A Healthier Approach to Intermittent Fasting with Deena Thompson

Intermittent fasting is one of the most popular ways to eat right now. Certified Nutrition Specialist, Deena Thompson, joins me to talk about the best ways to fast, the most common mistakes people make, and why you should absolutely eat breakfast.

About Deena Thompson, CNS, NTP

Deena Thompson is a Certified Nutrition Specialist and a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner with a Master's Degree in Human Nutrition and Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science.

Deena spent her teens and early twenties battling chronic digestive issues, undiagnosed autoimmunity, and a slew of mysterious illnesses. This left her with extreme fatigue and feeling hopeless about ever having the strength or energy to be the mother, wife, dancer, and world traveler she dreamed of being.

Everything changed for Deena when she was introduced to the principles of ancestral health and functional medicine. After working with an incredible functional medicine doctor and applying the principles of ancestral nutrition, Deena was able to recover her health, get back her energy and show up more fully in her life and for her family.

Now Deena is passionate about helping others overcome digestive issues and fatigue so they can have the freedom to live a full and vibrant life, no longer limited by their health.

How to Prepare for Intermittent Fasting

Deena Thompson joins me to talk about all things intermittent fasting. There are a few different fasting methods, such as time-restricted eating and modified-fasting, which we’re covering in this episode.

Deena shares, from her experience, some of the most common mistakes people make when they begin intermittent fasting. She believes that eating breakfast, even while doing time-restricted fasting, is still vital. It’s common to skip breakfast during a restricted-fast, but Deena explains why it’s actually counter-productive to do this.

While Intermittent Fasting is beneficial for so many different people, Deena says that there are a few groups that shouldn’t fast. Examples include pregnant people and those with a history of disordered eating. I’d also add that women with amenorrhea should avoid intermittent fasting.

Making Fasting Work for You

Deena talks about another method of fasting she uses with her clients: Protein-Sparing Modified Fasting. This method of modified fasting works best for people with pre-existing conditions or metabolic issues.

Staring a period of fasting can feel daunting, but Deena gives her best advice for how to prepare your body. While your natural desire might be to eat everything you want, Deena advises to actually have a low-carb meal instead.

Your mindset also plays a valuable role during a fast. Deena shares how you can keep a positive and open mindset during these fasting windows. Finally, she explains how fasting can help with digestive issues and weight loss.

Have you done intermittent fasting before? What kind of time restriction did you give yourself? What struggles did you have with it, if any? Let me know in the comments on the episode page!

Got a question you’d love to hear me answer on the show? Leave me a voice message here!

In This Episode

• Some of the most common mistakes of Intermittent Fasting [10:30]
• Why it’s vital to eat breakfast every day, even when Intermittent Fasting [15:30]
• Who Intermittent Fasting is good for [21:00]
• What Protein-Sparing Modified Fasting is [31:30]
• How to prepare for an extended fast [40:00]
• How your mindset affects your fasting state [46:30]
• How fasting can help digestive issues [50:00]

Quotes

“When you really fuel well in the morning, it sets us up for a better day. We have better blood sugar all day long, we have less food cravings, and our hunger naturally diminishes the way that it’s supposed to.” [16:42]

“I think Intermittent Fasting has a really wide application. There are a lot of people that can benefit from fasting. Those that can benefit the most are probably those with a little extra weight to lose and people that have some markers of metabolic issues.” [29:42]

“I think that modified fasting is a really great way to do fasting for people that have pre-existing conditions or metabolic issues, like blood sugar imbalances, because it’s just a much smoother transition than just a full-on fast.” [38:12]

“Fasting is really a tool for healing, for regeneration. It’s a tool for recovering from poor health conditions. When we come into it with that mindset, from a place of love, care, and honor for our bodies, we’re going to go into it s...