Most of us have heard of intermittent fasting. But what about “intuitive fasting”? If it sounds gentle and easy, “that’s because it is,” shares functional medicine expert Will Cole, IFMCP, DNM, D.C., bestselling author of Intuitive Fasting. Here’s what sets the strategy apart: Instead of depriving yourself even if you’re ravenous, you fill up on nourishing foods and then let your body decide how long you wait to eat again. Dr. Cole says most folks are surprised that they don’t actually want to munch nonstop. Take Crystal Hall. “It didn’t take long before I’d wake up and know if I needed breakfast or if my body would be happier waiting,” says the Virginia native, 44. “There was no stress.” Yet she lost 85 pounds and experienced health-transforming benefits linked with intermittent fasting—including soaring mood and energy and radical improvement of inflammation and blood sugar. “I’m healthier than I was in my 20s!” she tells us. Keep reading for Crystal’s inspiring story and to learn all the ways intuitive fasting might help you.
There are many ways to fast for health, but Dr. Cole says the most common is simply stretching the time between your last bite of food one day and your first bite the next. It’s not only safe, it may be the best thing for us. Why? Well, most of our DNA dates back to hunter-gatherer days when food was only intermittently available. “Our genes are adapted to thrive when we cycle in and out of eating,” says the doc, who started the world’s first functional medicine telehealth center and has done online consults for 15 years. Give your body a choice, and it’ll likely choose intermittent fasting.
How intuitive fasting works
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