• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Grass Fed Salsa

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Recipes
  • Wellness
    • Autoimmune Protocol
    • Beauty
    • Detox
    • Essential Oils
    • Nutrition
    • Wellness Entrepreneur
  • Programs
    • Courses & Ebooks
    • Student Log In
  • About
    • Work With Us
  • Contact
  • Business
    • Biz Building Tips
    • Podcast
    • Online Course
Home » Wellness » Healthy Lifestyle » The Complete Guide to Intermittent Fasting

The Complete Guide to Intermittent Fasting

Published March 6, 2016. Last modified February 11, 2020 By Anne Marie 1 Comment

6 shares

Complete Guide To Intermittent Fasting

The Fast Track Guide to Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a missile. If your enemy is, say, weight gain, and you’re feeling fit enough to fight, it can be a great weapon to have in your arsenal. However, like any weapon, it can disastrously blow up… right in your face.

While I cover intermittent fasting in depth in the Ditch Your Nutritionist course, today I'm talking about the basics: when intermittent fasting is a good idea, and when it absolutely is not.

Intermittent fasting is a form of fasting that involves limiting the time during the day in which you eat food, thus limiting the time you engage the digestive system. An example of this might be eating dinner on Tuesday night, then skipping breakfast and lunch on Wednesday in favor of butter coffee for breakfast, & celery juice for lunch, then eating a large, high calorie dinner that evening. In that situation, you’ve basically completed an intermittent fast of nearly 24 hours.

The potential benefits are actually quite incredible.

Add to that the fact that when you choose to intermittent fast based on your own intuition (e.g. listening to your body) it’s actually a very comfortable and simple practice. Intermittent fasting can support weight loss efforts, energy levels, blood lipid profiles, chronic infectious states, digestive disorders, and much more.

But how does this work?

There are several reasons how intermittent fasting can help you operate at maximum efficiency:

  1. It supports insulin sensitivity.
  2. It supports leptin sensitivity.
  3. It gives the digestive system a rest allowing the body to utilize that energy for other purposes.
  4. In certain circumstances, it can boost autophagy thus supporting the immune system.
  5. It can save you time and money.
  6. It can help you to reevaluate your relationship with food and help you listen to your body and be more mindful of your appetite, as well as your macronutrient, and caloric needs.

These benefits all look fantastic on paper, and if you’re a healthy person looking to lose those last 10 pounds, or support healthy cholesterol & triglyceride levels, then do look into incorporating intermittent fasting into your existing strategies.

However, there are also reasons one would want to avoid intermittent fasting.

Those suffering from adrenal insufficiency or cortisol dysregulation, battling a chronic illness, or dealing with some major blood sugar issues (think reactive hypoglycemia) than, in our humble opinion, your strategies should focus more on dealing with those issues before incorporating intermittent fasting.

Why? Well… it’s complicated.

Intermittent fasting can actually aggravate the conditions listed above in some people. In someone battling a chronic illness (Lyme disease, for instance) this type of fasting could potentially weaken the immune system even further by depriving the body of micronutrients during its time of increased need.

People dealing with cortisol dysregulation will often see cortisol levels spike while fasting, even for a short period of time, which can lead to adrenal fatigue, elevated fasting blood glucose, cravings, weight gain and more.

So you see, intermittent fasting is not for everyone. At the end of the day, deciding whether or not to launch this missile depends on your circumstances.

Are you pregnant or wanting to get pregnant?

Are you battling one or more chronic infections?

Do you suspect you have adrenal fatigue?

In these situations, it’s probably best to take a pass. We say “probably”, because even in these situations, some people may respond favorably to intermittent fasting.

If your individual circumstances allow it, I absolutely advise you to work with a qualified health practitioner or nutritionist to help you structure your fasts and monitor your response. Alternatively, you can also learn from us how to analyze if this method is for you, and how to optimize it to support your goals by enrolling in my self paced nutrition program, the Ditch Your Nutritionist.

Click here to Pin this post!

Anne is a certified Integrative Nutritional Health Coach and Interior Designer who is passionate about whole home and body detox, as well as personalized nutritional therapies tailored to the individual. She's the creator of several online programs and ebooks including Ditch Your Nutritionist, Autoimmune Accomplice, and Detox Your Life.

When she's not creating content for her wellness business and website Grass Fed Salsa, you can find her snuggled up to her daughter GG, her husband James, and their pups Cohen and Kiki.

Previous Post: « Creamy Teriyaki Spaghetti Squash Recipe
Next Post: Adrenal Healing Mocktail »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Yo, I’m Anne Marie.

I’m a Nutritional Health Coach showing you how to make detoxing your body, home, and diet simple and successful.

Learn More

Fall Favorites

Whole30 Pizza Casserole (Low Carb, AIP)

Get the recipe for this dairy free, AIP friendly Matcha Tea Latte.

Perfect Coconut Matcha Latte (AIP, Dairy Free)

Glass jar full of turmeric paste on a white counter with a golden spoon next to it.

Turmeric Paste and Golden Milk Latte Recipe

Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash (without cutting!)

This Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Collagen Protein Bar recipe is both Paleo and Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) compliant. These protein bars are creamy, full of fall flavor, and are truly a healthy addition to your holiday breakfast routine. Grab the recipe below.

AIP Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Protein Bars

Ready to live less toxic & heal your autoimmunity?

Join over 15,000 others and get access to my free library of e-books, cookbooks, and resources for holistic wellness.

Reader Faves

White bowl with 3 lettuce wrapped Bang Bang Shrimp tacos inside with a few lime slices.

Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos (Whole30 & AIP)

Get the recipe for this egg free, AIP & vegan friendly Cilantro Avocado Mayo.

Cilantro Avocado Aioli (AIP, Egg Free, Whole30)

8 Whole30 & Keto Sauces & Dips That Don’t Suck

Glass jar of Nomato Sauce on a marble background with a white towel, wooden spoon, and basil on the side.

Best Ever Nomato Sauce (AIP Nightshade Free Marinara)

a skillet of ground beef, bacon, dairy free cheese sauce, and avocado sprinkled with cilantro on a grey background

Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (Whole30 & AIP)

Footer

  • Recipes
  • Wellness
  • Wellness Business Coaching
  • About
  • Contact
  • Programs
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Grass Fed Salsa

6 shares