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Living a Fasted Life
Words Whitney Bello-Williams
Fasting is not a new phenomenon. It was first recommended by doctors to treat certain illnesses; the abstinence of food would stop the body from spending so much energy digesting and allow it to rebuild and recreate its cells. Also, used in a religious way, fasting takes the worry out of what one would eat or drink and keeps the mind focused on a higher power.
But what is a fasted life? It is simply living out the concept of fasting - being able to control and discipline yourself to know exactly what you are taking into your mind, body, and soul. It is having more control over what you eat, when you eat and even how you eat. If you have ever heard the saying, “too much of a good thing will kill you”, you can understand that even having too much of the best things can be counterproductive and in fact, detrimental to our bodies.
The aim of a fasted life is to cause you to listen to your body and feed it only what it needs, never going overboard. I was once told that if I’m ever in the middle of eating and I put my fork down, it means my body is subconsciously telling me that I’m full. At that point, I can choose to stop eating and save the leftovers or I can choose to finish everything on my plate to the last bite. The fasted life says to you, don’t finish that plate! Because you have eaten just as much as you need to.
Think about calorie counting. What comes to your mind? Checking every packet of food you buy, and worrying if your measurements come up correctly on the calorie counter? Living a fasted life means you don’t have to calorie-count. Of course, this is on the basis that you have decided to eat a more nutrient-dense diet, so you no longer must worry about how many calories you are consuming. With this, you are already preventing yourself from overeating and you are more in tune with how much food your body needs, per time.
Cue in why I eat Paleo. The Paleo lifestyle is the closest to a balanced diet that I can find. It focuses wholly on eating whole, rich, nutrient dense foods whilst taking out all the excess junk foods and empty calories that causes weight gain, extreme fatigue, and inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes and even cancer. It gives you a great foundation to live a fasted life: you are already consuming all the foods that are good for you and in an easy and approachable way. Now, all you need to do is find the correct balance of Paleo that works for your body.
Remember, no two people are the same. We all have different needs but leaning on a fasted life will help you home in on what your body needs to feel energetic, vibrant, and healthy. Yes, it starts with food, but the fasted life also seeps into every aspect of your being, for example, a little time off Instagram here or there or watching two episodes of your favourite show on Netflix, instead of binging the whole season can give you more time to meditate, training your attention and awareness to your mind and body. The aim is to exercise a new discipline over what you eat without completely restricting yourself from the things you enjoy. So, yes, have that chocolate bar if you need to but do you need to finish the whole packet?
A fasted life is a life that lasts.
Check out WhittyPaleo.com for recipes that can help you live a balanced life that lasts!