The Five Health "Rules" I Break as a Health Coach: Never Skip Breakfast
For the next 5 weeks, I will be breaking down the top five health "rules” that I BREAK.
One thing that I pray for you is that you never take any person’s opinion as fact. While some of these “rules” might work for you, I would say the majority of people it is actually hurting rather than helping them. That being said, you still need to decide for yourself if YOU will benefit from this or not. Test it out by applying it your life, listen to how your body reacts and then make YOUR OWN DECISION.
You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. Psalm 119:73
Let’s dive in.
RULE NUMBER ONE: NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST
How many times did you hear growing up, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”? While I do believe there is some truth to this statement for children, I don’t believe it is true for most adults.
Breakfast is optional my friends. Actually, I skip it most days.
I choose to intermittent fast.
What is the number one thing you should eat if you want to lose weight?
YOUR OWN BODY FAT!
Yes, my friends. Many of you have heard me ask this question before, but it is true. You need to be able to “dine in” on yourself if you want to lose weight.
One of the easiest ways I know how to dine in on myself is fasting.
Let me be a little clearer, I intermittent fast.
If you don’t know what intermittent fasting (IF) is, let me tell you. IF is not eating for an extended period of time. There are A LOT of different ways you can do this, but basically anything over 12 hours is considered fasting. Some fast for 12,14, 16, 18, 20 or even 24 hours. That is up to you. There are no conclusive studies to show one is better than another (even though I have my opinions 😉). But there have been plenty of studies to show that any fasting has benefits for your body and weight loss.
When you IF, you have a shorter eating window. If you are eating the right kind of foods, you are probably only eating 2-3 meals a day. This will reduce your calorie intake without even trying. The result ends up being that you lose fat.
Here is why:
Reason One: Fasting allows the body to metabolically switch from burning glucose (sugar from our food) to burning the body’s fat for energy. It is similar to how the body reacts with exercise AND shows similar benefits like exercise. Fasting can help burn fat like exercise does.
Reason Two: Fasting increases our ability to deal with stress and decrease inflammation (We don’t want inflammation in our bodies. It leads to a whole host of problems). We all have more than enough stress. If our bodies can tolerate it well, the better off we are!
Reason Three: During fasting insulin drops significantly. Insulin tells the muscle cells to burn glucose (sugar) from the blood. The left-over glucose the muscle cells didn’t use is then stored in the fat cells. Guess what hormone tells the fat cells to take up the rest of the glucose? That’s right, insulin. A major problem right now, people are become insulin resistant (i.e. their muscles cells don’t respond as well to insulin anymore). That means more fat being stored. When our insulin drops during a fast, cells aren’t being bombarded by insulin which will lead to greater insulin sensitivity (we won’t be storing as much fat because our muscles will use more).
Bottom line: you eat less calories and it gives the body a break (a way to rest and recover) while burning FAT! This is your ultimate dining in!
I find the best way to start out fasting is to pick a time at night that you quit eating. For me, I’m done eating before 6:30 pm (with a few exceptions). There are no bedtime snacks and rarely do I have anything to drink other than water from 6:30 pm until I go to bed.
Once you have gotten into the habit of cutting yourself off at a certain time, you can then start pushing back breakfast. If you eat at 7 am every morning, push it back to 7:30 am for at least a week. Then keep pushing breakfast back little increments.
This is usually the time I get a lot of questions about what I eat for breakfast and how to navigate this with work schedules.
My friends, if there is a will, there is a way. It is JUST FINE if you don’t want to fast. If it doesn’t feel right for your life style, don’t do it. But, if you are struggling with figuring out what you should eat in the morning and how to make intermittent fasting work for your life, sign up for a free coaching session with me at amandakaldor.com/coaching.
The best tip I can give you though, MAKE IT SIMPLE. We adults like to over complicate things!
Now that I have intermittent fasted for this long, my mornings are a breeze compared to what they use to be. No longer am I running around trying to feed myself and my 3 kiddos. Since I typically don’t eat breakfast, but love breakfast food, I will often have eggs for lunch or supper. I find that since I have implemented intermittent fasting, planning meals and eating well is SO MUCH EASIER.
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11
Let the Lord guide you! Give it a try. You might be really surprised or you might not like it at all. But you will never know what your body thrives on until you start to experiment. Listen to how YOUR body responds and not what the “experts” say.
Only you are the expert of your body.
Also, know God will satisfy your needs and strengthen you.
He’s got you and will guide you.
