Every once in a while, when I recommend intermittent fasting, I hear….
“I can’t do that, I get hangry.”
People think this is funny and let’s be honest, sometimes it is but it usually is your hormones out of wack and important ones, that are key to losing weight.
When we are use to eating and snacking so much it throws off our hunger hormone, Ghrelin. When Ghrelin is thrown off, we tend to eat more since we believe we are hungry all the time. Even after a night of poor sleep, do you notice that you want more carbs?
That’s all thanks to Ghrelin being thrown off.
So how do we fix this?
Well, first make sure you get a good night rest. That helps everything in life, right?
Obviously, not every night will be perfect but aim for better rest. Then slowly start adding in intermittent fasting. You don’t have to do it daily to reap the benefits but aim to do it 3-4 days a week. You can start by pushing back breakfast by 30 minutes and eating dinner 30 minutes earlier.
Limit yourself to 3 meals and if you HAVE to have a snack then just add in 1. Make sure you focus on fueling your body with Whole Foods, less processed crap and try sticking with water, coffee and tea for your drinks during this time because as you start to balance this hormone, a bunch will follow making you an unstoppable fat burning machine.
Leptin is the hormone to signal when your body is full. If your ghrelin and leptin are both off… that is an awful combo because you will constantly be eating and not feel full. Has that ever happen to you especially around PMS time?
Thank your hormones for that one.
This hormone can be balanced by simple portion control and not snacking all day. This alone has a powerful fat burning effect since you won’t be snacking all day, your insulin will stay in check, allowing glucagon to do its job of burning fat. Another reason not to snack all day, it spikes your insulin and when insulin is high, it pulls you out of fat burning mode because glucagon can’t do its job.
This process may take a few weeks to get use to and everyday might not be perfect but being mindful is the name of the game here.
Stay consistent, keep pushing forward and you will realize you feel better, lose weight faster and even have better muscle definition. If you want to dive deeper on balancing your hormones, take advantage of my free training here.
