Does Mel Robbins support intermittent fasting as a healthy diet? What are her tips to fast safely?
In an episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, Robbins and Dr. Mindy Pelz break down a popular diet known as intermittent fasting. Mel Robbins’s keen interest stemmed from her desire to understand the health effects of fasting.
Here’s everything you know to know about fasting, plus Mel Robbins’s fasting tips.
Understanding Intermittent Fasting: Foundations and Functioning
According to Mel Robbins, fasting is a beneficial practice that revolves around abstaining from food for specific periods. It focuses less on what or how much to eat, but rather on when to eat.
Intermittent fasting is a powerful tool against various health conditions like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer. Particularly, a 36-hour fast can have a significant impact on weight loss as it encourages the body to burn previously stored glucose and fat.
The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting can usher in benefits including improvements in fat metabolism, cognitive function, sleep quality, pain reduction, and deceleration of aging. Greater clarity and understanding of the energy production systems add enormous value to health enthusiasts grappling with diet and exercise complexities.
Fasting is a potent tool for combating health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer. Evidence shows the marked successes of fasting.
One such success was demonstrated in episodes like that of Todd, who lost 30 pounds in just a month owing to a 12-hour eating schedule. A notable fasting recommendation is 14 to 16 hours with an eating window of 8-10 hours. In particular, Dr. Pelz highlighted that a consistent 3-month period of intermittent fasting can help diminish belly fat.
Fasting can also enhance gut health, modulate gut microbiome, reduce inflammation, and augment nutrient absorption. This activity also plays a significant role in stabilizing blood sugar levels and suppressing hunger. This is achieved through the production of ketones, which significantly influence digestive health.
Additionally, fasting can eradicate bacteria that cause unhealthy cravings. Notably, there are health experts, like Dr. Pelz, who have shared insights into how fasting can be beneficial for our bodies.
According to Dr. Pelz, fasting activates a body’s internal intelligence. This internal intelligence performs a multifaceted role in healing. Primarily, it reduces inflammation and increases the power of the mitochondria, which are often referred to as the body’s batteries.
Moreover, this internal intelligence helps in eradicating elements that impede the healing process. This points to the wide-ranging positive effects that fasting can have on our overall health.
When to Fast
Robbins offers a few recommendations for when to fast during the day. Some of these methods range from the shorter 14-hour window to even 72-hours without eating. Ultimately, it’s up to you and what you’re comfortable with. It’s also remember to consult a medical professional before doing extreme fasting to ensure that your body can handle it.
Understanding 12-15 Hours Fasting
This fasting period can range from 14 to 16 hours, followed by an 8-10 hour consumption window. This standard duration of fasting reduces glucose levels and inflammation while triggering fat-burning and anti-aging, presenting considerable health-improving effects.
It’s recommended for beginners to start intermittent fasting with a 12-hour fast.
Extended Fasting Periods (17-hour, 24-hour, 36-hour)
Extended fasting periods carry additional benefits. The 17-hour fast initiates autophagy, the body’s cell repair mechanism.
A 24-hour fast stimulates the production of intestinal stem cells, while a 36-hour fast forces the body to burn stored fat. Fasting initiates an internal detox mechanism removing harmful cells and enhancing cellular function. A 24-hour fast can even improve digestive health by triggering cell repair in the gut.
The 48-hour Dopamine Reset and 72-hour Immune Reset Fast
Even longer fasting times like the 48-hour Dopamine Reset Fast rejuvenates the dopamine system and the 72-hour Immune Reset Fast renews the immune system by replacing outdated white blood cells.
Going through a 48-hour Dopamine Reset Fast not only enhances dopamine production but also increases the number of dopamine receptor sites. This leads to individuals feeling more focused, calm, and driven after fasting, with a sustained increase in happiness levels for weeks.
The Immune Reset Fast, an intensive approach lasting more than 72 hours, has been proven to effectively kickstart the entire immune system. It’s a strategy used by chemotherapy patients to prevent their immune systems from being entirely depleted.
The body begins the production of stem cells after 72 hours, these cells possess the ability to mend almost any part of the body, from chronic injuries to degenerating neurons.
Practical Guidelines: How to Get Started with Fasting
For those seeking to implement fasting in their lifestyle, it begins with the last calorie intake and includes sleep hours. Thus, it can span from dinner to breakfast the next day, keeping sleep hours into account.
Success Stories: Real-life Experiences with Intermittent Fasting
Evidence of the efficacy of intermittent fasting is abundant. An inspiring example is the story of Todd, a food addict, who lost 30 pounds in his first month. This was all thanks to implementing a 12-hour eating window.
His story showcases how intermittent fasting can dramatically influence weight loss. Interestingly, these changes can occur without necessarily modifying the diet.
Safety First: Precautions for Different Demographics
While potent, fasting must be approached cautiously by certain demographics such as pregnant women, nursing mothers, and individuals with eating disorders.
Dr. Pelz emphasizes the remarkable benefits for those with pre-diabetes, diabetes, or cardiovascular conditions, but insists on necessary precautions.
Gender and Fasting: Understanding Hormonal Cycles and Their Role in Fasting
It is important to consider gender when determining fasting protocols due to the variance in hormonal cycles.
With understanding and integration of these cycles into fasting schedules, benefits like weight loss, improved gut health, and curbed food cravings show that fasting is a good dieting method.
