Intermittent Fasting (IF) is one of the world’s most popular health and fitness trends right now. People are using it to improve their health and lose weight.
There have been many scientific studies that have shown it is a healthy way of eating that may even help you live longer. There is no doubt about it that Intermittent Fasting can have powerful effects on your body.
There are various Intermittent Fasting methods, but the main crux is that you Fast for a certain number of hours and then have an eating window, when you can eat. So it’s not really about what you eat but about when you eat – so an eating pattern rather than a diet.
If you think back to cave-man days – this was a natural and healthy way of eating, which also depended on if the cave man manged to catch his dinner or not!
A few years ago Dr Michael Mosley championed the 5:2 diet which many have found very useful, and it is in fact one of the more popular fasting methods being used right now. It is pretty simple in that you eat normally for 5 days and fast for 2 (non-consecutive ) days.
The favourite of the Intermittent Fasting methods right now seems to be the 16:8 diet where most people do their fast from evening to lunchtime the following day, so effectively just missing breakfast.
These are some of the benefits that are being talked about for Intermittent Fasting.
- Hormone changes and cellular repair
- Blood levels of insulin drop significantly, which facilitates fat burning
- Human growth hormone increases and Higher levels of this hormone facilitate fat burning and muscle gain
- The body induces important cellular repair and cleaning processes
- It is also said that there are beneficial changes in the human genes related to longevity
- Intermittent Fasting can reduce your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes
- Intermittent Fasting has been shown to have major benefits for insulin resistance and lead to an impressive reduction in blood sugar levels
- Weight Loss and reduction of Belly Fat
- Many people who are doing Intermittent Fasting are doing it for weight loss reasons and there is no doubt about the fact that if you eat less meals you ae likely to eat less calories, unless you compensate for the loss of your meal!
- Intermittent Fasting may be good for heart health
- Certainly it has been shown that Intermittent Fasting can improve numerous different risk factors, including blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers and blood sugar levels. So these are all positive results, especially as heart disease is the world’s biggest killer.
- Intermittent Fasting can reduce Oxidative Stress and reduce Inflammation
- Oxidative stress encourages aging and many chronic diseases. Several studies have shown that Intermittent Fasting may enhance the body’s resistance to this oxidative stress, it has also been found that Intermittent Fasting can reduce inflammation.
- Intermittent Fasting may help to prevent Cancer
- Fasting has been shown to have some beneficial effects on metabolism that could lead to reduced risk of cancer. There is also some evidence showing that fasting reduced various side effects of chemotherapy. But there is still a lot more research needed on this.
- Intermittent Fasting is good for your brain
- Intermittent Fasting improves various metabolic features known to be important for brain health. It also increases levels of a brain hormone called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) a deficiency of which has been implicated in depression. Certainly most Intermittent Fasters report that they feel sharp and their thinking is clearer.
- Studies also suggest that Intermittent Fasting may be protective against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease
- Intermittent Fasting may increase your lifespan
- One of the most exciting suggestions of Intermittent Fasting may be its ability to extend lifespan. Intermittent Fasting has become very popular among the anti-aging crowd.
So that’s the Intermittent Fasting bit, so now for some info on the Hypnosis bit!
In case you have never tried hypnosis I will explain it a little. We use the trance state, which is a completely normal state – it is that gazing out of the window with a coffee, or looking into a crackling fire, where your mind takes to on a mini focused journey.
Perhaps you have driven somewhere and realise you have arrived and wonder where that time went. Many people would call that traffic-trance! Luckily the trance state is actually a state of focused attention!
The hypnosis is motivating and encouraging, and can help you reach your goal with ease. It helps with motivation, cravings, hunger pangs, and just makes it so much easier.
Although as a hypnotherapist I will give you suggestions, the using of these is completely under your control. I cannot make you do anything you don’t want to do. But if you want some help and we focus on your goal, hypnosis makes it so much easier. It’s like you have some added will power and determination.
So you can probably now imagine the power of two great methods combined makes HypnoFasting the Power Combo!
I am always available in my online treatment room and am happy to discuss HypnoFasting, Intermittent Fasting, or just plain hypnotherapy.
So to find out more, click one of the buttons bellow.