Let’s talk about intermittent fasting. There are several formulas, and my absolute favorite is picking an 8 hour window in which you consume all foods for the day. For example, my personal window is noon to 8. This means the only real meal I miss is breakfast (so I don’t feel deprived)

Stopping any and all consumption at 8pm allows me to enjoy dinner w a sensible dessert—a low calorie Popsicle, or bag of Crackerjack. It would be better to eat a piece of fruit and handful of nuts, but well…life is short. J Not eating thereafter is easy because it’s close to bed-time.

Note: it’s best not to eat anything 3 hours before turning in to promote good sleep. If your body is busy digesting, it’s hardly resting!

This method has the bonus of activating autophagy. Autophagy is a process of cellular recycling. Autophagy activity has been shown to increase during intermittent fasting with health benefits including clearance of harmful, dysfunctional or “sticky” aggregating proteins in the brain & body. Think: clearer skin, better health, improved cognitive abilities.

Another method of fasting is the 5:2 method. This means you eat 500 calories or less on 2 non-consecutive days of the week, and eat normally—but sensibly—for the other 5.

For those of us looking to lose weight—this is a tried and true way to do so. Once weight loss goal is attained, simply sticking to a sensible eating plan will keep you in fighting shape.

BIO: Based in Santa Barbara, CA, Karen Robiscoe is a certified Corrective Exercise Specialist and personal trainer through NASM. DBA Kardio with Karen, she is additionally certified as a Group X instructor and Spin teacher with Fitour, a licensed Livestrong Cancer Survivors instructor by YMCA, and a fully accredited Aquatics teacher with AEA.

https://www.facebook.com/kardiowithkaren

Still hungry? Click: The Right Time to Eat to Meet Your Workout Goals