Listen to 5 Secrets to Beat Evening Sugar Cravings with Intermittent Fasting & Ketobiotic on;
Those Pesky Sugar Cravings!
Have you ever wondered if there’s a way to eliminate those pesky evening sugar cravings that derail your health goals? Like many, I’ve been on a quest to discover the secret to a healthier, happier me. We’ve all been there, right? But recently, I ventured into intermittent fasting and a Keto eating style, and the results I’ve experienced have left me stunned! Here are my 5 Secrets to Beat Evening Sugar Cravings with Intermittent Fasting and Ketobiotic: My Journey!
Content Note:
Before diving into my journey, it’s essential to recognize the ongoing movement against discussing weight loss, especially within sensitive communities like dancers who often struggle with body image issues. My story (link here) aims not to advocate a one-size-fits-all approach but to emphasize the value of embracing healthier lifestyles and nurturing our well-being.
Having battled unhealthy mental body image tendencies, I’ve achieved a more balanced state for my body and mind. However, I strongly encourage seeking personalized advice, particularly from a functional medicine professional, tailored to your current mental and physical stage in life. I talked to one here. My experience is personal, not prescriptive. Consider what aligns best with your well-being.
LBP x
Now, I want to take you on a journey of my discoveries and the answers I’ve found to some key questions:
- How can you curb those relentless sugar cravings that strike in the evening?
- What makes intermittent fasting and Ketobiotic eating different from traditional diets?
- Are there versatile fasting protocols that suit your lifestyle?
- How does the Ketobiotic diet transform your body’s energy source?
- Can these practices help with weight management and overall health?
- What surprising benefits can fasting bring, from reversing Type 2 diabetes to reducing anxiety?
If you’ve been struggling with evening sugar cravings or seeking a holistic approach to health beyond traditional diets, join me on this journey of discovery. Intermittent fasting and a balanced Ketobiotic style may hold your desired answers. The results may change your life in ways you never thought possible.
“Once grappling with nightly sugar cravings, I felt helpless despite efforts to control them through willpower and healthier sweeteners. It wasn’t until eliminating foods causing blood sugar spikes that I found the solution for me.”
Lara Bianca Pilcher
Note: (Information regarding the Ketobiotic style can be found after this blog post)
1) My Journey Begins: 5 Secrets to Beat Evening Sugar Cravings with Intermittent Fasting and Ketobiotic Eating
Having explored various health regimens, I cautiously approached intermittent fasting and the Ketobiotic eating style. Despite hearing about potential benefits such as weight management, improved mental clarity, and increased energy, it wasn’t until I embraced these methods that I truly grasped their remarkable impact on overall well-being. Growing up with the mindset that ‘fat is bad’ and ‘carbs are in,’ following the traditional food pyramid that placed fats and oils at the smallest apex, made transitioning to even including an avocado a significant change for me.
This shift in what’s considered healthy food has instilled a deep-seated mistrust in me towards so-called ‘experts’ and their guidance on what constitutes healthy eating. Subsequent research has been conducted since that period.
2) The Power of Intermittent Fasting
This isn’t about prolonged starvation or going without food for extended periods. Given my history with eating disorders stemming from my extensive dance career, I was acutely aware of triggering any disordered eating behaviors. Thus, my venture into intermittent fasting commenced with a manageable 13-hour fasting window. This routine was straightforward – once I finished my last meal of the day, I’d embark on a 13-hour fasting period.
This adjustment meant saying goodbye to late-night snacking, a habit that plagued me for a long time. Typically, I’d conclude my evening meal around 5:30 p.m. and break my fast 13 hours later at breakfast. Weight loss wasn’t my primary goal; I aimed to rest my gut and facilitate my body’s self-healing process (refer to the abundance of research articles cited after this blog post).
Throughout these 13 fasting hours, I didn’t dramatically alter my daily eating patterns. I took deliberate, gradual steps to gauge the results and instill lasting habit changes. What intrigued me most was the science behind intermittent fasting, which diverges from conventional fad diets.
Unlike many diets (as in eating styles) that focus on what you eat, intermittent fasting revolves around when you eat. This crucial distinction sets it apart from numerous diets that often lead to dissatisfaction and deprivation.
Back in the day, food wasn’t as easy as an Uber Eats click-of-fingers to appear on your table. It took time to prepare, and there were longer breaks between meals, unlike today’s global food accessibility sparked by post-World War I developments and the rise of larger food organizations. Thanks to these changes, it seems many of us have become experts at munching our way through every waking hour—thank you, modern food accessibility!
3) The Ketobiotic Style Connection
My journey extended beyond the initial 13-hour fasting phase. After those first two weeks, I aimed for more. I ventured into Dr. Mindy Pelz’s 30-day intermittent fasting regimen from her book “Fast Like a Girl,” available in my fitness and besties collection (find it here). This plan, focusing on metabolic switching, suited my body’s requirements. Additionally, I adopted a Mediterranean-style diet inspired by the dietary habits of the long-living individuals in the Blue Zones. #biohacking Yes Please!
Combining this with a flexible keto approach (because I firmly believe rigidity is counterproductive), I embraced a style of “Ketobiotic,” as coined by Dr. Mindy Pelz. This method considers women’s hormonal fluctuations and good gut bacteria, customizing the diet to meet their monthly nutritional needs. There’s no universal solution, but these guidelines can significantly contribute to a healthier, clearer mind and increased energy levels.
