Some Intermittent Fasting rules are perfectly fine to break and you will still achieve your weight loss and wellness goals. Other Intermittent Fasting rules should NEVER be broken. Today, I'm sharing three Intermittent Fasting rules you should NEVER break, especially if you're looking to achieve a weight loss or wellness goal.
Rule # 1: Drink Enough Water During Your Fast
After a full night of sleep, the body is fairly dehydrated. Typically, if you were eating a meal first thing in the morning, it would contain some amount of liquid to help rehydrate you. However, it you're using Intermittent Fasting, it's crucial to make sure that you're drinking water during your fast to replace the water that was lost while sleeping.
Plus, one of the main weight loss perks with Intermittent Fasting is that the fat storing hormone, insulin, dips down during the fasted state.(1) This allows the body to naturally turn on fat burning. However, one thing that can happen when insulin levels go down, is that the body releases excess water as well. This makes drinking enough water during your fast even more important.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure you're drinking a full 16 oz. glass of water in the first hour of the morning. From here, how much water you consume will depend on your individual needs. You can roughly calculate your water needs by taking your weight in pounds and dividing this number by 2. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you want to aim for around 75 oz. of water per day.
Rule # 2: Don't Drink Alcohol During Your Fast
Even though alcohol is a liquid, most alcoholic drinks contain sugar which causes a spike in the storing hormone insulin. When insulin spikes, this will break your fast. If you choose to drink alcohol, make sure that you keep it to during your eating window and not during your fasting period.
Rule # 3: Replace Lost Electrolytes
Water isn't the only thing that can be lost while fasting. Electrolytes tend to follow along. Electrolytes are crucial for maintaining energy levels and preventing headaches, so replacing the lost electrolytes during the fasted state is extremely important.
An affordable, easy option for replacing electrolytes is Celtic Sea Salt. The amount of electrolytes needed during a fast will depend on each person's needs. Typically a good place to start is by adding 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. of a high quality Celtic Sea Salt to 16 oz. of water first thing in the morning. THIS is the brand of Celtic Sea Salt that I suggest to my clients and AENpeeps using the Complete Intermittent Fasting Bundle protocols.
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Your Nutritionist,
Autumn
Autumn Elle Nutrition