Last week’s focus on our Health Transformation Webinar was focused on finding ways to leverage your health. Or in other words, how you can put in as little effort as possible and receive the greatest results possible.
Leveraging our health helps us achieve the results we want, without having to spend hours on end trying different practices. By using a bit of willpower, there are two simple things that you can implement in your daily life that will help your overall health. They are time restricted eating and taking a cold shower.
A recent study done shows that fasting for 24 hours can regenerate your stem cells. Researchers fasted mice for 24 hours to study how the fasted state impacts intestinal stem cells. The researchers found that fasting boosts fat metabolism. This means that when you are in the fasting state, you will metabolize fats as an energy source.
Think of it this way. Imagine you are driving in a car. First, you’re driving in a gasoline-powered car. In this car, it is going to sputter and shift gears. Now, imagine yourself in a car powered with electrical energy. This ride is smooth sailing. The electrically powered car represents your state when you are fasting. You will have nice, even energy throughout the day.
Fasting Isn’t A New Thing
Fasting has been around for ages. It’s not a new concept that has recently been developed. It has ties to every religious and spiritual culture. And many of those have been around for centuries. They may disagree on other religious and spiritual facets but they do agree on fasting and it’s power.
Fasting Fights Aging
Fasting has the power to improve the overall quality of your stem cells which in turn slows down the aging process. This happens through autophagy. Autophagy clears out the senescent stem cells in your body. A senescent cell is a cell that has fully expressed itself and is now, basically dead. These cells are one of the main contributors to aging. To combat aging, you need to get rid of the senescent cells in the body and one of the quickest ways is through fasting.
Fasting And Our Everyday Lives
Fasting is beneficial for our bodies, but how can we include it in our everyday lives? A great solution is to implement time-restricted eating into your schedule. Timed eating is a specific amount of time that you set apart each day where you will actually be eating. A great place to start is to allow yourself a 12-hour time gap, then move to an 8-hour allotment.
In another study, researchers divided up obese mice into two groups. They gave the same amount of food and calories to one group of mice. These mice had 24 hours to eat the food. They would eat a bit, then sleep, then eat and then play. Then, they took another group of mice and gave them the same amount of food and calories but they were only allowed to eat in an 8-hour window.
The mice that were only allowed the 8-hour block to eat, became more fit and healthy. They lost 30% more fat than the mice that were not given any time restrictions.
Whether you want to lose fat or want to resolve any digestive issues that you have, time restricted fasting in one of the quickest and easiest ways to help you out. It really is a way for you to leverage your health.
Results Are Worth It
Fasting may seem like you are giving things up, but the results are worth it. Set your intention and that will help you when you are tempted to eat outside of your eating window. Here is a recommended schedule to help you get started:
Worth The Freeze
It may seem hard to throw away the last few minutes of a warm, steamy shower and change it into an icy, chilling shower. But, the benefits are worth it. With a turn of the faucet, you can unlock a lot of health benefits for your body.
Make sure the cold water is hitting your chest and between your scapulas. These are the areas where your fat metabolism is all regulated. You want your white fay to become beige fat–this is when the fat become metabolically active. When your fat is metabolically active, it helps your stem cells and also makes it that much easier to burn.
The cold from the shower also improves the bacteria in your gut. This makes you more insulin sensitive which gives you a rush of energy and also helps you use other energy storage in your body much more effectively.
Cold water showers really are full of benefits. Just by incorporating a few minutes of a cold shower into a warm shower, you will be able to see the results.
Use that willpower you have to start leveraging your health with two practices–time restricted fasting and cold water showers–that will help you feel your best.