This approach also considers the ideal times for fasting and fasting based on women’s hormonal cycles. It’s a holistic way of eating. I chose to combine elements of the Mediterranean and Ketobiotic diets to create a balanced and health-boosting plan. The core idea behind this eating style’s ‘Keto’ aspect is transforming your body’s primary energy source. By significantly reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing the consumption of healthy fats, your body can enter a state of ketosis. In this state, it burns fat for fuel rather than relying on glucose. However, it doesn’t mean consuming more calories than you need; wisdom is still needed. But I didn’t primarily do it for weight management but for longevity, vitality, and energy!
The results I experienced while following the Mediterranean and ketobiotic-style eating methods were astonishing. Some benefits were weight loss, mental clarity, and a newfound sense of vitality. It was eye-opening to learn that when your body makes ketones, it could also produce the calming GABA hormone, which can significantly impact your overall well-being. I do feel amazing!
4) Surprising Sugar Discoveries
I used to grapple with overwhelming nightly sugar cravings, leaving me feeling helpless at times. Despite eating well throughout the day, a relentless need for sugar would hit me each evening. I tried various approaches like sheer willpower, incorporating healthier sweeteners, and other coping strategies, but nothing seemed to conquer the cravings. It wasn’t until I made a fundamental change in my diet by eliminating foods that caused sharp spikes in my blood sugar that I found a solution. Instead of succumbing to sugar, I learned to satisfy my cravings with healthy fats, often enjoying a spoonful of almond butter. The cravings are now gone, and sugar-eating at night is ancient history. I get the odd craving (once a month 🤪), but it’s nothing like what I was experiencing.
An invaluable tool in my journey to track foods that affected my blood sugar was a blood sugar monitor commonly used by diabetics. Despite not being diabetic, I’m committed to preventing it. It’s truly remarkable to have access to such tools at home in this day and age. You can find the product I use in my Healthy Wealthy Wise Artist Amazon store here: the Keto Mojo monitor. This device is brilliant; it measures your blood glucose and ketone levels. Surprisingly, I discovered that certain foods were causing my blood sugar to spike into concerning or even prediabetic ranges. This insight enabled me to keep my blood glucose levels within an optimal range and avoid the roller-coaster of spikes and crashes.
What truly astonished me on this journey was how intermittent fasting and the Ketobiotic diet (a blend of the Mediterranean and Ketogenic diets with adjustments for hormonal fluctuations) could become incredibly effective tools for weight management and overall health improvement. These practices have been rigorously studied and consistently showcased many health benefits. From their potential to prevent and reverse Type 2 diabetes to safeguarding heart health, the scientific evidence behind these approaches is compelling.
Furthermore, fasting can remarkably trigger autophagy, a cellular recycling process that helps clear your body of damaged cells, contributing to overall health. And it doesn’t stop at physical well-being; fasting can also positively impact mental health, potentially alleviating anxiety and providing a cognitive boost that’s often underestimated.
5) The Takeaway: 5 Secrets to Beat Evening Sugar Cravings with Intermittent Fasting and Ketobiotic Eating!
Reflecting on my journey into intermittent fasting and a Ketobiotic style, one thing is clear: these approaches are not just diet trends. They’re powerful tools that empower you to control your health and well-being. It’s not about depriving yourself; it’s about nourishing your body at the right time and with the proper nutrients. If you opt for a keto diet, heed the warnings against excessive consumption of unhealthy saturated fats, an area doctors advise can lead to health issues. Instead, incorporate healthy fats like avocado and olive oil into your diet.
So, suppose you’ve been searching for a holistic approach to health beyond traditional diets. In that case, I encourage you to explore the world of intermittent fasting and ketobiotic eating under the guidance of these books: Fast Like A Girl by Dr Mindy and Essential Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet Cookbook Holly Divine, a Registered Dietitian. I also adore Simply Keto! These practices possess the potential to astonish and revolutionize your life, as they did for me. The journey is an adventure, and the results might just put the brakes on your chocolate gobbling as if it’s suddenly out of vogue.
With you on the journey, friend.
Build a life of love, purpose, adventure, and boundless creativity.
Take the first steps toward this inspiring journey now.
Book personalized Life Coaching with Lara here.
Purchase The Creative Purpose Journal here.
Learn more about Lara here
Please find Lara on Instagram here
Grab your artist values freebie below the article resources! 👇
Resources to Dive Deeper
If you’re ready to explore fasting further, Dr. Mindy Pelz has many resources. You can connect with her book here: Dr. Mindy Pelz’s Website and Ketobiotic information here!
- Endocrine Society: Intermittent fasting may reverse Type 2 diabetes
- American Heart Association: Intermittent fasting may protect the heart
- The New England Journal of Medicine: Effects of intermittent fasting on health
- National Library of Medicine: Intermittent fasting on breast cancer
- Nutrients Journal: Intermittent fasting reduces hypertension, increases BDNF
- Johns Hopkins Medicine: What is intermittent fasting, and how do you do it?
- Harvard Medical School: Intermittent fasting: the positive news continues
- Frontiers: Intermittent fasting in health, physical performance, and disease prevention
- University of Illinois: Alternate day fasting is a good option for patients with FLD
- National Public Radio: Intermittent fasting as effective as counting calories
- University of Sydney: Intermittent fasting has potential, but the type of calorie count, too
- Cleveland Clinic: Women who are menstruating need to fast according to their cycles
Build a life of love, purpose, adventure & boundless creativity!