INTERMITTENT FASTING 101 | a beginner's guide

[00:00] so many of you have asked me to share a

[00:02] video on intermittent fasting so that's

[00:04] exactly what I'm going to do today think

[00:05] of this as a beginner's guide we are

[00:08] going to cover the basics and I'm going

[00:09] to do my best to really try to simplify

[00:13] the concept and the process now if you

[00:16] don't know me my name is Danny Spees I'm

[00:18] a Health weight and wellness coach and I

[00:20] love helping people make healthy eating

[00:23] easy doable and delicious and before I

[00:27] jump in I'd like to thank element for

[00:29] sponsoring this video and I plan to

[00:30] share more on them in a bit so what is

[00:34] intermittent fasting also known as Tim

[00:36] restricted eating intermittent fasting

[00:38] is just that it's when you choose to eat

[00:41] your meals within a specific time window

[00:45] throughout the day and then for the rest

[00:46] of the day you are not eating at all so

[00:49] you're not consuming any type of

[00:51] calories or any type of energy which is

[00:53] why we call it fasting now intermittent

[00:55] fasting is not a form of caloric

[00:58] restriction in the sense that it's not

[01:00] about eating less it's simply about

[01:03] eating less often although I will say

[01:06] for many people it does result in eating

[01:09] less simply because when you restrict

[01:12] the amount of hours within the day that

[01:14] you can consume food kind of natural

[01:16] byproduct for many people is that they

[01:19] consume less food but not true for

[01:20] everybody and technically intermittent

[01:23] fasting is also not a diet because again

[01:25] the focus is on the eating window not so

[01:28] much the food but I do think it's

[01:30] important to note that the type of food

[01:31] you eat can make your fast feel easier

[01:34] or more difficult and that's something

[01:36] I'm going to talk more about later in

[01:38] the video so why fast there are two main

[01:41] reasons that people choose to experiment

[01:43] with intermittent fasting the first is

[01:45] weight loss and the second is simply to

[01:48] reap the health benefits that are

[01:50] associated with intermittent fasting so

[01:52] let's chat about what some of those are

[01:54] the very first one is that it lowers

[01:56] insulin levels now if you're not

[01:57] familiar with insulin it is sometimes

[01:59] called called the transport hormone and

[02:02] that is because whenever you eat

[02:04] anything your blood sugar Rises also

[02:06] known as glucose when you have glucose

[02:08] in the blood insulin is released to

[02:11] transport that glucose or that blood

[02:14] sugar to the liver to the muscles then

[02:16] eventually to Fat stores now when

[02:18] insulin levels are elevated fat burning

[02:21] or the process called lipolysis is

[02:23] turned off this is why insulin is also

[02:26] known as the storage hormone because

[02:28] when insulin is elevated the body does

[02:32] not have the ability to access fat

[02:35] stores for energy but when insulin

[02:38] levels are lower which happens when we

[02:40] are fasted the body then can access its

[02:43] own fat stores to use for fuel and this

[02:46] is why a lot of people like to use

[02:48] intermittent fasting as a tool to

[02:50] support their weight loss goals another

[02:52] health benefit is an increase in growth

[02:55] hormone Now growth hormones help to

[02:57] support skeletal muscle and as many many

[02:59] of us know as we become older wiser and

[03:02] more fabulous um maintaining healthy

[03:05] skeletal muscle is very important for

