In times of crisis HANG ON TO HEALTHY HABITS!

Wow these are uncertain times! Who would have thought so much could change in a week's time? It seems schools are closed in many of our communities, grocery stores are mobbed and or out of items, church has been cancelled, and in most of the country we have been asked to keep a distance from one another and not meet in groups. 

All of these changes along with the uncertainty of what is to come and how long it may last can really be stressful.

I'm not sure if you noticed that in the frenzied frightened grocery gathering and hoarding they were out of many things: toilet paper, Clorox wipes, spaghetti sauce, cold cereal, crackers, chips, cookies etc. but in most cases the fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables remained on the shelves. And why is that? 

Stress most often causes us to retreat to comfort activities and food: staying up late and sleeping in, watching lots television and playing video games. Eating chips, cookies, ice cream, Kraft macaroni and cheese, and Ramen. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Ladies-- not only CAN you maintain healthy habits during life's regular times of stress (birth of a baby, unemployment, weddings, moving, holidays etc. etc.) but it is MOST important to maintain healthy habits during these times. You can become a woman that hunkers down with her healthy choices MORE diligently when times get tough. 

It is so much easier to work on healthy habits when your life is under control, your schedule is humming along as it should, you have your majors tasks and projects meeting the needed deadlines, your family is getting along, you are feeling energetic and focused. 

But I am asking you to use our present crisis as a time to learn that you can do hard things. That even during this time of Coronavirus you can still find ways to continue healthy habits which will help you to safeguard your mental and physical health and keep you strong to handle any challenges that might come. 

So our challenge for the week is to carry on:

1. Drink your water- good clean water all of it every day.

2. Write down what you eat. Although you might have to make compromises on menus you can still control your portions. And no you do not NEED cookies to get through this crisis. Lay off the sugar and record what you eat. 

3. Get physical exercise every day. While you may not be able to continue your normal exercise plan you can exercise. Florida weather is lovey and I went on a bike ride with my daughter last night. It was gorgeous out and we were the ONLY ones enjoying the evening. We took my grand daughter to a pond yesterday afternoon to feed the ducks and only saw 3 people (from a distance). At least in our area outside exercise is totally safe. And if you must exercise inside dance with your family, run around your yard, do a work out video with those you love. Get your body moving for an hour every day.

4. Get in your fruits and vegetables every day. I know our access to grocery stores may become limited but I am still hopeful you can find 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings a day of fruit. 

5. Get good sleep. You know the steps to help this happen. Take them and sleep deeply. Sleep is one of your best tools in fending off disease. 

It's your choice- like I said you can stay up late, sleep in, lay around all day and eat junk food and there is some comfort in that but honestly the end result of that kind of self neglect is just feeling lousy. Or you can come out of this present crisis saying "I am so proud of myself. I maintained my healthy habits, avoided disease and I am healthier overall after these weeks of hardship. I made the best choices I could every single day."

Good luck ladies. This week's challenge points come to those that make an honest effort each day to make as many healthy choices as possible.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Researchers at the University of Colorado found that when subjects came up short on sleep, they experienced almost immediate weight gain. 

       In the abstract, researchers note, "Our findings suggest that increased food intake during insufficient sleep is a physiological adaptation to provide energy needed to sustain additional wakefulness; yet when food is easily accessible, intake surpasses that needed." Wright suggested part of those extra pounds was a product of behavioral changes. “We found that when people weren’t getting enough sleep they overate carbohydrates,”. He added that  part of the change was behavioral. Staying up late and skimping on sleep led to not only more eating, but a shift in the type of foods a person consumed.

       Night owls managed to consume 6 per cent more calories. But once they started sleeping more, they began eating more healthfully, consuming fewer carbohydrates and fats.

       I think a lot of it can be caused when we are confused by our body signals. We are sleepy or cranky or worn out so we reach for a comfort food for a quick dose of energy. Later (feeling low energy from lack of sleep and nutritionless carbohydrates) we skip the gym and pick up takeout for dinner-- no time to cook.

