Even back in the day when I ( #personaltrainerpalma ) was competing in triathlons and endurance bike races , I was experimenting with using my body fat for energy stories rather than scoffing sports bars and drinks .
Autoimmune diseases- Multiple sclerosis , Parkinson's, Cancer, Arthritis and many more diseases along with aging and simply keeping slim , sleeping better and building muscle … if any of these affect or interest you or someone you know then read on….
We have always been told calories in versus calories out is the way to lose weight which in practice has some application but now we realise that it is more to do with condensing the eating window and generally having periods where we give the body a rest- fast- otherwise known as deciding not to eat. ( as opposed to starving which is NOT a choice )
You see the body can only be in two states : Fed or Fasted. There is nothing in between.
It also comes to light that this fasted state - if extended - clears out all the rubbish cells - disease thrives on replicating bad cells - it is much easier for the body to replicate bad cells than build good ones- and the trouble is these bad cells hide under such a good disguise that the body does not realise they are bad so they then begin to form the basis of all future growth . Re-producing bad cell after bad cell spiralling out of control and thus effectively here begins the start of disease.
So moving back to the original point of fasting - which creates a stress on the body - this stress of not feeding starves the cells - clearing them all out - bad and good - therefore eradicating any beginning forms of inflammation. When we then ´Re-feed´ or begin to eat again our cells then begin to rebuild using the new , good material and hence the whole process of healthy cellular, muscle , tendon and bone growth begins again.
You can therefore see that regular periods of not eating - are in fact good for us. It is a spring cleaning of the body.
Looking into scientific studies it also appears that aside from keeping eating and drinking windows as small as possible - under 8 hours , outside of which anything that contains a calorie or an ingredient that raises insulin is not ingested. so your fasting window comprises of water : fizzy or still ( no additives or artificial sweeteners ) and black tea and coffee .
Black coffee ( of a good source ) can also further encourage Ketone production. ( this is a very clean energy pathway which occurs when the body is using fat for fuel ) . keeping your eating window of 8 hours or less and making the eating window as early as possible in the day has been proven to illicit incredible health benefits, enhance fat loss and increase muscle mass along with alleviating symptoms and disease likeliness of everything mentioned above in the opening paragraph.
The cut off time for many of the nutritional studies done was 19.00 in the evening , allowing at least 3 hours after eating and drinking before bed. This further allows the body to follow its natural pattern of circadian rhythm - slowing down at hours of darkness ( in preparation for sleep ) and waking up or getting systems moving as the light begins - when we wake , first thing in the morning.
A further point to consider is that by making your window finish early you thereby reduce the likeliness of consuming bad calories - i.e later in the evening you are more likely to drink alcohol which then leads to snacking on poor quality foods like crisps, take aways and so forth. we make better food choices at the beginning of the day with time associated foods . Who drinks beer for breakfast ? ( don’t answer that please !)
The studies reveal that earlier you finish your eating and drinking window the better. Ensuring optimum fat burning. It also revealed that not only did all the health biomarkers improve but the likeliness of disease returning was massively reduced. Symptoms of all the age related diseases and autoimmune diseases were significantly reduced , sleep was enhanced , increased energy in the morning , enhanced weight loss and an increase in muscle mass - yes growth hormone increased !!!
Yes muscle mass increased and fat burning increased. This study was done on a group of athletes - half of which followed a time restricted eating window of 8 hours and the other half had no time restricted eating window. The half that had the 8 hour window lost body fat and gained muscle the other group did not lose body fat and did not gain muscle although the training regimes were the same.
To summarise .
Practicing an 8 hour eating and drinking window ( or less depending ) every day of the week including weekends
Try to make this eating window finish as early as possible - 19.00 or earlier depending on your schedule.
Take away :
Reap the benefits of lessening de-habilitating diseases or disease related symptoms, sleeping better, having more energy, increasing health biomarkers and reducing body fat and building muscle. No calorie counting and not too much emphasis on worrying about macronutrient content although it should be said that 90% of the time you should be making healthy food choices. #personaltrainerpalma #personaltrainercalvia #personaltrainerportals
