Intermittent fasting is when you fast (don’t eat) for a certain number of hours, and then you have an eating "window" (the 2nd number is your eating window). There are many types of intermittent fasting: 16:8, 20:4, and 23:1 (OMAD, or one meal a day) are the most common. I am going to talk about my 7 day experiment with 23:1 (23 hours fasting and a 1 hour eating window).
The point of my experiment was to see how my body reacts to certain things. The experts out there usually say to not consume any calories at all during the fasting window, but would my body still respond well if I did?
Why do this at all? Intermittent fasting has far reaching health benefits. Fasting in any way is amazing for your health. When your body does not need to spend its energy on digesting food, it can clean out and repair dead cells. Fasting has also been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol. It basically heals you from the inside out. There is lots of info out there on intermittent fasting and why it’s so healthy, so look up Dr. Eric Berg, Thomas DeLauer, and Dr. Jason Fung for expert info on this subject.
Is it required to do keto? No, it is not required to do keto but can help your keto be over the top.
I am the owner and CEO of three companies and there is never enough time in the day! (Can I get a 'what what' from you entrepreneurial ladies out there???) Eating this way really saves me a TON of time and hassle!
I have a blood ketosis/glucose meter so I can test my ketosis and glucose numbers with 100% accuracy. I have done 16:8 for a long time and enjoyed a decent ketosis reading as well as a low glucose reading. 16:8 to me is very normal and pretty much what I usually do daily unless I have something special happening. Generally when doing 16:8, I have a ketosis reading of 0.6 to 2.2 and a blood glucose reading of 5.0 to 6.0.
I wanted to do this experiment having two fatty coffee's per day. (Because damn it, I LOVE my fatty coffee and I tried doing 20:4 with no coffee and I was miserable, LOL!) So this time, fatty coffee was part of the experiment (except for one morning that I did not have it as there was a scheduling problem and my ketosis number was way down). For my 1 hour eating window I just ate a regular ‘keto friendly’ dinner (high fat, medium protein, low carbs). I ate as much as I wanted and did not measure anything.
Each of my fatty coffee’s (also referred to as a bullet proof coffee, BPC, or keto coffee) has 1 scoop of Intentionally Bare's MCT Oil Powder, 1 tbsp of MCT Oil (brain octane brand), 1 tbsp grassfed butter, and stevia (I like it sweet)! I had one coffee for breakfast and one for lunch, drinking water the rest of the time.
To actually be in ketosis you need to be at least 0.6 and then the ideal top number is 3.0 (being higher is fine).
On day one, my starting ketosis number was 0.6. It went up every day! By day three I was 1.6, and by day five I was 3.2. I stayed between 2.8 and 3.2 for the rest of the week. My blood glucose started at 5.2 and went down to 3.9 at one point, but the average was 4.8--which my doctor could not be happier about.
I lost 6 pounds in 7 days (previous to this I was in a plateau). I truly was not in this for the weight loss. I just wanted to see how the numbers would stack up (since I am a huge natural health experiment geek) by doing 23:1 "my way" with the fatty coffee.
I have no hunger, I have a ton of energy, I do not require as much sleep (and the sleep I get is quality, lights out!), and I feel like I am thinking better as well.
So there you have it. Try your own experiments and see what works for your body. This works great for me and I plan to incorporate it at least a few times a week for the health benefits. I will continue on with my usual 16:8 on the other days.
Share the results of your experiment with me in my Facebook group!
You got this!
Leta ~ Intentionally Bare
DISCLAIMER: The information in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only. The content in here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or heard here.
