9 Life-Changing Takeaways After Completing The ProLon Fasting ...

1. Hunger is good.

Our first-world lifestyle has conditioned us to seek out food the nanosecond we think we are hungry (and I stress the word “think” because most of the time, it’s not even real hunger - see my first point above) that we can’t experience even momentary discomfort and act as if we don’t gobble down a snack immediately, we’re going to starve to death. We aren’t. Most of us have plenty of fat reserves to hold us over for weeks! The irony is that hunger is good. Your body has to burn all the available energy from the food you eat before it burns any body fat, so if fat loss is your goal, you’ll have to learn to experience and manage a little hunger. And this FMD is a great reminder and teacher of how.

2. Recognize the difference between real hunger and mouth hunger.

We get hungry for a variety of reasons, and some of them aren’t legitimate reasons to eat. There is real “stomach” hunger (as in when your body truly needs nourishment), there is mouth hunger (when you want the taste of something in your mouth), there is also time hunger (when you are used to eating at a certain time), stress and emotional hunger, and then boredom eating. During this program you will definitely understand the difference. You will notice that, over time, your body will become accustomed to restricted calorie eating before your mind does. In other words, although you will not be stomach hungry, you will notice that you are craving the taste or texture of something that you normally eat. It is a great lesson in mindfulness that you will hopefully take out of this regimen and apply to your life going forward.

3. Plan your meals.

You know the old adage, “when you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” It’s 100% true. When you don’t plan your meals, you end up eating way less healthy and more than you should. Planning and portioning in advance takes the guesswork out of it. Oh, and by the way, helping and teaching how to plan is one of the things I cover with my clients in my NEWYOU program.

4. Eat slowly and savor.

It is amazing how most of us shove food down our throats while watching TV, playing on our phones, talking to other people, or just generally being busy and not paying attention. Our food fails to be satiating because we haven’t even noticed that we ate. And since there’s always more where that came from, we can always have seconds, thirds, and beyond. And since we are eating so quickly and not paying attention, it takes much longer for our brain to signal us to stop. Eating slowly and mindfully gives your body more time to recognize when it’s full. It takes about twenty minutes from the start of a meal for the brain to send out signals of satiety. Most of our meals don’t even last that long. Eating slowly means better digestion, more satiety with your food, and smaller portions, which makes it easier to lose or maintain your weight.

5. Food is fuel.

And this is coming from someone who looooooves food! Look, food tastes great and I love eating just as much as the next guy. However, you can’t eat ice-cream all day long and expect to have a svelte physique and a healthy life. That goes for any foods in whatever combination that you know are not good for you. Healthy food can taste delicious too, but you have to allow yourself to develop a taste for it. Remember that food is supposed to nourish, sustain and energize your body, not just consist of empty calories that taste good because they are full of trans fats and/or sugar. I’m not saying that you can never have ice-cream or (insert your own vice here) again. You can treat yourself every so often, but it can’t become a regular thing.

6. Drink more water.

I don’t know about you, but I am notorious at forgetting to drink enough water. I get busy and just, well… forget. This program really reminds you how much of a difference it makes. Yes, the constant trips to the bathroom are exhausting, but my skin looks more hydrated and I feel more energetic when I do drink. I downloaded an app called Daily Water (there’s a free version too) and it reminds me whenever I have to drink. I find that I fare far better that way.