I’m going to share with you my intermittent fasting protocol. I find this very easy to follow and extremely effective. You might need to play with it a little to find what works best for you!
What is Intermittent Fasting? 
Simply shortening the amount of time that you are eating! Really, that’s it! It’s basically going back to the way our grandparents ate. Three meals a day, within an eight hour feeding window.
Here’s my “Go to” Fasting Protocol:
Become a FAT BURNER, not a SUGAR burner!
Here’s how to start:
- CLOSE your kitchen and stop eating around 6-7pm
- Begin pushing back the time of your “break-fast” by an hour or so
- Work your way up to a 16 hour fast. Most of this time is spent sleeping!
- You can have water, coffee, tea etc.
Here is how I break my fast – this is my Meal 1! I typically fast over 17 hours. So you might freak out and think I must be “shutting down my metabolism” and you might say “OMG!! Aren’t you STARVING??” NOPE!!
A higher fat, lower carb diet turns your body into a FAT BURNER instead of a sugar burner so you don’t suffer from cravings and you are able to fast without feeling HANGRY!
This meal is about 300 calories and provides all of my vitamins & minerals for the entire day. Easy peasy!
I have hyperthyroidism and take medication three times/week now, also going through Menopause gaining weight in places I never have everything is off and a mess.. I workout 45 minutes four times/week sometimes five.. If I fast won’t that shut down my metabolism esp after my workout in early AM ? Help!!!
Hi Cheryl! I’m with you on the Hypothyroidism/Menopause train. I will tell you this, and be ready to be mind blown: there is ZERO way to “shut down your metabolism”. Your body will always be metabolically active.
By definition, your metabolism is simply a term used to describe all chemical reactions involved in maintaining the living state of the cells and the organism.
When fasting, you are doing several things: 1. you’re giving your digestive system a “break” 2. You are allowing autophagy to happen – think of this like pac man. Your body is essentially taking out the trash and cleaning up metabolic waste from your mitochondria. This helps your body repair and regenerate 3. You actually burn more fat when fasting !!!
You want to create a very “flexible” metabolism. Maybe some days you only fast for 8-12 hours. Others, you might do. 16. On some days, you might eat more protein, others, more fats. It’s all highly individual and requires some detective work on your part. Find out what works best for you by experimenting. And if you need help, let me know!