Intermittent Fasting for weight loss using Circadian Rhythm Eating

As I write this tonight, I’m curled up on a couch snuggling with my dogs wearing turquoise yoga pants, a grey pullover, and leg warmers. I have a warm mug of chamomile licorice tea in my left hand. The lights are dim and my freshly laundered sheets are practically screaming at me to come to bed! But there’s a secret I want to share with you tonight! The beauty, weight loss, and anti-aging secret of Intermittent Fasting.

I’m doing something I do every night and have done every night for the last two decades. I’m preparing my body for sleep. More on this below… for now let’s chat a bit about one of my FAVORITE subjects! Let’s talk about intermittent fasting!

What is intermittent fasting?

I’ve been promoting intermittent fasting (IF) for years! Nowadays, it appears to be popping up everywhere. It’s a staple with my clients. Especially those in California and New York. I guess you could say what started as a trend, now has scientific evidence to back it up!

The eating plan, which has people restrict their eating to specific times of day or days of the week, seems to come with lots of benefits. A Harvard study found that following an intermittent fasting protocol appears to lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammation in the body.

Intermittent fasting helps my clients drop their weight faster than any meal plan ever could. In fact, real detox specialists know that offering a program with a generalized meal plan is a one size fits all disaster! I believe, In order to truly help people lose weight, reduce inflammation, diabetes, and to feel better about themselves, you must address each individual separately.

So why, exactly, is intermittent fasting so effective? That question has been the subject of debate for years. Some doctors argue that if it’s just another form of calorie restriction; by eating for fewer hours during the day, you’re likely eating less overall.

Others claim that fasting temporarily triggers a “switch” that jump-starts your metabolism. But thanks to new research, experts suggest that intermittent fasting’s benefits could stem from timing meals to the rise and set of the sun. In other words, following your natural circadian rhythm.

What are circadian rhythms and how do they work?

It’s actually natural for diurnal animals such as humans to eat during daylight when we evolved to digest food.

You can think of circadian rhythms as a pacemaker for your body! It’s basically your brain’s master circadian clock (which controls your body’s circadian rhythm). It’s made up of cells located in the hypothalamus. As our eyes recognize light, this master clock sends hormones (mainly cortisol – the stress hormone), to wake you up.

At night it sends melatonin, to make you sleepy. This keeps the rhythms of the body in check. It keeps the cells clean and in good working order. It gives them the rejuvenation they need.

If you don’t have that signal, individual cells literally won’t know what time it is. This can disrupt normal bodily functions. Think about your body getting off track when you travel or when you go for 24 hours without sleep. This ran down out of whack feeling is due to your circadian rhythm being off track. Your natural rhythms in your body are out of step with the external signals it’s getting. This causes your body to struggle to adjust, making you tired, cranky, and hungry.

This is one of the reasons I give each of my clients a meal cut off time. I myself do not take in anything outside of tea or water after 6 pm sharp! I teach my clients that they need to train their bodies to quiet down for the evening. It’s like turning the lights off before bed, you just get used to it.

The Benefits of Daylight eating and intermittent fasting combined!

1) You’ll lose weight

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that eating late at night increases your weight. There simply isn’t any time left late at night to move the body and burn off those calories.

2) Intermittent Fasting allows for more Lucid dreaming with fewer nightmares

Avoid large meals late at night. According to the National Institutes of Health, late-night meals can cause indigestion that interferes with REM sleep. REM stands for rapid eye movement. This means you wake up more frequently. If you continue to eat late at night you can say bye-bye to beautiful lucid dreaming and hello to nightmares.

3) Healthcare without the price tag

It’s a scientific fact that people who eat late at night tend to eat more. In addition, studies show that late-night noshing increases triglyceride levels, a type of fat found in your blood. When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn’t use right away into triglycerides; and high levels may increase your risk of heart attack and or stroke.

4) Heart health

Eating after 6 pm could be bad news for your heart because the digestive system is less efficient at night leading to a greater risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Andrea Cox – Speaking about the benefits of fasting at the National Cancer Conference

5) More time for yourself and with your family

I utilize the hours between 6-8 pm to clean my home, walk my furry husbands, and catch up on work projects. Sometimes I just zone out completely and catch a yoga class or play good music. Who wants to be slopping up the kitchen at night? Not me!

6) Your Skin will thank you

The anti-aging effects and more specifically the effect that eating earlier will have are AMAZING! Your skin is the largest organ of the body. When you stop stuffing your body late at night, the first place it will show will be in your skin.

The Benefits of fasting

7) Greater Spiritual awareness

It’s hard to be grateful for food when we are constantly eating it and never truly experience hunger. We don’t even really enjoy food when we are eating very frequently. Fasting teaches us to appreciate food, but also many other blessings and pleasures in our lives.