       Additional problems are explained by Michael Breus, PhD, author of Beauty Sleep and the clinical director of the sleep division for Arrowhead Health in Glendale, Arizona, “It’s not so much that if you sleep, you will lose weight, but if you are sleep-deprived, meaning that you are not getting enough minutes of sleep or good quality sleep, your metabolism will not function properly.” 

       The two hormones that are key in this process are ghrelin and leptin. “Ghrelin is the ‘go’ hormone that tells you when to eat, and when you are sleep-deprived, you have more ghrelin,” Breus says. “Leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating, and when you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin.” More ghrelin plus less leptin equals weight gain. “You are eating more, plus your metabolism is slower when you are sleep-deprived,” Breus says.

And if you are up for learning even more about the vital importance of sleep I would recommend you listen to Kevin Rose's interview with Matthew Walker

https://www.kevinrose.com/single-post/matthew-walker

Ackk so what does all of this news have to do with our challenge for this week?

For every day you do at least 3 things to contribute to getting a good night’s sleep you can claim your 5 points from the Weekly Challenge. (They can be the same 3 things each day- find what works for you) Ideas would include:

1. Clean your bedroom. Fresh linens, a beautifully made bed, a tidy end table, a cleared off dresser top, adorned with a favorite photo or fresh flowers- All of these help your bedroom to be a lovely and peaceful place that invites relaxation that contributes to sleep. Your bedroom should be a relaxing sanctuary. Every day that you take some steps toward this goal you can claim the bonus points. 

2. Cut out the Caffeine- Caffeine (found in tea, coffee, sodas, chocolate and some over the counter medications) can stay in your system as long as 14 hours, increases the number of times you awaken at night and decreases the total amount of sleep time. This may subsequently affect daytime anxiety and performance. Those that are sensitive should not intake ANY caffeine after noon each day.

3. Avoid working, eating, and discussing emotional issues in bed (I have a rule for my hubby that nothing stressful can be spoken of after 9:00 pm) The bed should be used for sleep and sex only. If not, we can associate the bed with other activities and it often becomes difficult to fall asleep.

4. Minimize noise, light, and temperature extremes during sleep with ear plugs, window blinds, eye coverings,  an electric blanket or air conditioner. Even the slightest nighttime noises or luminescent lights can disrupt the quality of your sleep. I can’t tell you how getting blackout curtains and shutters have increased the time I am able to stay asleep. I even have electrical tape over the small lights on my bedside modem.

5. Try not to drink fluids after 8 p.m. This may reduce awakenings due to a need to urinate. 

6. Avoid naps, but if you do nap, make it no more than about 25 minutes. If you have problems falling asleep, then no naps for you.

7. Do not expose yourself to bright light during the night if you do need to get up. Use a small night-light instead. I bought a motion activated night-light (on amazon) that turns on if I do need to walk in the bathroom at night and it is much calmer and more subtle than switching on the full overhead lights.

8. Avoid the light of televisions and computers late at night. Consider buying some inexpensive blue blocker glasses (available on Amazon) and turn your devices to dark mode. 

For apple products 

1. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness.
2. Select Dark to turn on Dark Mode.

To turn Dark Mode on or off from Control Center, pull down from the top-right corner of your device, then touch and hold the brightness control . Then tap  Dark Mode On or  Dark Mode Off.

You can also set Dark Mode to turn on automatically at sunset or at a specific time. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness and select Automatic. Tap Options to set a schedule for Dark Mode.

9. Consider some natural help aids. Certain herbal teas can help you relax and fall asleep. Chamomile is a popular tea that slows the nervous system and promotes relaxation. A new tea I’ve discovered is Yogi Soothing Caramel Bedtime - yum.  Other liquids, such as a small glass of warm milk, may also help. Melatonin (my favorite is Source Naturals Melatonin 1 mg. peppermint flavored sublingual also available from amazon) helps many people sleep. Essential oils can also have great power to aid your sleep. I love Lavender on my pillowcase, Doterra’s Serenity rubbed on the back of my neck and a drop of Clary Sage (Also Doterra) on my tongue. ZZZZZZZZZZ!! As always check with your health professional before trying natural remedies.

