Intermittent Fasting and Gratitude
Have you heard of Intermittent Fasting? Read Dr Michael Mosley's books or seen his TV show? I just watched this short TEDX talk and thought some of you may be interested. I am. I’m interested in changing the statistics for women's weight gains & energy issues: starting with myself!
Cynthia explains how she works with it in her practice. However I suggest trialling an intermittent fasting project by beginning at 7 pm - 7 am.
I like this because breaking your fast from 7 am to 9 am means your tummy is in top gear!
BREAKFAST hooray!
Simply eat dinner before 7 pm and then break-your-fast at breakfast time the next day. It's a gentle natural 12-hour window where your digestive system can sleep! At 7 am our Stomach Meridians are peaking - this meridian is essentially at 'high tide' for Energy flow. It's totally engaging and ready to digest: from food to emotions to life.
Fasting - resting from eating
When I was teaching pre-school I'd observe each day how well my children played. Were they fully engaged in their play (FOCUS), were they creative in their play (SELF-MOTIVATED)? Were they flowing in their play from moments of stillness and laser-point concentration to moments of movement and engaging socially with a friend? From their play, I could tell you who had eaten protein at breakfast time. I could guess which kids had most likely come to school only on a bowl of cereal and milk, or just a piece of fruit. I also observed that there was a marked difference between the quality of the children's playing when they ate grilled fish and rice for morning tea. The day we had grilled fish? That was the highlight of my week. I loved teaching that day!! The other days the children and I made a morning tea based on grains: oats, millet, wheat, rice.
Want to be 100% engaged and productive? Humming in the ‘zone’?
From what I've researched too, having some protein for breakfast means my marmalade toast (and the sugar in it) isn’t a concern because the protein balances my meal. However, I encourage you to research too: start with observing your own body.
Explore these:
- how well do you focus after breakfast?
- What is your energy patterns after breakfast? (low and steadily increasing, ready for action….?)
- What foods help/hinder your motivation and clarity?
- List what you cannot or will not eat at 7 am!
Then try a Gratitude Gesture:
- Bless your food
- Say Grace (this used to be a standard prayer - create your own)
- Pause for a moment's silence before eating, thinking thanks
- Imagine who grew, harvested, prepped what you're about to dine on.
These practices raise the energy of your food so it nourishes you even more - no matter what you're eating (from biodynamic, organic to conventional). And the most important thing I observed with my students? The day they ate protein the whole classroom hummed. It hummed and buzzed and had moments of electric silence. Everyone was engaged, happy and playing and playing. Laughter bubbled up naturally and naturally faded too (no hyper-hysterical stuff). And there was rarely any discord. Tensions seemed to resolve easily, toys were shared more freely. As an adult wouldn’t that be called ‘being in the zone’? And as adults isn’t that when we are our most productive too?
Mum always said to me,
‘You are what you eat’
I added to that,
‘I am what I eat and equally what I digest’
Now?
Now I’m interested in when I don’t eat!!
I’m interested in feeling hungry when I wake up.
I’m interested in what else can happen when I allow my digestion rest time.
How about you?
I hope you enjoy this TedX talk and consider what she says.
Then you could do your own observations!
I’d love to know how you go!
Click here to contact me and let’s start talking!