Here’s a video I shot on a quick 24-hour fasting day. You can see it has gotten quite a bit of interest. And for good reason!

Intermittent fasting combined with daylight eating is a win-win! Not just for your waistline! For your emotional well-being, mental health, and spiritual growth too! I don’t want to begin quoting the Bible in this article but I am feeling led to do so. The fasting prayer has been my “go-to buddy” during both long and short term fasting periods. My longest fast being a 21-day water fast. Boy did this prayer come in handy!

The Fasting Prayer
“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you”.

I only want the best for you
Please love yourself
and drink your juice
~ Andrea

Want to read more articles on the weight-loss benefits of intermittent fasting? Check out this great article I found here!

Intermittent fasting can also help with depression and anxiety! Read my article on herbs for depression here! 

Raw Vegan Carrot Soup Recipe |Tips on How to Break a Fast

Hey Luv,

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of dry fasting, water fasting,  juice fasting and systematic under eating. I’ve been getting plenty of rest and trying to limit my favorite treats such as Raw Vegan chocolate and my delicious Raw Vegan gluten-free cookies to a minimum. I’ve pretty much been living off my herb garden and foods I find from foraging and by hitting a local underground farmers market.

Working with clients on a one on one basis via zoom and over the phone takes a lot of my energy. So does digestion. Therefore reserving my energy for helping you become healthier wealthier happier and more in tune with your intuition is where I desire my energy to flow. One of the most common questions I get is “how do I break a fast”?

This is a great question that I LOVE answering! I’ll just bullet point a few facts below… 

Easing back into solid foods after fasting

Stay away from processed foods and fast food! After a fast it is always important to ease back into eating solid foods.  This doesn’t mean to go out and get some fast food and eat it slowly, if you do, it will be a very unpleasant experience and not at all beneficial to your health. If you are like many people in today’s society who are woke, you simply have never or would never indulge in fast foods knowing the facts that are out there today. 

Focus on eating fruits I find what works best for both myself and my clients is to eat some of the lighter fruits, like apples or melons (melons are FABULOUS after fasting)! Just be certain to eat enough to produce a bowel movement within thirty minutes.  

Only eat until you are almost full. You will know you have eaten enough within the first 10-20 minutes because your stomach will feel full. Make sure you chew your food thoroughly. This allows your digestive system to work slowly, allowing your saliva to saturate each bite. This entire process allows the enzymes in your saliva called amylase, (also in fruits and vegetables) to break down carbohydrates into simple sugars.

Don’t eat until you are hungry! Tuning into our bodies can be difficult. This is where meditation, yoga and just plain old mindfulness come into play. 

Chew your food thoroughly Masticating your food into the tiniest parts, saturating them with your saliva, making digestion efficient and easy on your body. I like to say we should “chew our juices and juice our food”. Meditate on that and there will be more in tomorrow’s newsletter.

The photo below is of one of my recipes found in my Raw-lic-ous recipes book here!

This is a quick and easy recipe that is full of enzymes because it’s raw not cooked! This makes it ideal for breaking a fast.

The photo below is of one of my recipes found in my Raw-lic-ous recipes book here!

 

This is a quick and easy recipe that is full of enzymes because it’s raw not cooked! This makes it ideal for breaking a fast. 

 

Raw Vegan Carrot Soup Recipe

 

Place the following ingredients in a blender or vitamix and blend. 

 

* 34 oz carrot juice

* 1 avocado

* 1 clove garlic (optional)

* 4-6 dates pitted

* 1 whole carrot

 

Enjoy without shame or guilt! 

 

 

I love you, 

only want the best for you

please love yourselves and drink your green juice Blessings of peace love and abundance

Andrea Cox

 

All material on this website and across all of Andrea’s social media is owned and copyrighted material. Misuse or stealing of this material is punishable by law. 

 

Detox your LIFE!

I’ve added three NEW dynamics to my retreats!

Not only will you be detoxing on a cellular level through raw living foods, yoga, colon cleansing and fasting, you’ll now be cleansing your past away! You’ll be cleansing your soul! You’ll be cleansing your chakras! You’ll be cleansing your relationships with others!

I guess you could say, you’ll be DETOXING YOUR LIFE!

Everyone who attends will get a natal chart. A natal chart is an absolute GOD SEND to have! It can help you in many ways that I will be explaining to you at the retreat!

I’ve also added a breath worker and shaman. Breath work is healing. It allows us to release negative energies, bad habits and addictions. The breath worker I have chosen is the ABSOLUTE BEST!

Here are the new dates! You can purchase right on the page! https://andreacox.com/retreats/

It’s Down to the wire!

Last time I checked in with you…

You wanted to feel your very best!

You wanted to look your very best!

