Intermittent Fasting for Busy Mums
Intermittent Fasting for Busy Mums

If you are a busy mum like me, you know how crazy busy daily life can get.

Between juggling work life, the kids, and family responsibilities like sports and other events, it’s not always easy to find time to look after yourself physically and mentally.

This is why I have been on Intermittent Fasting for years now and thought why not talk about it to help other busy mums find their balance.

Intermittent Fasting or IF is a great way to boost your energy while freeing up more time within your day.

Intermittent fasting isn’t something new, in fact, it has been around for thousands of years. Although it has recently gained popularity with more and more people trying it out.

Intermittent fasting for busy mums might be just what you need. Keep in mind Intermittent Fasting is not for everyone. It is important to do your research and speak to your healthcare professional before.

With this blog post, learn about how Intermittent Fasting works and whether it could help you too.

What is Intermittent Fasting for Busy Mums?

Intermittent fasting is an eating cycle that includes timed windows of when to consume foods combined with fasting periods.

The positive thing I find about Intermittent Fasting is that it is not about dieting or depriving yourself. Rather about ensuring good habits are incorporated into your life so that they become second nature.

Intermittent Fasting Schedule

There are many options in terms of fasting schedules to choose from when it comes to Intermittent Fasting.

16/8 Intermittent Fasting Scheule

The most common fasting schedule I find in particular for intermittent fasting for busy mums is 16/8.

This involves you fasting for 16 hours and only eating during the remaining 8 hour window.

The majority of the fasting happens overnight while you are sleeping.

Below is an example of 16 hours of fasting but you could change it up to suit your needs and eat dinner by 5 pm and start fasting allowing you to eat at 10 am if you find midday is too hard to fast to.

Intermittent Fasting for Busy Mums - 16/8 Fasting
Intermittent Fasting for Busy Mums – 16/8 Fasting

5/2 Intermittent Fasting Scheule

Another option for Intermittent Fasting is 5/2 intermittent fasting.

This is where you eat normally as you would for five days out of the week and restrict your calories for the other two days of the week.

An example below is the 5/2 diet which shows a typical cycle of 5/2, these days are completely up to you as to which days you would restrict your calorie intake and I would recommend working your way up to this method as it can take time for your body to adjust.

Intermittent Fasting for Busy Mums - 5/2 Fasting
Intermittent Fasting for Busy Mums – 5/2 Fasting

Fasting Window

During your fasting window, you should not consume any foods or calories and drink only water. Drinking water will ensure you are still getting vitamins and minerals to maintain your hydration.

Zero-calorie drinks like black tea and coffee are also permitted. Just in sure you are not breaking your fast with anything that contains calories.

Eating Window

During your eating window you can eat whatever you like, but keep in mind that eating a variety of healthy and nutritious foods like protein, healthy fats, and whole foods will ensure you maintain a healthy balance to maximise your outcome.

Benefits of Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is popular and well-known for losing weight, but there are many other great benefits to Intermittent Fasting.

Studies have shown that Intermittent fasting has had a positive effect on the body in so many ways, from increasing your metabolic rate which helps make the switch from glucose-based to ketone-based energy meaning you are burning fat, it can also help to boost energy, improve mental clarity and even reduce the risk of chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some certain types of cancer.

There are so many positive benefits to intermittent fasting that in turn can help busy mums achieve and increase better health and nutrition by:

How does Intermittent Fasting work?

Intermittent fasting works by your body making the metabolic switch from glucose-based to ketone-based energy.

Essentially when your body makes the switch from not having stored glucose in the body it has no choice but to burn stored fat as the source of energy.

Because of the restricted intake of carbohydrates during the fasting window, the body will use the stored fats as these are the only source of energy during fasting, and as a result, your body goes into fat-burning mode.

It has been found that most people have reported a boost in energy as a result of intermittent fasting. As a result of consuming less food, the body is digesting less meaning the body uses less energy for this process.

How can it Benefit Busy Mums?

There are many potential health benefits of intermittent fasting, but it’s particularly beneficial for busy mums because it helps free up more time in your day.

For example, by not having to prepare meals for breakfast can be a time saver in the crazy morning rush.

It can also mean less time spent eating and more time in your day.

Meal Plan and Foods

To optimise the effects of intermittent fasting, it is essential to ensure you are eating a healthy balanced diet.

To help with this process I have a meal planner and grocery list free below that you can use to help organise your day and week to maximise your potential and make this process easier.

When it comes to food, ensure you have a variety of healthy and nutritious food in your diet including:

Side Effects

There can be some side effects when starting out on Intermittent Fasting. Your body needs time to adjust to this new way of eating and how and what it uses for burning energy.

The side effects vary from person to person but some may include:

From my experience, these symptoms didn’t last very long. As with anything new, it takes time to adjust and get into a rhythm and routine.

In my opinion, I would recommend to start out slowly and gradually work your way up.

If you experience anything of these, I would have a chat with your doctor before and during Intermittent Fasting.

Tips

Bottom line

Intermittent fasting for busy mums is a great way to boost your energy while ensuring you are eating a balanced diet.

If you are trying to lose weight and increase your healthy lifestyle, intermittent fasting can help assist this process.

Once you get into a fasting routine, you will find that it will become easier and become more streamlined. Give yourself time to adjust as you become more familiar with the process.

I also find it beneficial to write in my journal. I like to record my day with fasting times, the foods I ate, and my water intake to keep an eye on my hydration. Doing this can help to evaluate my progress and help identify if I need to change my ways. It also helps increase my motivation.

Have you tried Intermittent Fasting before? Or if you are currently Intermittent Fasting I would love to know if you have any tips or recommendations to get you through your busy day.

Amy xx

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