MyVitality Fasting program is in full swing. Attendees are getting ready to start their full fast in a few days.

While I share my fasting expertise with this new group, I know fasting is not for everyone! I, myself, have contemplated the idea for a few months before attempting my first full fast under supervision. Then, I did start fasting after a few dietary adjustments.

You may have heard about fasting and all its benefits and can find more here and here. However, you may also feel that you are not ready to enter a fast yet. And that’s perfectly fine. I am writing this article to share with you three steps you can implement right now to :

– Consider peacefully the next Vitality Fasting program
– Raise your energy, gain mental clarity and invigorate your body.

When applying these steps, you will upgrade your relationship with food and embrace changes with ease.

Lift the veil to see the light – The cleansing relief

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success” – Alexander Graham Bell.

Nutrition and life revolve around the balance between pause and action. When you pause and reset, you boost your metabolism, break habits and review your unconscious behaviours.

While fasting is a complete digestive rest over a few days, a cleanse or detox is the voluntary consumption of easy to digest whole foods and juices for a few days or more. When you cannot get away with complete food abstention, and still want to reboot your body and your mind, you may choose to cleanse. Any decision to clean out, to pause and reset, is a nice decision.

Cleansing has incredible effects on your system and is often part of the pre-fasting regime for great additional results. To prepare and envision your next fast, you need to ease your system into the experience. It means adopting a clean diet before any form of fasting.

Time your meals – The art of chrononutrition

“Time is an illusion, timing is an art.” ― Stefan Emunds

A great way to prepare your first fast is to extend your daily fasting window progressively.

You are currently fasting overnight. If your overnight fasting is less than 12 hours, this is a great place to start. Delay your first food in the morning or get an earlier dinner until you achieve 12 hours without solid food every day. E.g: if you have dinner at 7 pm, then delay your first food until 7 am.

It is then a matter of progressively pushing out your breakfast time or get an earlier dinner, so you extend your “fasting window” over time.

By extending your fasting window, you accustom your body and mind to go without solid foods for longer and extend the time your body regenerate and repair.

Practice Mindfulness – The power of slowing down

“Practice mindfulness and you will enhance your ability to be resilient. – Dr Paul Epstein

Habits are automatic behaviours. Almost fifty per cent of our behaviours is unconscious. This is where understanding habits help us towards healthier living. Mindfulness guides our actions towards greater compliance with our (health) goals and wishes.

In many traditions, blessings happen before the first bite. I encourage you to re-introduce your personal blessing ritual by cultivating Mindful Eating. Mindful Eating has been shown to “bring awareness to our bodies, to be more in tune to hunger and satiety, to decrease food cravings and reward-driven eating and to gain self-compassion”.

A great start for contemplating a future fast.

Yours in health and wellness