Intermittent Fasting

By Heather Mikesell - Well Defined Media

Although I typically eat rather healthily, I know there is always room for improvement. Throughout the years, I’ve come across numerous people singing the praises of intermittent fasting (IF). It wasn’t until the pandemic that I thought I could actually pull it off. With no events, dinners, or any enticing plans at all involving food, I finally thought the time had come to see if it lived up to the hype. I’ve never been a fan of juice cleanses or fasting, in general. However, the science/idea behind intermittent fasting made sense to me, and I couldn’t help but think how I had practiced a variation of it years ago not knowing it had an actual name.

In my 30s, I had the opportunity to visit Chiva-Som Health Resort in Hua Hin, Thailand. While there, I decided to use my visit as an opportunity to revamp my eating habits. When I returned home, I was determined not to fall back into bad habits. Instead, I came up with new rules I resolved to follow. First, no bingeing. Second, once I had eaten dinner, that was it for the day. And this last one, I’d weigh myself every morning to ensure I was staying on track.

Before long, the pounds were melting off. I also found myself eating earlier in the evening and then going for 12 or more hours without eating. It wasn’t all that challenging considering I was asleep for at least eight of those hours. While I hadn’t set out to practice intermittent fasting, I had stumbled onto it.

Si Si Penaloza, a spa and wellness writer and director JETSET magazine, discovered intermittent fasting after being invited to attend a themed press trip at the Four Seasons Santa Barbara. She didn’t immediately rush to jump in. “I had also been encouraged by my partner Doug Olear, an actor who shed 22 pounds of weight on a 10-day lemon and cayenne juice fast, before shooting a season of HBO’s The Wire, I could therefore give10 days to reinvent myself and my fitness narrative.

Fasting Methods

When most people think of fasting, they think of deprivation. While there is some truth to that sentiment, there is also so much more. Fasting is defined as when you willfully refrain from eating and drinking, limiting calories completely. Hydrating with water is usually allowed. According to Lauren Munsch Dal Farra, M.D., CEO of Palm Health, there are a variety of fasting methods, typically ranging between 12 and 24 hours of not eating. She notes the 16/8 method, which involves you fasting for 16 consecutive hours in a 24- hour period, as being one of the most popular. The idea is to choose the eight hours to eat that makes the most sense for your lifestyle.

“For example, if you start eating at 11am, you will stop eating by 7 pm,” says Dal Farra. “Fasting for more than 13 to 14 hours can increase cortisol, so it is not

advised for those with adrenal dysfunction If individuals

do not tolerate 16 hours, even fasting for12 hours between can be beneficial.”

As the world grinded to a halt, Penaloza was finally able to put her self-care needs first. “Intermittent fasting gave pandemic days the critical infrastructure I so desperately needed,” she says. “The practice of fasting and yoga continues to give even my most stressful days a kind of elevated meaning.”

For Penaloza, the 16/8 method proved to be life changing. “I feel reborn, finally in control after a lifetime of crippling issues associated with food and body image,” she says. “It’s become a life management tool of the highest order. More meaningful, it has evolved into a profound form of self-love that I am only beginning to comprehend.”

Health Benefits

Beyond the self-love that Penaloza experienced, there are also a host of health benefits.“Studies demonstrate that IF may be beneficial to prevent obesity, lower cardiovascular risk factors, improve insulin resistance, decrease inflammatory markers in the bloodstream, and preserves memory,” says Dal Farra. “Studies also show increased levels of the protective hormone adiponectin. Adiponectin plays a crucial role in protecting against insulin resistance, diabetes, and heart disease.”

Decreased inflammation may be the most exciting longterm benefit. “An excellent study demonstrated improved biomarkers for cardiovascular and inflammatory disease in women,” says Dal Farra. “It was also equally effective as continuous caloric restriction. More studies are being done to investigate the benefits and safety of intermittent fasting as an effective diet for people with various inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, such as arthritis and lupus.

One benefit that was new to me was the increase in human growth hormone (HGH). HGH is a key hormone that helps regulate metabolism, cell repair, and other important functions. It helps improve healing after an injury, build muscle, and burn fat, all of which sounded good to me. According to numerous studies, HGH levels can double or triple in just two to three days of fasting. Ariane Resnick, a special diet chef and certified nutritionist, began intermittent fasting to increase her HGH levels. “After a half decade of chronic illness, my human growth hormone level was very low for my age, at less than 100,” says Resnick. “I’d heard IF could increase it along with other benefits.” And it did just that, Resnick’s HGH level nearly tripled, landing her on the high-end average for her age group.

Another appealing benefit is the clarity and focus it can provide. “Fasting can also help keep people’s energy levels up and improve mental clarity,” says Dal

Farra. “When we fast for more than 12 hours, our bodies burn through all available sugars for energy. The we start to burn fat for fuel. The ketone bodies produced in this process help us think more clearly, solve problems, and have more energy.”

One thing that is not a given, however, is weight loss. According to Dal Farra, the quality and quantity of food consumed during the eating window matters. “Consequently, I recommend people eat plenty of whole grains, vegetables, and lean proteins”

A Word of Caution

Despite all the benefits, It isn’t for everyone. Resnick, who spent several years practicing IF, found it worked for her until it didn’t. Eventually, she moved into intuitive eating. “The idea that you can’t when your body is legitimately telling you its hungry, so I stopped,” she says. “It’s been a couple of years since then. Eating what I want, when I want, based on what my body tells me, serves me better than any restricted eating plan ever did.“

Mindfulness in Action

Mindfulness may be one of the best takeaways. “I realized that 25 percent of what I ate on most days was out of sheer ritual” says Penaloza. “I clearly didn’t need the sustenance, eating late into the night or first thing in the morning was purely driven by emotional comfort. Intermittent fasting inherently cuts out midnight snacking, so nocturnal eaters are bound to see and feel benefits and big changes.”

While the 16/8 method wasn’t right for me, I did eventually adopt the 12/12 method. For me, I found it helpful not to stress eat. It also made me much more mindful of what I was eating throughout the day, which probably proved to be the most beneficial to eating more healthily.

“Fasting can lead to increased resistance against disease and support the central nervous, digestive, and cardiovascular systems,” says Dal Farra. “However, it needs to be done smartly by following a diet incorporating lots of healthy foods.

About The Author: Heather Mikesell, co-founder of Well Defined and the former editor-in-chief of American Spa, is an award-winning journalist and content strategist, skilled in writing, and media relations. She is also a freelance writer and has contributed to Elite Traveler, Organic Spa, abcnews.com, jetsetter.com, and wellandgood.com, in addition to various custom publications. She is frequently called upon to comment on various spa and wellness trends for various media outlets.