[03:07] good health and for longevity and it can

[03:10] also really support weight loss goals

[03:12] because the more lean muscle mass you

[03:14] have on your body the more calories the

[03:16] more energy your body is going to burn

[03:18] another incredible benefit of

[03:20] intermittent fasting is a process called

[03:22] autophagy autophagy is a cellular

[03:24] process where the cells are able to

[03:26] break down and recycle their own damaged

[03:29] components which allows them to get rid

[03:31] of any debris and maintain cellular

[03:33] health and cellular function this plays

[03:35] a crucial role in overall health

[03:38] protecting against diseases and

[03:40] supporting longevity but do keep in mind

[03:42] that in order to reap the rewards of

[03:46] autophagy you need to be fasted

[03:48] somewhere between 14 and 17 hours

[03:52] depending on which expert you follow

[03:54] another benefit is gut health fasting

[03:56] allows your body to turn on a gut

[03:58] cleansing process called the migrating

[04:00] Motor complex now this is a pattern of

[04:03] rhythmic contractions in both the small

[04:05] intestines and the stomach that allows

[04:08] the system to push out undigested food

[04:11] and bacteria and this keeps your gut

[04:13] feeling very happy and healthy fasting

[04:15] is also associated with lower

[04:17] inflammation in the body improved heart

[04:19] health and improved brain health so

[04:21] clearly there are a lot of good reasons

[04:23] to experiment with intermittent fasting

[04:25] should you feel intrigued to give it a

[04:28] try Okay so we're going to talk about

[04:30] fasting windows in just a minute but

[04:31] first I want to talk about what you can

[04:34] and cannot consume when you are fasting

[04:37] because this is a question I get a lot

[04:39] and here's the deal it really depends

[04:41] what your intention is when you are

[04:43] fasting but quick side note I can tell

[04:46] you for sure no matter what your

[04:47] intention is creatine collagen and

[04:50] protein powders will absolutely break

[04:52] your fast that is a question many of you

[04:55] have asked me before because sometimes I

[04:56] put those ingredients in my coffee now

[04:58] here's the deal if you are using

[05:01] intermittent fasting for weight loss

[05:03] many would argue that you could do

[05:05] something called a dirty fast and what

[05:07] that means is that when you're having

[05:08] coffee or tea in the morning that you

[05:10] can add a little bit of heavy cream of

[05:14] coconut cream of MCT oil and when I say

[05:17] a little bit I mean about a tablespoon

[05:19] okay and then for sweetener many would

[05:22] also say that you could do a little bit

[05:23] of stevia because Stevia does not affect

[05:25] blood sugar the way other sweeteners do

[05:28] and the theory here is is that the fat

[05:30] and the little bit of sweetness is not

[05:32] enough to actually raise insulin levels

[05:34] therefore it does not interrupt the fat

[05:36] burning process but technically the term

[05:39] fasting means zero calories which means

[05:41] you would not take anything in that had

[05:44] any calories at all and this is

[05:46] specifically true if you're looking to

[05:48] reap the rewards of gut health Andor of

[05:51] autophagy in which case what you are

[05:54] able to consume and still be in a fasted

[05:56] state would be water sparkling water

[06:00] black tea black coffee and or

[06:02] electrolytes which brings me to today's

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[06:13] especially if you are fasting or even if