10. Take control of your worries. Most of us lead very stressful lives. Stress, surprises, and changes can take a toll on our sleep habits. I often find myself going over, over and over the same worries somehow thinking if I think about it long enough, an easy solution is going to somehow pop up. One way to decrease this endless cycle of worry before bed is to write down your concerns in a journal and close the book on the day. You might even want to note a specific time the following day that you will worry about those things you have listed.

10. If you must get up make it as quick and stress free as possible- I know some of you are young mothers with children that you still may need to get up with during the night. If you are getting up to change a diaper or give hugs and reassurance make sure the diaper and wipes and anything else needed are set out and ready the night before. If you are getting up to nurse or give a bottle likewise have things as ready as possible. Set your favorite cozy blanket in your favorite cozy chair. Have diapering items set out. If you want a cup of tea while nursing have the tea bag and cup set out and the tea pot full of water ready to switch on. Plan ahead to minimize any chores you must do during the night so that things are as quick, easy and relaxing as possible.

11. Start early It can be discouraging to finally finish your day and then face all of the bedtime chores. Teeth brushing and flossing, face washing and moisturizing, laying out clothing for the next day or packing your lunch, even your night time kneeling prayer do not have to wait until you are past exhaustion. Why not see if you can fit all or most of these chores in earlier in the evening? 

12. Create a bedtime ritual. It is calming to do the same things each night to signal your body it's time to wind down. This might include taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, or listening to soothing music — preferably with the lights dimmed. Relaxing activities can promote better sleep by easing the transition between wakefulness and drowsiness. I have found great calming by listening to meditation CD’s and particularly like those guided by Stin Hansen. She shares several free ones at http://www.mythoughtcoach.com

13. Get comfortable. Sleeping clothes should be loose and comfortable and sheets should be fresh and clean. Your mattress and pillows should be those you find the coziest and most comfortable. Do you need any upgrades to sleeping clothes or bedding?

14. Avoid the snooze alarm. You might be surprised that I have NEVER hit snooze in my entire life. The reason? I set my alarm for the last possible moment I can rise and meet my daily obligations. Why would I want to get up any earlier than that? I surprised a friend recently when I shared that on the mornings I work at the temple (have to leave home by 6:15 am) I get up just 10 minutes before I walk out the door. The trick to being able to do that is my before bed preparation. Before I retire for the night my temple bag is packed and on the kitchen table with my purse, my breakfast bar and my water bottle. In my bathroom my dress, underclothing and shoes are selected and set out. I shower and wash and dry my hair right before bed. I get up, use the bathroom, quickly flat iron my hair and put on a couple of swipes of make up. Pull dress over my head, step into my shoes, grab my items from the table and I’m out the door. Now why would I set my alarm for 30 minutes before I need to leave and disturb my sleep in the morning by hitting snooze, then hitting snooze then hitting snooze until I REALLY need to get up. I set the alarm for when I REALLY need to get up.

So ladies work on sleeping longer and better this week to earn your daily bonus points!

Maintaining muscle

I don’t know about you but I have a pretty cool wireless scale. It keeps track of my weight, syncs the info with my phone and watch, calculates my BMI and even tells me the weather for the day. But there is one thing I DREAD seeing. It calculates the percentage of body fat in my body. Oh my goodness if you could see that number you would be surprised that I can even stand up and walk around. Seriously my body fat is so high I am almost a jelly fish. 

Everyone knows that as we age we lose muscle and bone density. A recent study from Duke University showed that this process starts accelerating in our 50’s. And while I know many of you aren’t anywhere near that age, habits you build now can help you from a dismal future to come. This loss of muscle mass as you age- barring any efforts to preserve or rebuild it — could translate into trouble getting up from a chair in the future.

Put another way: Without any interventions, people have been shown to lose about 30 percent of their muscle mass between ages 50 and 70. You don’t have to let that happen. And that’s where strength-building workouts come in.

The AARP website shares that Bryant Johnson, who trains Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, notes that while some of his older clients are perfectly able to get out and walk or bike without encouragement, they need a little push when it comes to building muscle.

