Intermittent Fasting

For some, a clearer way to envision Time Restricted Eating is as extended overnight fasting. So rather than not eating from, for example, 9 p.m. until 8 a.m. the next morning, you can expand that time frame by either stopping earlier or delaying your first food of the day.

Given that many of us grew up with ‘three meals a day’ or ‘breakfast is the most important meal’ it can be a real challenge, both mentally and physiologically, to intentionally and routinely ‘skip’ breakfast.

But in both the scientific, research domain and at the level of N=1 (experiment of one, meaning you!) people are increasingly trying out this version of fasting and reaping some immediately apparent rewards:

• more time for other morning routines like mindfulness, a walk or workout

• more caloric ‘room’ for your later meals

• higher energy, focus and mental clarity

And ‘under the hood’, there are other possible healthful biological processes:

• cell repair and clean up (autophagy)

• blood sugar (insulin) regulation

• improved cardiovascular health