
There is more and more research about how resting our bodies from eating food can have a positive impact on our health and help weight loss. When the body isn’t busy digesting, it is using the energy to remove dead or unwanted cells, a process called autophagy. There are many suggestions on how long to fast to get the optimum benefits but a good starting point is the basic three meals a day, progressing to pushing your breakfast later and eventually having just two meals a day.
Personally, I find it easy to stop eating at 8pm and skip breakfast – just consuming black coffee, tea or water until lunch at 1/2pm. This results in a 16 hour fast which I tend to do three days a week. There are a variety of fasting schedules and it comes down to what suits the individual. However, for women who are pregnant or anyone who has an eating disorder, fasting is not recommended.
I discuss fasting and other aspects of striving for good health in my video and pdf summary ‘Nutrition’ which you can find in the Resources section of the site.