Feast or Famine? Not So Fast!

How to incorporate “intermittent fasting” into your diet safely.
The latest diet fad centers around the age-old tradition of fasting. Commonly known as the 5:2 Diet, the basic premise of “intermittent fasting” involves five days of eating and drinking whatever you want, dispersed with two days of fasting (on 500-600 calories a day). The science referenced by its creators focuses on a “feast or famine” concept—gorging on food, followed by temporary periods of fasting during which the body goes into a “repair-and-recover mode” where it starts to turn off fat-storing and turn on fat-burning.
With the busy lives so many of us lead these days, it may seem like an attractive idea. And, a fast can be a terrific weight loss method because the body’s begins to burn fat as its primary source of fuel.
However, an improperly done fast can actually sabotage long term weight loss by disrupting your metabolism. The wrong kind of fasting can also threaten your health by stressing your liver, clogging your colon, and flooding your bloodstream with the oil-soluble toxins that your body has been storing in its fat.
Preparing to Fast
Healthy fasting—the kind supported by adequate nutritional preparation for the liver and sufficient fiber for the colon—is probably the best-kept secret I know for good health, long-term weight loss, and an overall feeling of well-being. Fasting may also be the secret to overcoming food cravings and other addictions, helping us to regain our natural hunger and restore an innate appreciation for the taste, smell, and texture of food.
Before you begin, however, it’s important to prepare your system and nourish your liver and colon with wholesome foods. Fasting without prior liver and colon support releases the toxins that were previously lodged in your fat cells into your bloodstream. These poisons can then relocate and settle in any number of organs, making you feel worse than when you started!
One-Day Fast
I designed my Fast Track Detox Diet with just this in mind. In order to adequately and safely prepare your system for fasting, you spend an entire week on the Seven-Day Prequel, eating liver-loving and colon-caring foods like leafy greens, green drinks, lemon and water, cruciferous veggies, whey protein powder, and chia or flax seeds to nourish the liver and help the colon purge excess toxins and waste.
You may also choose to supplement your diet with formulas like Liver-Lovin Formula, Super-GI Cleanse, and Flora-Key to provide additional support for your hardworking liver and colon at least one week before the fast—and two to three weeks thereafter.
Once you’re prepared, it’s safe to move on to a one-day fast. Fast Track features a deliciously spiced Miracle Juice, specially designed to stave off hunger pangs, boost your metabolism, keep your blood sugar steady, and flush toxins from your system. After the fasting day, Fast Trackers generally report feeling much more energized and centered. Whether through meditation, deep breathing, or journaling, fasting affords an awesome opportunity to detox both physically and mentally.
And the weight loss results are impressive—some have lost over eight pounds of bloat in just one day! Others have marveled at how the “cobwebs” get cleared from the mind—all by not eating and just sipping a delicious juice.
To get the complete fasting protocol, check out my Fast Track Detox Diet or The One-Day Fat Flush for the miracle juice recipe.
Breaking the Fast
Like preparation, it’s also absolutely critical that you don’t jump right back into your same old routine immediately after fasting. Fast Track includes a Three-Day Sequel designed to seal in the results—you’ll eat more liver-loving and colon-caring foods to flush out any remaining toxins and consume foods rich in probiotics to restore “friendly” bacteria.
Done right, I predict that this age-old tradition may become one of your favorite seasonal detox rituals just as it is mine. So let’s fast one day at a time—just for the health of it!
Note: Fasting is not for everyone…
Although fasting is an excellent link to better health for most people, there are some times in your life when you should not fast. You should not fast if you are pregnant, nursing, recovering from an illness or injury, debilitated, or malnourished, including severe anemia, AIDS, wasting states, or cancer. People with weakened immunity should not fast. You should not fast if you have cardiac arrhythmia, type 1 diabetes, congestive heart failure, ulcers, liver disease, or kidney disease or if you are struggling with mental illness (including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia), as your condition may worsen if you fast. You should not fast before or after surgery, as it might compromise your ability to heal.
-Edge On Health, Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman