Fasting Your Way Through Holistic Fitness

Most people will shy away from anything diet-related because it conjures up a miserable scenario in their heads – that of deprivation. I can very well identify with this as I was also somebody who vowed never to do away with food that makes me happy no matter the circumstance.

Well, that was before the health issues came and prior to hitting 40s. Also, it was long before I realized what it means to truly go on a diet. If you want to know more about it, you can read our previous blog post on the subject (Did Anyone Say Diet?).

Right now, we will delve into a different topic under the umbrella of general diet which is intermittent fasting.

What is intermittent fasting?

I know that most diet programs that we are familiar with bring focus to controlling the types of food that we eat. Intermittent fasting, however, emphasizes more on WHEN we take in food.

As explicit in the name, you will allow your body a “fasting period” when it can rest and process everything that you ate during your “eating window.” I know it sounds simple enough but let me get to the reality of it first and foremost.

The traditional

It may prove difficult to disengage fasting from the traditional sense as an activity meant for spiritual purposes. But intermittent fasting is no different from it, especially when we talk about what it does for our health.

It may vary from person to person, considering our changing health conditions, but intermittent fasting derives from the original intention to abstain from food and drinks for a time period, whether it be from a spiritual or physical wellness standpoint.

The difference

Some people have concerns about prolonged fasting because it may cause changes in our physiology that may not be beneficial to our overall health status.

This belief may have stemmed from the fact that there are those who go on without food for as long as a month and there’s just too many things that can happen to your body when you do a full fast for 30 days. 

Intermittent fasting, however, deals with this issue because it cycles between a fasting window and an eating window every day, instead of going so long without nourishment. Our bodies, then, do not adapt to an extremely low calorie intake and lose weight endlessly, but simply adjust to a time of break from eating.

The science

The health benefits to doing intermittent fasting is quite similar to traditional fasting as studies would show. Some metabolic changes that are expected to occur in your body are a better lipid profile, controlled blood pressure, improved blood sugar levels and fat mass, among others. 

The main concern about doing this type of fasting is that those who do it may overcompensate during the “eating window” because of the calorie restriction in their “fasting window,” but research does not support this scenario.

Trials done to test the effectiveness of intermittent fasting do not definitively show that it is more successful than any other weight loss programs. Also, like any other diet regimen, it is not recommended for everyone, especially those who have pre-existing illnesses, health restrictions, or suffering from eating disorders.

How to do intermittent fasting?

I believe that the kind of intermittent fasting method that will cater to your particular needs and preferences will be dictated by your unique lifestyle. You can either do an alternate-day fasting, a whole day fasting following the 5:2 approach or a designated feeding window fasting such as the most common 16:8 method.

Just to give you an idea, if you’re new to this diet program, below are your options as to how you can do your intermittent fasting.

Time-restricted

This method simply means that you set a time of eating and fasting. For instance, the 16:8 plan will allow you an 8-hour eating window, while fasting for 16 hours.

It may seem challenging at first but when you think about it, you will be asleep half the time through your fasting so it’s merely 8 hours of going without food.

Full fast

The 5:2 approach will allow you 5 days of eating like you normally would while doing a whole-day fast for 2 days or limited to a 400-500 calorie intake.

Alternate days

You can also try to switch between days of “no diet restriction” and “one meal a day” (or an intake of only 25% of your calorie requirement). You can set Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as your fasting days, while the periods in between you can eat without dietary constraints.

As I said earlier, your choice will be largely influenced by the kind of life you lead. For me, the time-restricted method works because I sleep long hours, which eats up a huge chunk of my fasting window and makes it easier for me.  I wake up quite late, skipping breakfast altogether, have my first meal at 12 noon and then my last around 6-8 at night.

Give yourself time to find the intermittent fasting method that will work best for your unique way of life.

Why do it?

Why should you give intermittent fasting a try? For me, there are several reasons.

It’s simple

If you’re already familiar with the old-school way to fast, then intermittent fasting won’t be such an out-of-the-box idea for you, and it won’t be difficult to try and sustain. As mentioned earlier, it’s simply giving your body enough time, more than what you’re accustomed to, to process the food you eat and to rest from it.

It’s discipline

Like any other diet program, or even anything that you decide to do in your life, it takes a fair amount of discipline and strength of resolve to see things through. When you commit to something, and you make a choice everyday to continue, it builds power inside you that no other activity or experience ever could.

It’s effective

This statement is not to say that no other diet regimen works. From my perspective, intermittent fasting performs, based on the fitness goals that I have set for myself.

I must confess that I wasn’t instantly drawn to it at the beginning because I had issues with my blood sugar then and I couldn’t let go of having small, frequent meals throughout the day.

However, the science behind it made sense to me and I believe historically, it worked for our ancestors as well as discussed in our previous post on dieting (Did Anyone Say Diet?).

Personal story

When I became pre-diabetic a few years ago, it worried me. I wasn’t afraid to die because I know where I am going, but I didn’t want my limited time here on earth to be riddled with sickness that I could have avoided if only I took care of my body.

God spoke to me through countless devotions and quiet contemplation that I am a citizen of a higher kingdom, like all children of God are. But while I’m here in this world, I should be physically, holistically, healthy to carry out the tasks that He has laid out before me. 

Since then, I resolved to honour Him with my health. I must admit, though, that I failed here and there and was disappointed with myself, to the point of giving up, one too many times. 

I tried intermittent fasting, and it worked for me, I must say with absolute confidence. I can’t say that I did it with perfect diligence over the years, but I always go back to it after straying. 

Earlier this year, I realized what was missing in my fitness program – the sustaining power of the Lord. After all, He did say in His word that apart from Him, we can accomplish nothing. He wants to be involved in every detail of our lives, including what we eat and drink, if we just let Him. 

Today, I can say that my desire to do intermittent fasting is only made possible by the grace and loving hand of God. I still wrestle with Him most days, but He has accomplished way more than what I would have done on my own.

Final words

I believe that fasting is God-ordained. I would even go so far as to say that He has created our bodies to withstand it and benefit from it if only we do it according to His direction and purpose. 

In our quest for holistic wellness, intermittent fasting could be one of the things that you can very well try for yourself. 

Again, I am no dietician, nutritionist, nor an expert on anything fitness-related. But I can see how this fasting method works for me and I want to share it with all of you as something that you can look into and pray about.