We’ve all heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?  WRONG!  There now appears to be a big movement in the opposite direction.  I know what you are thinking, every week they change the rules on us!  I know it an be frustrating, but hear me out.

Did you know that if you went to a nutritionist for diet advice, they would no doubt tell you to eat six small meals a day.  Six meals a day are optimal to keep your metabolism high and avoid “Starvation mode”, according to many nutritionists.  The theory is, that if you eat small meals all day long, you allow your body to constantly burn extra calories and your metabolism to be a finned tuned mechanism.  There has never been one research article implementing small meals throughout the day, even though we have all heard this advice.  The theory of keeping metabolism high by always eating sounds good in principle, but in reality it is just that…a theory.

What is interesting is that your metabolic rate is actually INCREASED short term after fasting.  This is because the body will actually release the stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline to help sharpen the mind and give us energy.  These hormones tell your fat cells to break down body fat and stimulate your metabolism.

Intermittent fasting is a phenomenon that is currently one of the most popular health and fitness trends.  It simply means that you alternate cycles of fasting and eating, instead of eating all hours of the day.  It is an eating pattern, not a diet.  There are no rules about what foods to eat, but rather when you should eat them.

Intermittent fasting has become so popular because it works.  In a nutshell, it is the way we are designed to eat.  It allows us to use fat as our primary fuel instead of carbohydrates by adopting the way our ancestors used to eat.

I truly believe this is the most powerful intervention out there if you’re struggling with your health, weight, or any chronic disease.

For those of you unfamiliar with intermittent fasting, it does not mean going all day without food.  In fact, the most popular way to go about it is to restrict eating to a specific window of time.  Your daily eating window would be a maximum of 8 hours for males and 10 hours for female.  For me, I never eat past 6:00 pm and I have breakfast around 10:00-11:00 am, so my body is fasting 16-17 hours each day.  Everyone is different so do what feels best for you, I just find this easiest since the majority of my fast is spent asleep.

Doing intermittent fasting everyday makes it easy to become a conditioned habit.  It is one less thing to think about when incorporating this new aspect of your healthy lifestyle.  You probably already eat around the same time every day without even thinking about it.  It is the same thing here, just with daily intermittent fasting.

Intermittent fasting may not be for everyone.  For example, if you are underweight, or have had a history of eating disorders, then you should not do intermittent fasting without first consulting a health professional.  Intermittent fasting is not recommended when pregnant or breastfeeding.  If you have a medical condition, please consult your physician.

So, do yourself a favor and try this for a month.  See how you feel with intermittent fasting, tweak the hours of your fast, according to your schedule.  Make it work for you…the eating and your metabolism, tune your engine.  Intermittent fasting can be yet another catalyst to your complete lifestyle of simple living, and complete wellness.  Make the decision to start today, your body will thank you for it.