One of the best ways to feel your best: beautiful, serene, and renewed. It is also one of the easiest and natural ways to restore your health. Fasting

Almost half a year ago, I started a fasting schedule I learned from the book “Fast like a Girl” by Dr. Mindy Pelz. This doctor has helped many women balance their hormones, lose weight, reverse serious diseases, and restore their overall health through the use of fasting, a healing method that has existed since the beginning of time.

I initially started this journey because I had lost my period; an over-intense exercise regime paired with a strict, rigid, and unstable diet that wreaked havoc on my hormones.

I felt everything I was doing was going against my body’s needs, wearing down my hormone health and leaving me feeling exhausted.

Mindy’s plan was the beginning of my healing journey; it has brought me through many breakthroughs in my health.

Mindy teaches that fasting for women works a special way; fasts fluctuate in length, based on the ebbs and flows of our hormones each month. In addition, she has 2 styles of diet recommendations to support our hormones and metabolism depending on which part of our cycle we are on.

Why fast?

Fasting is one of the easiest ways to regulate the body’s metabolism. Fasting is a form of metabolic switching. Mindy uses this term to describe the alternating of our bodies in states of breaking down/cleaning itself out, versus building up and growing.

It is healthy for our bodies to go into fasted states from time to time; in today’s environment, it’s much easier to eat than it is to fast. In ancient times, people would naturally enter fasted states as they had to hunt and grow their food; it wasn’t easily accessible.

Metabolic disorders are so common today and are the leading cause of death in America; the good thing about this however, is reversing it is in our control.

Our appetites, moods, and general state of health are all influenced by the health of our metabolism and hormonal health. Fasting heals both, quickly and easily.

When a fasted state is activated, many benefits are activated.

Save Energy; Stop Using that Willpower

One of my favorite things about fasting is how little I use any willpower!

Once in a fasted state, it’s much easier to stay there. Naturally, your appetite decreases, and this is a fact.

Your brain produces hormones like GABA that calm and soothe your body, and reduce your appetite.

This takes away the need to use up so much willpower that you’d use to follow a caloric-restrictive diet.

You can eliminate a lot of the rules and tricks that help you to stick within those numbers because you’re eating in a shorter window; the fasted part feels easy, because of a naturally reduced appetite.

Fresh Mind

The chemicals your body creates to make you feel calm and serene contribute to why you feel so good when fasting. In addition, the body produces “BDNF”, which Mindy refers to as “brain fertilizer”. It improves your cognitive function, memory, creation of new neurons, and protection against deterioration of brain cells.

Your body also produces ketones in the bloodstream which support your mental state.

A fasted state is a great time to take advantage of engaging in creative endeavors; you are at your peak! Your work is most likely to flow, and to thrive.

Feeling Lean, Sexy and Beautiful

Fasting is a great time to feel your best.

Since you will be filled with feel-good chemicals and hormones and have a reduced appetite, you are now free to embrace and truly feel, love, and enjoy your body.

This is a great time to get in tune with your body. Fasting has many anti-inflammatory benefits, leaving you feeling clean, clear, and light.

Bloating is reduced, and the gut cleanses itself out.

I can physically feel my mucus passageways clearing up; my waist flatter, my physique leaner, and this always boosts my confidence!

Even my skin feels like has a youthful glow.

I never fail to be in a bright and happy mood when fasted.

Fasting Tips

Timing

As mentioned before, fasting works a bit differently for women.

In a nutshell, longer fasts (15-24+ hours) fasts are recommended for times in which our hormones are naturally low. This tends to be around days 6, and 16 of our cycles.

Shorter fasts (no fasting, to 13-15h) are suitable for the weeks of ovulation and PMS.

Easing your Way into the Fast Life

If fasting is not a regular part of your daily regime, it’s best to start small and work your way into it.

Small amounts of stress are healthy for the body’s metabolism, which fasting can do for us; but when overdone; is detrimental to our hormonal health.

Ensure you keep fast lengths appropriate to the time of your cycle and push yourself gradually; over time it naturally feels easier and your body adapts; just like making progress in the gym!

Dry Fasting

I love dry fasting, over fasting with beverages.

From my experience, dry fasting speeds up all of the benefits that take place. I feel much better in my body. And surprisingly, thirst is never an issue, when I do.

In addition, I tend to find that beverages stimulate my digestive system, making me more likely to crave food.

There is science behind why dry fasting is so beneficial, as well. The body is more easily able to clean itself out in this state.

Dry fasting helps to prime the benefits you’ll feel and receive.

If you’re new to fasting, it is perfectly fine to use black coffee, tea, or water, to help get you through the period.

Conclusion

There is SO much more to fasting I can go into on how it is absolutely great for the body, but these are the top benefits I have noticed.

Mindy Pelz’s book “Fast like a Girl” is a goldmine of information that details all the benefits that take place in our bodies when we fast, and details an easy-to-follow plan that women of all ages and stages can follow.

You can also check out a ton of her free content on YouTube to learn more about using fasting to regulate your hormones and get to your best health.

Fasting is a tool that has been around for centuries and can improve our health effortlessly and make us feel good while doing so.

What is your experience with fasting? I’d like to hear your thoughts!