You were sick of living or (hiding) behind your cover up every summer!

It’s down to the wire to book your spot at my April 18th retreat in beautiful San Diego!

As a special ONE TIME OFFER ONLY I’m offering you a spot for $2400! Never in the history of running Alkalize with Andrea Detox retreats have I EVER offered my services at this price!

Shoot me an email at Rawfoodteacher@yahoo.com or to Annabelle at Andrea@thehealthyhaven.net to reserve your spot now!

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Check out our video below and email us to reserve your SELF ~ LOVE SPOT TODAY!

Benefits Of A Twenty-Four Hour Water Fast. Ten reasons why I water fast.

Hey everyone! I am so excited to share this video with all of you. Many of you know I LOVE to juice fast and water fast. I’ve done ten day water fasts in the past that have helped me let go of bad habits and addictions.

In the video below I share with all of you what I prefer to drink on my water fast:)

Please note I do NOT promote fasting for extended periods and you should ALWAYS consult your physician prior to doing ANY cleanse:)

 

1. Cleansing effects 

Cleansing is a natural body process of eliminating toxins through the colon, liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph glands, and skin. During water fasting all the toxins in our body are expelled, creating an ideal environment for healing. This is responsible for a healthier skin, teeth and gums, better functioning of organs and even bones healing from injuries in half the time!

2. A more efficient Immune System

During a water fasting, the energy is diverted away from the digestion of food and instead moves to healing the glandular system and organs of the body! In turn our immune system is able to be restored! 

3. Anti aging and extended life expectancy

During a water fast the damaged tissues and many illnesses are repaired thus leaving the body in the optimal state for growth.

4. A sense of peace! A time to relax and go within!

it is vitally important that you rest during a water fast. Undergoing exersize will only create stress on the body and will be counter productive. In order to heal one must se this time as a period of rest and rejuvenation! One on one time with God! 

5. Improvement of the skeletal & muscular systems

Fasting induces anti-inflammatory actions on both the skeletal and muscular system. This in turn assists the bodies natural repair process from almost all pains, aches, arthritis in muscles and joints.

6. Weight Loss

Although this should not be the main concern when one undergoes a water fast, it has been proven to be one of the best remedies for obesity. 

7. Addictive behaviors especially surrounding food vanish!

For most people not eating for a day is not a big challenge. This being said a planned fast will bring up more “stuff” from childhood than anything else! In order to “let go” we must remember that it is not aha we add into the diet in the way of supplements and food. It is what we leave out that clears the body of degree and clears the mind of confusion! This makes the difference! 

8. More energy! 

Think I’m lying? I’m not! As the great Gil Jacobs said to me years ago “true health comes from removing the obstructions in the body, not from food”!

Remember…the most taxing activity of the body, in terms of energy expenditure is the digestive process. During the water fasting the same energy is directed towards other activities leaving the body with more energy.

9. An incredible sense of being MORE in tune with ones body 

In a fasting state, all the sensations of the body are increased! This in turn creates a deeper sense of awareness of the wonderful God creation of our body. I call this an ORGASMIC connection with sours and self! 

10. Increased Spiritual Connection

As one fasts we are humbled. Everything is stripped away from us…even our food. Once we rid of the physical toxins our strongholds are brought to the surface. Our bodily toxins flush out and the emotional wounds come up and out.

To better understand this you must understand that our emotional wounds are stored in the energetic system of the body. In other words “our issues live in our tissues”! Cleansing trough fasting creates a new space for emotional healing and for positive emotions to come in. By quieting the mind we are creating the emotional and mental environment for a deep spiritual connection.

For more great tips, raw vegan recipes and beauty tips check me out at https://andreacox.com

 

Benefits Of A Water Fast

 

Have faith that you are provided for until your earth husband comes along.

They say you should fear nothing. I do, I fear one thing and that is going broke. This has been my only fear for quite a long time and it has controlled many of the decisions I have made in my life. From where to live to what type of car I drive and sadly it’s even controlled who I choose to be in relationships with. You see, although I am now making OK money, truth be told I have been living off a savings that I made as a model for almost seven years now. Now that savings is gone and I face yet another move, I am petrified and feeling alone. About a year ago I was living in a condo in Del Mar across from the ocean for about $3000 per month. I loved it there. I loved the ocean breeze, the morning beach runs and all the beauty that is Del Mar! Then I had a flood. I was about four months into a relationship at the time of this flood and began frantically looking for housing. I had lived there for two years since moving from a big fancy five bedroom home in Ohio. You could say I was spoiled and beyond when it came to living circumstances! The man I was with lived in an RV with his surf boards and dog when I met him. It was a charmed existence of simplicity that I was attracted to however I never “lowered myself” to admit that I felt it was inviting and just one month later he sold that RV. When he sold the RV I specifically remember him saying to me “you would never see me with respect if I kept living there”. I remember thinking to myself “WOW, am I that spoiled that this guy thinks I am that shallow that I wouldn’t love him for who he is? We were after all together for a few months at this point.