[06:15] you're simply somebody who likes to

[06:17] focus on eating a diet of real Whole

[06:20] Foods with minimal processed foods like

[06:23] myself it contains a science-backed

[06:25] electrolyte balance of sodium magnesium

[06:28] and pottassium that help to replace and

[06:30] balance out electrolyte levels in the

[06:32] body now a lot of people don't realize

[06:35] that very clear signs of electrolyte IM

[06:37] balances include headaches muscle cramps

[06:40] fatigue and sleeplessness specifically

[06:43] in this very hot weather I know here in

[06:45] New Jersey it's well over 90° and

[06:48] personally I feel such a huge difference

[06:50] in both my energy levels and my feeling

[06:53] of hydration when I drink element it is

[06:55] just not the same when I drink regular

[06:58] plain water I literally like crazy I

[07:00] look forward to drinking it every single

[07:02] day now if you were going to drink

[07:04] electrolytes during your fasting window

[07:06] but you wanted to be really careful or

[07:07] really strict then you might want to

[07:09] choose the raw unflavored element

[07:12] packets but I also know that a lot of

[07:14] people will still drink the flavored

[07:15] packets when they are fasting myself

[07:18] included and while I don't fast every

[07:20] day my husband does and he always drinks

[07:23] the uh flavored packets so ultimately

[07:25] that's a decision that you can make for

[07:26] yourself now personally I love the mango

[07:29] chili J and I love the raspberry salt my

[07:32] husband he's an orange salt and a citrus

[07:34] guy but they have so many flavors to

[07:36] choose from including a chocolate Salt a

[07:38] watermelon salt a grape food Salt so

[07:40] many good ones and right now element is

[07:42] offering everybody in the clean and

[07:44] delicious Community a free sample pack

[07:47] with any order that's eight single serve

[07:49] packets with any element order which is

[07:52] a great way to test out all eight

[07:54] flavors so you can get yours at drink

[07:57] element.com

[07:59] any speed this is only available with my

[08:01] link so you want to visit d r i n k l m

[08:06] nt.com back/ d n i s p i s and I'm also

[08:12] going to leave the link for you down in

[08:13] the description box below so how long

[08:15] should you fast for there are different

[08:17] fasting Windows within a

[08:19] 24-hour period usually you will see

[08:22] people fasting anywhere between 12 to 22

[08:24] hours but technically any period of time

[08:27] when you're not eating is considered a f

[08:29] so sometimes we have to just like look

[08:31] where we are and then build upon there

[08:34] often what you will see and I feel like

[08:35] what most experts are recommending to

[08:37] the average person who is new to

[08:39] intermittent fasting is to aim somewhere

[08:41] between 12 and 16 hours so what you

[08:44] would want to do is work your way up to

[08:46] 12 and then slowly but surely add an

[08:49] extra hour until you can comfortably get

[08:51] to 16 hours or comfortably get to

[08:53] whatever fasting window feels like the

[08:55] right balance for you and the easiest

[08:57] way to determine your fasting window is

[08:59] to think about what time you like to eat

[09:02] your last meal in the day and then work

[09:04] backwards so if you like to eat dinner

[09:06] at 700 p.m. then you would not eat again

[09:09] until 700 a.m. the next day and then if

[09:12] desired you can slowly build from there

[09:14] maybe the next day you wait till 8: and

[09:16] then a few days later you go till 9:00

[09:18] and eventually you get to 10:00 but I

[09:20] will tell you this Pro tip no matter

[09:22] what you do always include your sleeping

[09:25] hours in your fast time because that's

[09:27] going to make fasting a whole lot easier

[09:29] and the last piece I want to talk about

[09:31] is food while intermittent fasting is

[09:33] not a diet and is technically not

[09:35] focused on the food but rather the hours

[09:37] in the day when you are not eating food

[09:40] I do think it's important to note that

[09:42] the types of meals you eat within your

[09:44] eating window can affect how easy or

[09:48] difficult your fast is going to feel

[09:50] ultimately the name of the game is to

[09:52] eat blood sugar balancing meals meaning

[09:54] you want to eat meals that are rich in

[09:56] protein fiber and healthy fats and you

[09:59] want to minimize highly processed

[10:01] flowers and highly processed sugars or

[10:03] really any type of food that's going to

[10:05] create a big spike in your blood sugar

[10:08] so good quality sources of protein

[10:10] plenty of vegetables fresh fruits

[10:12] healthy fats like nut seeds and avocados

[10:15] and then of course whole grains based

[10:17] around how you feel and your activity

[10:20] levels and quite honestly this really

[10:22] isn't different than any healthy dietary

[10:25] approach right if you look at all of the

[10:27] different dietary approaches in the

[10:29] world and you look at the through line

[10:31] they're all kind of saying the same

[10:33] thing at the base right let's focus on

[10:34] real Whole Foods as close to their

[10:36] natural POS State as possible most of

[10:39] the time prioritizing protein fiber and

[10:41] healthy fats and if you need some help

[10:43] or a little bit of inspiration with food

[10:45] or recipes or cooking I have hundreds of

[10:48] easy healthy delicious recipes for you

[10:50] right here on clean and delicious and I

[10:52] will also say as this is a kind of a toe

[10:54] in-the water beginner's guide that if

[10:56] this is speaking to you and it's

[10:57] something you feel like you want to

[10:58] experiment with

[10:59] but you're not sure if it's the right

[11:01] decision for you you may just want to

[11:03] consult with your healthcare provider

[11:05] just to get the extra support and

[11:06] guidance that you may be needing okay

[11:08] now as always I am so curious to hear

[11:10] from you all do you fast are you

[11:13] considering fasting do you have any tips

[11:15] or insights to add to the content that

[11:17] I've just shared I'd love to hear

[11:19] literally anything you can add to the

[11:21] conversation if you can come on down to

[11:22] the comment section below this way we

[11:24] can all continue to support each other

[11:26] as we learn and grow thank you all so

[11:28] much for watching I'm Danny Spees and I

[11:30] will see you back here next time with

[11:32] some more clean and deliciousness cheers