You and Your Health - Time Restricted Eating - What, Why, and How part 2
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- Published on Thursday, July 26, 2018
Photo property of Metro Creative Connection
By Dr. Mark Perrett
BSCs DC Chiropractor
Last week I discussed what time restricted eating is and all the benefits of implementing it into your lifestyle. This article describes how to implement a simple time restricted eating plan.
How do you Include Intermittent Fasting in your Lifestyle?
Keep it simple
First thing you need to remember is that TRE is not a diet and you don’t need to restrict calories. You do not need to change what you are eating but when you eat. It might be a good time to look at what is in your fridge and freezer and start eating healthier but try restricting when you eat first.
Start with a 12:12 plan. The eating window is for 12 hours and the fasting time is for 12 hours. This is easy to achieve if you simply don’t eat after supper. This is the simplest plan as it more easily fits into our social and family lives. You need to remember that the eating stage starts with anything ingested other than water. Even coffee kicks in the liver to metabolize caffeine. When making this change people who never eat breakfast will quickly notice they become a breakfast eater once again. Cutting out all those high carbohydrate calories at night will get you eating your bacon and eggs once again. The body will process food in the fasting state and there will be a call for calories in the morning.
You don’t need to be perfect every day to achieve the health benefits of TRE. Studies have shown that even 10 hour fasting has a positive effect on the body. Having a weekend of a few days of cheating with that drink or snacks around the camp fire will not send your body into chaos. The main thing is to make sure you don’t lose your habit of not eating after supper!
Listen to your body
When changing any habit or feeding schedule your body will feel different. Initially you will feel hunger pangs, possible headaches, and mood changes. As you reset your body so that your gut clock matches your brain clock, expect some kick back. When these sync you will notice a great difference. Try drinking water in the fasting stage after supper. Staying hydrated will help fill you up and make you resist eating. After the initial changes/stage you will notice that you are not hungry at nights. The amazing part of the fasting state is that your body will start burning fat as a fuel source and this actually decreases hunger.
Who Should Avoid Time Restricted Eating?
Diabetics should be cautious about starting time restricted eating, especially if they have very unstable sugars. You should be teaming up with a good dietitian or health care professional and discuss the risks and benefits of this type of eating.
Time restricted eating isn’t a green light to eat whatever you want and how much you want. People who binge eat or have an eating disorder need to be cautious of TRE. Some people hyper-focus on their eating and can go too far when getting into fasting. Again the use of a health care professional is advised.
Hunger can increase stress and anxiety. If a person prolongs the fasting stage of TRE there is a risk of provoking these problems. The majority of people do not have a negative effect to their mental health when sticking to the 12:12 plan but should be aware of how their body and brain feels when fasting. Extreme fasting can have negative health benefits in these cases.
Time restricted eating is a simple lifestyle change with huge benefits. By matching your gut clock with your natural circadian rhythm, your body works better in managing insulin and fat metabolism. By simply having a 12 hour window when you do not consume calories, you: improve your sleep, lose weight, reduce your risk of cancers and live longer. Initial changes will be a challenge but it will be worth it!
Activity fact: the average American consumes 19.5 teaspoons (82 grams) every day. That translates into about 66 pounds of added sugar consumed each year, per person.