Sometimes, he says, people get tripped up by the idea that strength training is all about sculpting biceps in a loud and crowded gym. Often, they’re just not used to the feeling of working out until their muscles become fatigued.

Not that he’s accepting any excuses. As he tells it, if Justice Ginsburg — an 86-year-old, three-time cancer surgery survivor with a stent in her chest and a highly demanding day job — can strength train twice a week, well, so can you.“As we get older, we start to lose bone density and muscle, and there is only one way to increase it, and that is to do weight

bearing exercise. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it,” he says.

But getting in this type of exercise doesn’t necessarily require hitting the gym. There are simple strength-training moves you can do at home — using hand-held weights, elastic bands known as resistance tubes, or just the weight of your own body — that work your muscles as you need to. A you-tube search for “At home resistance training or strength training” should give you some good ideas. 

Your goal should be working in strength-training exercises at least twice a week, (for the rest of your life) as recommended by federal exercise guidelines. Ginsburg knocks out things like planks and knee lifts for an hour twice a week, but you can start with very short, single sets of strength-training exercises — think just a few reps or minutes at a time — and build up from there.

Beyond that, Johnson says, just try not to go more than three days without doing some kind of muscle-building activity. As he often tells his clients, You can do this.

So you guessed it— your challenge for this week is to do some kind of strength training exercises. You can choose to devote 10 minutes of each day’s work out or substitute (or continue if you have already been doing this) strength training for your cardio or stretching exercise at least 3X this week. And if you do so you can claim the 35 bonus points. 

Oh and btw I have started tracking my percentage of body fat (as measured by my scale) and am trying to use that statistics to continue to inspire me to build mass and lose fat! Wish me luck! 

Microbiome Diversity

I suspect that for many of you diet (not healthy living but DIET or weight loss) success revolves around sticking to your personal set program. Protein bar for breakfast, (same) sandwich with an apple for lunch and lean meat with favorite veggie for dinner. And while this same daily diet habit may help you focus on losing weight, eating the same thing every day is NOT the answer to a fully healthy life. 

Tim Spector is a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, and is lead investigator of the British Gut Project. He’s also the author of The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat. Spector says that diet health is clearly more complex than calories in and calories out. Much of it has to do with microbes and the importance of our gut microbiome, which he likens to discovering a new organ in our body. 

Spector shares that we’ve lost much of the microbial diversity that we once had, citing people like the Hadza in Tanzania and Amazonian tribes. Unlike people living in the west, “they have these super healthy microbiomes and they don’t get obese, they don’t get many other chronic diseases and don’t get allergies”. Spector states that the west’s love affair with antibiotics, processed food and sterile living environments has resulted in the compromising of our microbiome health. 

Another cause of poor microbiome health are the foods we eat -- or just as importantly – don’t eat. Spector sites findings from the British Gut Project. “It has shown that the number one factor to determine having a healthy microbiome is the number of different plants you ate in a week.” The more diverse the food we eat, the more diverse our gut microbes. 

If we ate over 30 different plants – including fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds – each week we’d all have a healthier gut, he says. While that sounds simple, Spector says that on average we’re now only eating around five different plants per week.

Upping our consumption of fermented foods, a wider variety of plants, fibre and polyphenol-rich foods like nuts and berries is the best way to feed those 100 trillion microbes that we might not have even known we had.

So you have probably guessed it --this next week we will focus on more variety in our daily meal choices. Not just romaine lettuce in our salads but a wide variety of different types of greens. Not just wheat bread but rye or millet. Not just rice but Quinoa or Freekuh instead. Not just your daily apple for a snack but black grapes or guava. (Note I tasted my first guava last week and the taste was just OK but the fragrance was intoxicating.) I would love it if you would eat 30 different fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts and seeds this week (Do keep count and let me know)  but to earn the weekly bonus challenge you need to add to your diet at least one different item (a fruit, seed, grain or vegetable you have not eaten during the past month or already during this week of challenge)  per day to earn the daily bonus points or add a total of 7 new ones for the  week (you could eat then all on one day) for the full 35 points. 