Fast forward to the flood and me desperately searching for housing. Here I am frantically searching when the “man-pan-ion sends me an E-mail letting me know he wants to mesh our fur baby family together in a nice big rental home.   Never mind my fear of us moving in before marriage because he had a ring to place upon my hand to back his actions up. 

So here we have this beautiful man who changed his entire way of living to give me what he thought I wanted and then we had me who was petrified of going broke and set her faith in God that he would provide for me aside. You see, Instead of doing the honorable thing, instead of moving out on my own once again and struggling a bit more (I had little money coming in) I chose to take the easy road instead of the high road and moved in with this man.

We were like two teenage kids trying to make it. Two people who loved each other so very much, had passion for one another and who had chosen to wait to be intimate. We were on our way to becoming an “US” and had something that is difficult to find these days, a true heart to heart connection. All this man wanted to do was take my stress away and all I wanted to do is love him in return. 

As fate would have it, and as my Christian mentor told me “wait”. Wait to move in, wait to accept the ring. I know we should have no regrets and I know that we make every decision for a reason however this was one decision that one year later has me in a much worse predicament.

Instead of placing my faith in God that he would provide me with all of my needs, I moved in with the man only to have things crumble just two months later. Everything was set in fast forward ironically just how this lovely man thought it should be. It brought everything to an end before it had a chance to fully blossom or even begin. 

So here I am with no money in my savings one year later due to paying a $4000 per month rent that has just jumped up to 4600 per month and building my business on my own. I am in a much worse position financially and truth be told I am more worried, more scared and more sleepless than ever. This time however I’m putting my faith in someone or something much bigger than myself. I’m not handing things off to a man to “fix” I’m not even fixing them myself. I’m handing them over to my one and only father above, my provider and the one entity that will husband me until my Earth husband comes along.

Namaste

I cannot wait to bring to all of you what I learned at True North Health Center during my water fast!

I FEEL HIGH ON LIFE! I learned so much during the 12 hours of lectures I attended by the authors and doctors while undergoing my eight day water fast that I can barely contain myself! I literally feel an energy even while I am still nursing a broken foot! All of this on NO stimulants, coffee, drugs, raw chocolate AKA (legal crack) salt etc, sugars etc! My mind is crystal clear, my pallet clean and my vision clear! I am woking on two up coming projects for all of you that are going to BLOW YOUR MIND and change the way you think about food, yourself and your life forever! Stay tuned, life is just beginning!

Fasting to Bring out the Lotus Flower in You

Have you ever been in a state of complete peace and felt as if you were one with the Earth or Source? I love to call this a flow or life force energy. Things happen effortlessly and seem to just “show up” or come to you.

I love fasting. For me it humbles me almost instantly. It provides me with a sense of calm and well being, let alone the cleansing effect it has on my body. I am currently on day eight of a water fast up here in beautiful Santa Rosa. Although I will be ending my fast in a few days due to other obligations, I clearly feel a life force energy within me unlike anything I have ever felt before. I’m feeling this energy all the while having a broken foot and not being able to walk.

Day three was definitely my most difficult. Emotions ran high and I felt a neediness and desperation for that “safe feeling” we all seek out in life. The next morning I woke with such peace, such clarity and such purpose and direction for my life that I knew exactly what needed to be done and what needed to just “be”. It has been smooth sailing ever since.

Many hit a wall during fasting. Usually this occurs between the third and fifth day. I deal with this with not only my clients but also myself. Rather than becoming discouraged and giving up, know that encountering a wall is proof of the progress that you have made so far.

Have you ever seen a pure white lotus flower? They bloom in the most wretched conditions and go through an awful time just before their beauty emerges. The pure white lotus grows in muddy unsoiled water yet somehow they always make it through the rough growth period and bloosom into their very best state of being–pure, white like snow, and beautiful.

 

This morning, waking before the sun at 5am I sat in meditation thinking about how can I be of better service to others? How can I step further away from the ego and be more about my family, friends and those that attend my retreats and follow me on my social media outlets?

The beautiful white lotus flower is what came to me…allow me to begin by offering you this truth. Every one of us has the ability deep down inside of us to change and to rise up from a state of emotional or physical stress. My wish today–on day eight of my fast–is that all of you realize this and know that you have the power within you to heal yourself both physically and in your beautiful heart that beats inside of your chest.

If you desire that extra helping hand or listening ear along your path than I am here to humbly guide your way. Remember, I only want the very best for each and every one of you.

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Namaste