1. How should people intermittent fast during the holidays?
Intermittent fasting provides an excellent tool for mitigating holiday weight gain, while still allowing indulgence in food festivities! One can easily continue their regular intermittent fasting window without specific adjustments. During the holidays, I stick to my same meal daily, “OMAD” eating window – partaking in dinner gatherings.
Suppose a food gathering falls outside a person’s normal eating window. In that case, they can either extend their eating window or continue fasting, sipping on coffee, tea, and water, until their window opens. One can also flex their fasting muscle, adding a few extra fasting hours surrounding holiday indulgences.
2. What to eat and what to avoid when intermittent fasting?
There are no “rules” regulating what to eat when practicing intermittent fasting, and studies show intermittent fasting can even provide health benefits when consuming “unhealthy” processed foods diet. That said, choosing a whole foods-based diet when practicing intermittent fasting can help stabilize blood sugar levels (aiding the transition to fat burning while fasting), reduce cravings, and downregulate the amount of inflammation in the body. Moderate to high protein diets support muscle maintenance and reduce appetite. Some people may focus on their macros – low-carb or low-fat approaches – to encourage health, as combining fats and carbs may exacerbate metabolic issues.
3. Is there particular wines that help with weight loss?
Wine is – surprisingly – often correlated to weight loss, especially in women. A 2019 cohort study evaluating 20 years of data in a Danish population even found that drinking wine correlated to a lower long-term BMI, specifically while young.
This may be due in part to the alcohol content itself, as well as the polyphenols found in wine. For example, piceatannol, a metabolite of the polyphenol resveratrol, has been found to inhibit the formation of new fat cells!
Wines grown organically have been found to contain higher polyphenol content, while being free of added sugars and toxins, which may contribute to inflammation.
Some wine varieties particularly high in polyphenols include Pinot Noir, Ancellotta, Tannat, and wines aged in oak.
4. Do you have a weight gain prevention sangria recipe?
Unfortunately, sangria is a wine-based drink involving sugar from fruit juices: the antithesis of wine’s healthy weight-supporting benefits. To support a healthy weight, consider declining the sangria, and choosing a glass of dry red wine instead.
5. Are there fitness workouts one can do to support fasting?
Strength training is key for fasting, to support body composition and maintain (or even gain) muscle mass. Low-intensity cardio (like walking) can support the fat-burning mode without sparking compensatory appetite mechanisms which upregulate appetite. To further boost fat burning while fasting, try a brief HIIT (high-intensity interval training) session near the end of the fast. Meditative strength-based exercises like yoga and pilates can also support strength in spirit and mind. Ultimately, do what you love! Fasting puts the body into a fat-burning state of ample endogenous energy, ready and waiting to fuel life’s pleasurable physical activities!
6. Is there anything you would like to add?
Perhaps the most difficult obstacle to intermittent fasting, isn’t the fast itself (which becomes effortless due to the reduced appetite and cravings achieved by the fat burning state), but rather social pressure, especially around the holidays. Here are some tips to mitigate social pressure:
- Remember that the true joy of gathering can come from the company of others rather than solely the composition of what you eat.
- Remember that people often disapprove of those following dietary patterns due to their insecurities.
- Language is powerful: frame things as a choice. (“I don’t eat that,” rather than “I can’t eat that.”)
- If you’re fasting, hold a drink to sip on!
- Don’t feel defensive or the need to explain yourself. You have the complete right to eat in the way which makes you happiest! A simple “no thank you” can suffice. You can also say you’re eating earlier or later.
- If people offer food they made especially for you or the family, it is often an offering of love. Rather than just declining, consider providing them another way they can show their love. IE: You can say you’re not hungry at that moment, but you’d love if they could make you a drink, or help you with a task or problem, etc.
- When you do eat in your eating window, make sure you truly enjoy it, and also are eating enough to support your fast!
- When all else fails, choose kindness and gratitude.
- If you’re following certain dietary choices, focus on what you can eat, rather than what you are forging.
- Try not to become neurotic about or too restrictive with fasting – it is a tool to help you enjoy life and health to its full potential!
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