I think for a lot of us success in losing weight falls into a habit of eating the same thing (at least for breakfast or lunch) every day. But being a healthy person encompasses more factors than mere weight control.  Let’s branch out ladies and bless our microbiome with a wider variety of plants! Happy eating!

Fiber It Up

          

         You have probably guessed that I am a BIG FAN of Myfitnesspal.com. By now you have learned to use it as a tool for tracking your calorie intake. But have you ever spent time studying the other columns of information in the food diary? I wish we had time to focus a challenge on each one of these important columns but this week we are going to focus on fiber. Take a look at your past entries. Have you met the fiber requirement each day? If you have HOORAH but if not you may have to make an extra effort this week. 

         Public health guidelines from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advise Americans to eat between 20 and 30 grams of fiber a day, but most adults don't even eat half that much.

         This isn't surprising, since fiber refers to the indigestible portion of plant foods, and in the largely refined standard American diet, healthful fibers are often processed right out.

        Unless you regularly eat whole fruits and vegetables, nuts, and seeds, you may be missing out on the healthiest forms of fiber available – and that could be a problem. 

Why Is Fiber So Important?

         Soluble fiber, like that found in cucumbers, blueberries, beans, and nuts, dissolves into a gel-like texture, helping to slow down your digestion. This helps you to feel full longer and is one reason why fiber may help with weight control.

         Insoluble fiber, found in foods like dark green leafy vegetables, green beans, celery, and carrots, does not dissolve at all and helps add bulk to your stool. This helps food to move through your digestive tract more quickly for healthy elimination. Many whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables, naturally contain both soluble and insoluble fiber.

9 Health Benefits of Fiber

There's no shortage of research showing how fiber may boost your health. Some of its top potential benefits include:

•   Blood sugar control: Soluble fiber may help to slow your body's breakdown of carbohydrates and the absorption of sugar, helping with blood sugar control.

•   Heart health: An inverse association has been found between fiber intake and heart attack, and research shows that those eating a high-fiber diet have a 40 percent lower risk of heart disease.1

•   Stroke: Researchers have found that for every seven-grams more fiber you consume on a daily basis, your stroke risk is decreased by 7 percent.2

•   Weight loss and management: Fiber supplements have been shown to enhance weight loss among obese people,3 likely because fiber increases feelings of fullness.

•   Skin health: Fiber, particularly psyllium husk, may help move yeast and fungus out of your body, preventing them from being excreted through your skin where they could trigger acne or rashes.4

•   Diverticulitis: Dietary fiber (especially insoluble) may reduce your risk of diverticulitis – an inflammation of polyps in your intestine – by 40 percent.5

•   Hemorrhoids: A high-fiber diet may lower your risk of hemorrhoids.

•   Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): Fiber may provide some relief from IBS.

•   Gallstones and kidney stones: A high-fiber diet may reduce the risk of gallstones and kidney stones, likely because of its ability to help regulate blood sugar.

•      What Are the Healthiest Sources of Fiber?

Most Americans get nowhere near the amount of fiber needed to support a healthy body. As the New York Times reported: "...the current average fiber intake in the United States is about 13 grams a day for women and 17 for men. Increasing these amounts by seven grams a day would bring them close to the recommended levels of 21 to 25 grams for women and 30 to 38 for men. 'Seven grams a day increase is an achievable goal…' 'You're talking about... increasing vegetable and fruit by two portions a day.'"

As always I would prefer you fortify your fiber intake by focusing on whole foods (rather than processed bran or fiber supplements)  which contain high levels of soluble and insoluble fiber.

•      Chia seeds

•      Berries

•      Vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts

•      Root vegetables and tubers, including onions and sweet potatoes

•      Almonds

•      Psyllium seed husk, flax, and chia seeds

•      Green beans

•      Cauliflower

•      Beans

•      Peas

 So what is your challenge for the week?

1. Track your fiber on myfitnesspal.com daily and make sure you meet at least the minimum requirement listed there

2. At least once this week add a type of fiber into your diet that you don’t normally eat

ACCOMPLISH THESE TWO THINGS AND YOU HAVE MET THE FIBER CHALLENGE AND EARNED YOUR 35 BONUS POINTS FOR THE WEEK

Let's NOT get sick

With a pretty yucky version of the flu going around, colds on every corner and our new worry over the Coronavirus it's time to get serious about how to NOT GET SICK.

The World Health Organization is stressing the following tips:

1. Wash your hands frequently

Wash your hands frequently. While hand sanitizer is a current fad, studies have shown your hands actually get  cleaner with soap and water. One tip to try to make sure you have washed your hands long enough is to hum the song Happy Birthday while you scrub all the nooks and crannies. 

Since some germs and viruses can stay alive on hand rails, shopping carts, gym equipment, door handles etc. etc. You want to wash your hands diligently before eating, after using the bathroom and really any time you have been touching public items. 

2. Practice respiratory hygiene

When coughing and sneezing, cover your mouth and nose  COMPLETELY with flexed elbow or tissue – discard tissue immediately into a closed bin and clean your hands with hand sanitizer or soap and water.

Why? If you don't cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing  the germs will be projected in a 6-8 foot circle. And if you sneeze or cough into your hands, you may contaminate objects or people that you touch afterward. I can't believe how terrible people are at this- we can do better 

3. Maintain social distancing

Maintain at least 3 feet distance between yourself and other people, particularly those who are coughing, sneezing and have a fever.

Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth and eyes 

Why? Hands touch many surfaces which can be contaminated with the virus. If you touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your contaminated hands before you have had time to wash them thoroughly, you can transfer the virus from the surface to yourself. 

4. If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early

Tell your health care provider if you have traveled in an area in China where 2019-nCoV has been reported, or if you have been in close contact with someone with who has traveled from China and has respiratory symptoms.

Why? Whenever you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing it’s important to seek medical attention promptly as this may be due to a respiratory infection or other serious condition. Respiratory symptoms with fever can have a range of causes, and depending on your personal travel history and circumstances, 2019-nCoV could be one of them.

If you have mild respiratory symptoms and no travel history to or within China, carefully practice basic respiratory and hand hygiene and stay home until you are recovered, if possible.

5. As a general precaution, practice general hygiene measures when visiting live animal markets, wet markets or animal product markets as the coronavirus appears to be being spread from animals to humans

Ensure regular hand washing with soap and potable water after touching animals and animal products; avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with hands; and avoid contact with sick animals or spoiled animal products. Strictly avoid any contact with other animals in the market (e.g., stray cats and dogs, rodents, birds, bats). Avoid contact with potentially contaminated animal waste or fluids on the soil or structures of shops and market facilities.

6. Avoid consumption of raw or undercooked animal products

Handle raw meat, milk or animal organs with care, to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked foods, as per good food safety practices.

So our special challenge this week is to try harder every day this week to follow the precautions that will help you and your family members to stay healthy. For every day you do this you earn the 5 bonus points,

You DON'T have to eat round the clock

One of the world's current health and fitness trends is intermittent fasting. People are using it to lose weight, improve their health and simplify their lifestyles.

Many studies show that it can have powerful effects on your body and brain and may even help you live longer.

FASTING- YIKES! Don’t worry-- I’m not going to ask you to go a week without food. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It doesn’t specify which foods you should eat but rather when you should eat them.

Commonly intermittent fasting methods involve daily 12-16 hour fasts. So if you take your first bite of food or drink of juice in the morning at 7:30 a.m. you would need to finish your last bite of food in the evening by 7:30 pm (though restricting it to an 8 or 10 hour window of eating rather than 12 is even better). During the time period that you have chosen to fast you would not take in any substances with calories. You take in only water when you not in your window of eating. (Note that if you are REQUIRED to take a medication during the fasting window of course you must go ahead)

I have been experimenting with intermittent fasting or time restricted eating for some time and have found that for me the biggest change was giving up evening treats in front of the TV and of course that is a good change. Honestly it really hasn’t been that painful.

