Intermittent fasting is exactly what it sounds like!
FASTING, by definition mean to “abstain from all food.”
INTERMITTENT, by definition means “occurring at irregular intervals.” So,
INTERMITTENT FASTING means abstaining from food at irregular intervals of
time throughout the week.
Sounds pretty simple right?
What am I missing....?
Actually…nothing! It is that simple,
and it’s also SUPER effective.
Throughout human evolution, people have
practiced intermittent fasting and just not known
it. Have you ever had dinner, went to sleep, woken
up in the morning and not eaten your first meal
(or anything) until lunch time?
Well, if you said YES,
you have actually
already practiced
intermittent fasting!
Essentially, to practice intermittent fasting, you need to break your day up
into two periods:
FASTING - WHEN YOU'RE NOT EATING
&
FEEDING - WHEN YOU'RE EATING
The term intermittent (as I stated above) means that you can fast during
different times each day, each week or each month. This is NOT A DIET, it
is simply an eating pattern.
WHAT DOES FASTING DO?
When you eat, your body produces INSULIN to help break apart food and use the
sugars for energy.
when you are feeding, your body PREFERS to use the nutrients and sugars
extracted from your most recent meal as energy!
Most times, your body receives
enough sugars and nutrients from
its most recent meal that there is
sugar left over. Your body then
follows a 3-STEP process:
1.
2.
It first ensures that your body
has enough Glucose in its blood
stream (aka Blood Sugar)
THEN, it takes any leftover sugar
and converts it into Glycogen,
which is then stored in your
muscles for later use.
3.
Once your Glycogen stores are
FULL, the remaining sugars
are stored as Fat
So, when you FAST, your body does not
produce as much INSULIN because there is
no “new food” to break down.
That means that when you need ENERGY
to live, think, walk, or workout, your body
must reach into its GLYCOGEN stores and
stored Fat reserves for FUEL!
WHY FASTING?
Today, most of us are eating too much on a regular
basis and our bodies are receiving an EXCESS of
sugar! This is one of the reasons it is so important to
eat lean and consume the proper portion sizes.
Additionally, by fasting, you are providing your body
with an opportunity to use its Glycogen Stores as
ENERGY as well as perform other bodily functions!
**Lean Logic: By
reducing your
eating window,
you will feel
more "full"
while eating the
same proper
portions of
food!
LEAN TRAVEL
Travelling is one of
the TOUGHEST times
to eat lean! Not at
home, going out for
dinner, no routine -it can be difficult!
This is when I find
intermittent fasting to be a HUGE HELP! If
you’re not able to get a morning fasted
HIIT in, try to fast until lunch time!
Did you know that
when you are digesting
food that your body is
unable to perform
many of its other
functions? When you
eat a meal, your body
has to put most of its
efforts into digestion
and can’t actually
repair or regenerate!
FASTED WORKOUTS
Another SUPER EFFECTIVE way
to use fasting is by working out in
a fasted state. A fasted HIIT
workout is one of the EASIEST
ways to burn phat!
During a fasted HIIT workout,
your body has to use Stored Fat &
Glycogen Reserves as its fuel!
This means that your body starts
burning stored fat immediately
rather than burning through a
recent meal first! After your
fasted HIIT workout, eating Lean
Refuel will fill those depleted
Glycogen reserves right back up
so you never feel “low”.
HOW SHOULD I FAST?
There are a lot of “patterns” of intermittent fasting. The method that I use most
often is the 16:8 Method. This means that I Fast for 16 Hours and Feed for 8
Hours. I find that 16:8 method is the most realistic and sustainable method of
intermittent fasting which is why I tell my Squadies to give it a try!
MY ROUTINE
Here is how I most often use the 16:8 method of
Intermittent Fasting:
6:00 AM
7:45 AM
10:00 AM
On this schedule, I have
checked all the boxes:
8 Hours of Sleep
Fasted for 16 hours
6:00 PM
9:30 PM
Wake up, have a coffee, and
hang out with Hudson.
Workout for 45 minutes
Eat a Lean Refuel Meal
Eat my last bite of food
Drink a big glass of water and
go to sleep
Refueled within 90
minutes of exercise
LEAN ALERT
DO NOT STRESS IF YOU
CANNOT HIT EXACTLY 16
HOURS ON YOUR FAST!! You
will see benefits of intermittent
fasting even if you can hit
between 12-14 hours!!
As I said above, Intermittent Fasting
is an Eating Pattern NOT A DIET and
it doesn’t work for everybody!!
YOUR TURN
STEP 1
Choose your fasting hour ratio
FASTING HOURS
FEEDING WINDOW
________
________
TO
TO
________
________
STEP 2
Choose meal & workout hours
WORKOUT TIME
________
MEAL 1
_____
MEAL 2
MEAL 3
_____
_____
STEP 3
START FASTING!
Check out OUR WEBSITE to get a
CUSTOMIZED LEAN PLAN,
including 5 workouts a week and
healthy, easy to make recipes. My
lean plans are PERFECT to follow
while practicing Intermittent
fasting to ensure you are getting
in all the nutrients you need within
your feeding window!
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