Intermittent Fasting

You can find contradicting ideas EVERYWHERE -- less cardio vs. more cardio, heavy weights less reps vs. smaller weights more reps, cheat day vs. no cheat. You get the picture. Sometimes the internet can defeat us. For example...when you have some ailment (a head cold, a red spot, a headache, or swollen knee)...you don't want to google it unless you want to start some massive paranoia in your head and rush to the doctor thinking that you are dying. This happens...I promise you. I learned this quickly when I was pregnant with my first daughter. Any sign or symptom, I would rush to the computer only to fall into a heaping mass of tears because I was doomed to lose the baby. Here is Evie below...she is happy and healthy. So with all of this contradictory information out there, here is the important thing to remember...don't listen to people that say you can only do one diet and one workout alone...people get results with consistency plain and simple. Once you find something that works for you or that you enjoy...be consistent about it. This is why The Daily Hiit is so helpful...It is consistent!!! Well, recently in the multitudes of hardcore information out there on the internet, I have noticed a growing trend...

Intermittent Fasting.

Intermittent fasting is just as it sounds. Instead of eating every single meal you skip one here and there. Let me explain it and then I'll tell you what I think about it: Intermittent fasting can be used several times during the week, once every two weeks, or a couple times a year. You make up most of the rules. The reason for Intermittent fasting comes from the theory that long ago we had feast or famine. Our ancestors had to hunt our food and if we didn't find any that day, well then we were, frankly, out of luck. So the theory is that our body is meant to live this way. Inconsistent eating. Supposedly Beyonce, Liv Tylor, among others follow this diet. This goes against the theory that you must eat 6-8 times a day, small meals, at regular intervals. People claim that skipping meals will lower your metabolism. My only question to this...with how many different body types and/or metabolisms...how can we generalize one way or another. In my book, you can't. Getting healthy for all body types is about testing every theory and seeing how your body responds. You can do any hour fast you want...never exceeding a 48 hour fast. I've read that some people only do their fast on the day after a cheat day. So once again, the rules are up to you and it seems rather simple, right? Here are my thoughts as I end this post... I am not saying that eating 6-8 small meals is not the way to go...this is just a new way to try things. [caption id="attachment_23699" align="alignnone" width="300"] Liv Tyler is said to try Intermittent Fasting.[/caption] For the last month I have been testing this theory of intermittent fasting. Sunday through Saturday I eat normally until 4:00 PM and then I don't eat for the rest of the day. I don't worry about calories throughout the day, I just try and eat as CLEAN as possible. I have to admit that I am enjoying it. In fact, I am seeing changes in my body. By morning I am VERY hungry for breakfast, but I also don't worry about how much I eat for breakfast because I know that I can absolutely burn healthy food off by 4:00 PM. My concerns are this... I would never suggest this for someone that has or has had a bad relationship with food. For example, someone who over-eats, someone who under-eats, etc. It has taken me years to put my over-eating and under-eating days behind me and in the last few years I have really connected to the ebb and flow of healthy eating. Sometimes you are on top of it, and sometimes you aren't. It's just the way life is. This ebb and flow used to freak me out. If I didn't eat a meal during my overeating days I would have grown so feverishly hungry and so monster-like that when I finally did get to the next meal I would have eaten too much. Or in my under-eating days I would have fallen in love with the feeling of starving and continued too long or have become obsessive. I don't suggest Intermittent Fasting for anyone that isn't able to just treat eating as a daily need to live, walk, and breathe. If food can be obsessive for you than I would suggest skipping this theory. But if you feel like this might be something you want to try to change things up for yourself, and you feel as though you have a good enough relationship with food, then go for it! It might be just what you need to break up a plateau or change up your routine. Just whatever you do...be consistent! Fitness is more about changing your mind and heart. If your mind and heart can be healthy...your body is soon to follow. XO, Tessa