For our bonus challenge this week I am going to ask you to restrict your eating each day to an 8,10 or at least 12 hour window and other than that take in only water.(NOTE IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL REASON THAT YOU NEED TO EAT REGULARLY DURING ALL THE HOURS YOU ARE AWAKE LET ME KNOW AND I’LL GIVE YOU AN ALTERNATE CHALLENGE.) 

*And as always while this is only our bonus challenge for this week it is a healthy habit I'd like you to consider adopting for the long term. 

I really like the free APP called ZERO to track my daily fasting period. It is super easy to use and for some reason I like marking my fasting on the app.

Fasting has been a practice throughout human evolution. Ancient hunter-gatherers didn't have supermarkets, fast food drive throughs or refrigerators full of food available year-round. It was often difficult to find anything to eat. As a result, the human body evolved to be able to function without food for extended periods of time.

In fact, fasting from time to time is more natural than always eating 3–4 (or more) meals per day.

How It Affects Your Cells and Hormones

When you fast, several things happen in your body on the cellular and molecular level.

For example, your body adjusts hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible.

Your cells also initiate important repair processes and change the expression of genes.

Here are some changes that occur in your body when you fast:

•  Human Growth Hormone (HGH): The levels of growth hormone skyrocket, increasing as much as 5-fold. This has benefits for fat loss and muscle gain, to name a few.

•  Insulin: Insulin sensitivity improves and levels of insulin drop dramatically. Lower insulin levels make stored body fat more accessible . 

•  Cellular repair: When fasted, your cells initiate cellular repair processes. This includes autophagy, where cells digest and remove old and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells.

•  Gene expression: There are changes in the function of genes related to longevity and protection against disease.

These changes in hormone levels, cell function and gene expression are responsible for the health benefits of intermittent fasting.

A Very Powerful Weight Loss Tool

Weight loss is the most common reason for people to try intermittent fasting. By restricting your eating to a short time period intermittent fasting can lead to a reduction in total calorie intake. Additionally, intermittent fasting changes hormone levels to facilitate weight loss. In addition to lowering insulin and increasing growth hormone levels, it increases the release of the fat burning hormone norepinephrine (noradrenaline).

By helping you eat fewer and burn more calories, intermittent fasting causes weight loss by changing both sides of the calorie equation.

A 2014 review study found that this eating pattern can cause 3–8% weight loss over 3–24 weeks, which is a significant amount, compared to most weight loss studies. According to the same study, people also lost 4–7% of their waist circumference, indicating a significant loss of harmful belly fat that builds up around your organs and causes disease. Another study showed that intermittent fasting causes less muscle loss than the more standard method of continuous calorie restriction.

However, keep in mind that the main reason for its success is that intermittent fasting helps you eat fewer calories overall. If you binge and eat massive amounts during your eating periods, you may not lose any weight at all.

Health Benefits

Many studies have been done on intermittent fasting, in both animals and humans.

These studies have shown that it can have powerful benefits for weight control and the health of your body and brain. It may even help you live longer.

Here are the main health benefits of intermittent fasting:

•  Weight loss: As mentioned above, intermittent fasting can help you lose weight and belly fat, without having to consciously restrict calories 

•  Insulin resistance: Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance, lowering blood sugar by 3–6% and fasting insulin levels by 20–31%, which should protect against type 2 diabetes 

•  Inflammation: Some studies show reductions in markers of inflammation, a key driver of many chronic diseases

•  Heart health: Intermittent fasting may reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers, blood sugar and insulin resistance — all risk factors for heart disease 

•  Cancer: Animal studies suggest that intermittent fasting may prevent cancer 

•  Brain health: Intermittent fasting increases the brain hormone BDNF and may aid the growth of new nerve cells. It may also protect against Alzheimer’s disease 

•  Anti-aging: Intermittent fasting can extend lifespan in rats. Studies showed that fasted rats lived 36–83% longer 

Keep in mind that research is still in its early stages. Many of the studies were small, short-term or conducted in animals. Many questions have yet to be answered in higher quality human studies