3 REASONS YOU DON’T STARVE WHILST INTERMITTENT FASTING

I want to address “starvation mode” and the fears people have with it when associated with intermittent fasting

MUSCLE LOSS:

Your body WILL NOT burn through muscle unless it has literally used all of your nonessential fat first. Think about it — we are designed to store fat to burn through when we go hungry. Muscle is much more difficult to convert to energy, and your body would want to hang on to it if you were in the wild because you would need it to hunt/search for food. The only way to lose muscle unless you are already very, very lean is to not use your body and be totally sedentary, in which case they will weaken and then atrophy. Stay active.

HANGING ON TO FAT:

This is only a concern if you are not eating enough. Please make sure you eat enough. There were also concerns with a slowing metabolism — this is why I switched to IF! As long as you are eating enough in your window, your metabolism will be fine. The metabolism does not slow down during the fasting period, it actually speeds up (again, if you were in the wild you would need energy to find your food. Sorry/not sorry for all of the caveman references! Our bodies have not evolved nearly as far past that as most would think)

EATING ENOUGH IN YOUR WINDOW:

The best way to ensure you are getting both all the micronutrients you need and enough calories in your window is by adding more healthy fats. Fat is twice as calorie-dense as carbohydrate and protein. Some good ways to do this? Add olive oil….to everything. Drizzle it on your vegetables, cook with more than you think you need. Add a couple bacon strips to your meal. Eat a big handful of your favorite nut right before your window closes. Make sure you’re using full-fat dairy products when you do, and when buying ground meat make sure it isn’t super lean. If all else fails? Just extend your window by an hour so you have room. It’s not too hard, it just takes some time.

Are you fasting yet?

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