Over the past few weeks I’ve been reflecting on 2023 and gearing up for 2024, all the while asking myself, “how can I best start this year off to build positive momentum?”
After reflecting on it for a bit, here’s what I came up with.
We live in a world where we’re being constantly bombarded by people and things trying to grab our attention.
colorful ads
delicious processed foods
games, music, books, and everything else in the palm of your hand
Safe to say, we’re overstimulated most of the time. No wonder ADHD is on the rise.
So to start this year off, I wanted to do my best to give my brain a reset with the hopes that I’d be able to see and think more clearly moving forward.
To do that - I’m doing a 30 day dopamine detox. That means:
Things I’m cutting out:
No alcohol
No weed
No color on my phone (i.e. I’m turning on greyscale mode)
Things I’m committed to doing:
6 training sessions per week
Daily journaling @ least 1 page
a daily cold plunge (s/o @nurecover)
Those are the rules I’m following until @ least February 1st. Join me and follow along if you’re feeling up for it 🙂
Then, once we hit February 1st, I’m planning to start the month with something I’ve never done before; a 24 hour food fast.
Why Fasting?
Fasting
to abstain from all or some kinds of food or drink
Fasting has been around forever, and was a big part of human life thousands of years ago back before we started farming. Food was more sporadic as we had to hunt + gather to eat, so humans would often go days without eating.
As a result, our bodies had to adapt to fasting being a normal part of life. In other words, we got good at going without for a while.
Nowadays, we have everything we need and more in the palm of our hand. We can literally order food and have it to us in 30 minutes without leaving the comfort of our couch.
Which is pretty amazing, but we may be missing out on some pretty powerful ancient benefits by having too much abundance these days.
Sometimes doing what is hard leads to a better life.
So today I wanted to explore the benefits of fasting and why it might be worth working into your routine every now and then. We’ll cover the top # benefits of an intentional fast - a
There’s a growing body of scientific evidence now that suggests that fasting does a number of amazing things for our bodies. Here are the top 7 reasons to give fasting a shot this year.
Top 7 Benefits of Fasting
1) Improved Insulin Sensitivity:
In layman's terms, insulin helps our cells in converting blood sugar into energy.
Therefore, insulin sensitivity is crucial for regulating blood sugar levels, preventing metabolic disorders such as diabetes, managing weight, reducing inflammation, and supporting overall cardiovascular and cellular health. (There will be another Sunday Coffee issue on this topic soon because it’s a big one).
Fasting has been shown to enhance insulin sensitivity, which is pretty amazing for us.
2) Weight Loss and Fat Loss:
In the states, we have an obesity epidemic. Fasting obviously leads to a calorie deficit, which promotes weight loss - and can encourage the body to use stored fat for energy.
Ps: the increase in insulin sensitivity helps with this as well.
3) Causing Cellular Autophagy:
Our cells have an amazing repair process called Cellular Autophagy.
Cellular Autophagy
Autophagy is a process that keeps your body's cells in proper balance by taking old or damaged components in a cell and recycling them. The recycled parts are turned into amino acids that can be used for fuel or to form new proteins.
Think of it as our cells internal recycling system.
Fasting has been shown to stimulate this process, contributing to overall cellular health and longevity.
4) Improved Heart Health:
Studies suggest that fasting can improve cardiovascular health by reducing risk factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and inflammatory markers.
5) Increased Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Production:
Fasting has been associated with an increase in the production of human growth hormone (HGH), which plays a huge role in metabolism, muscle growth, and overall health.
It seems counterintuitive, but if you’re looking to gain muscle, a fast could set you up for this big time.
6) Improved Cognitive Function:
Some research indicates that fasting may have neuroprotective effects, supporting brain health and potentially reducing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
“Fasting induces an altered metabolic state that optimizes neuron bioenergetics, plasticity, and resilience in a way that may counteract a broad array of neurological disorders. In both animals and humans, fasting prevents and treats the metabolic syndrome, a major risk factor for many neurological diseases.”
7) Reduced Inflammation:
If you’ve been a part of the sunday coffee community for a while, you know that chronic inflammation is enemy #1 here, so this is one of my favorite finds.
Fasting has been linked to a reduction in inflammatory markers, which may contribute to a lower risk of chronic diseases associated with inflammation such as:
Cancer
Alzheimers
Diabetes
and a whole lot more
Wrap-Up
Today we covered the new years 30-day dopamine detox + the Top 7 Benefits of Fasting.
They are:
Improved Insulin Sensitivty
Weight Loss / Fat Loss
Causing Cellular Autophagy
Improved Heart Health
Increased HGH Production
Improved Cognitive Function
Reduced Inflammation
Be sure to leave a comment if you’re thinking of giving either of these things a shot! I’ll be updating you all next month when I try out fasting for sure.
As always, thanks for being a part of our growing community - and have a wonderful Sunday 🙂
Dane
Resources
Fasting as Therapy in Neurological Disease (National Institutes for Health)
The Beneficial and Adverse Effects of Autophagic Response to Caloric Restriction and Fasting (National Institutes for Health)