With wedding season rapidly approaching — so many of us would love to drop a few inches and look better on that big day. That’s why, starting this week, we’re kicking off a three-part series designed to help you look your very best for any upcoming weddings and the summer. In this initial post we’re growing to cover an “accelerated” weight loss method that has garnered a great deal buzz lately — called “intermittent fasting” or IF, for short. Even if you are not getting ready for a wedding, this is for you, to look and feel great all summer and any time! First, let me say that if you’re currently eating a diet similar to what I outline in The Beauty Detox Solution and The Beauty Detox Foods — you’re already getting much of the benefit of getting ready for your wedding day! But here is some more . This is especially true if you start your day with a Glowing Green Smoothie. I’ll explain more why in just a moment.

What Do I Recommend?

Here are some ways to look amazing, and yes slim, for your wedding (or anytime!):

Recommendation #1: Have a Glowing Green Smoothie in the morning and follow the Light to Heavy principle (more detail on the benefits in a moment) and the basic plans outlined in The Beauty Detox Solution for Blossoming, Radiant and True Beauty- customized to your lifestyle and body.

Recommendation #2: Definitely doing a Glow Bio cleanse periodically before your wedding is going to help you look amazing!  I did a few leading up to it, and I do them regularly when I’m in LA. Even when you’re eating really well, it’s a great way to help keep you track for great long-term eating habits, and fully rest your system to support the cleaning out of toxins.

I find it works great to do a 3 or 5-Day  Cleanse at least every 6-8 weeks, then in between do the 1 Day cleanse every week in between as maintenance, to get really high results. Glow Bio cleanses are NOT typical juice fasts you may find that are just a bunch of random  juices parceled together. Yours truly designed the drinks to be consumed in a specific order for maximum benefit! You start and end the day with the Glowing Green Smoothie, with fiber to sweep out the toxins you may be kicking up with all the extra enzymes you are consuming. This also helps to maintain your blood sugar levels and metabolism.  Our cold-pressed juices are infused with probiotics to help nourish and rebuild your system, and there are specific boosters to take an definite times (our Debloater shot, for example, to help flush out water weight). Recommendation #3: Start the day with hot water with lemon and drink lots of room temperature water in between meals. Hydration is key, and water that is too icy cold is not ultimately as hydrating as water closer to room temp (don’t worry I don’t mean nasty warm water! :) ). Recommendation #4: Cut out or way down on oils. You need Beauty Fat, but it can come from whole foods- some avocado, seeds (like chia), moderate amounts of nuts, etc. Oil is not a whole food and it can pour on so that you end up consuming a lot more than you realize. You’ll find that most of the recipes in The Beauty Detox Foods that are cooked don’t involve oil, or small amounts. A little is okay- but cutting way back will help you look more lean and trim, because too much dense fat can be congestive.

Now I want to go into more detail on Recommendations #1 and #2, so you can use them to your highest advantage. Read on!   

What Exactly Is Intermittent Fasting and how is it related to Beauty Detox?

You’re already following this to some extent if you are on Beauty Detox, and if you are starting your day with the Glowing Green Smoothie. I’ll explain more in a moment. But let’s cover some basics first.  First, the most basic information: it’s about skipping the solid foods for a set amount of time. You do, however, keep up with your hydration—that is very important. You can drink water that’s been infused with flavor from cucumbers, berries, herbs, etc. If you want something warm, herbal tea is permitted, too. You can also have fresh juice. Whatever you do, don’t allow yourself to become dehydrated. Your body needs water. You may find that you have to drink a lot more liquid than you normally would because you’re no longer getting water from raw foods like cucumbers, apples, berries, romaine lettuce, celery, etc. Intermittent fasting is often promoted for rapid weight loss and fat burning, and it can help you lose more weight in a short period of time, but there are other less visible health benefits, as well. For example, it can be used as a way to detox the body, something you all know I’m a huge proponent of! It can also help prevent diseases related to aging. Is it the best way to detox and lose weight? Not for most people. Should you plan it out and do it frequently as a lifestyle change? Probably not. But there are definitely pro’s and con’s, and if you feel drawn to it, you may want to try one of the easier versions of it and see how you feel.

The Different Types of Intermittent Fasting

Most people tend to lump the whole concept of intermittent fasting together, but there are actually different types!

• One meal per day (which is, of course, the strictest and hardest to do).
• 16 hours with no food and then you eat all your meals within an eight hour window of time, usually from around lunchtime to dinnertime. In most cases, this means you wake up and start your day without any breakfast.
• Fast for 24 hours every three days (which is the easiest way to do it), or in some cases, every other day

Now you can see how Beauty Detox falls into the second category- though instead of skipping breakfast you consume the easily digestible Glowing Green Smoothie. And fasting – but in a healthy and controlled way- are the category that the Glow Bio cleanses fall into!

The Potential Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Even though I don’t recommend keeping up with a specific fasting schedule, fasting does have its benefits:

Increased Detox and Defense Against Aging

One of the most beautifying things you can do for your body is detox, and fasting does help with that. By not putting more food into your body, you’re giving it time to cleanse more and get rid of the toxins that have built up over time. Your body isn’t distracted by the immediate need to digest when you’re going for hours between meals.

Slow Down, or in Some Cases, REVERSE Aging

When you engage in intermittent fasting, your body has a chance to clean up after all the exposure to oxidative stress. What does oxidative stress do? It contributes to aging and disease. Similar to the way the Beauty Detox works, fasting gives your body a time-out, so to speak, so it can catch up on repairs, clear out dead cells, and remove toxins. In Beauty Detox, you have the Glowing Green Smoothie in the morning, and easily digestible fruit or low fat/protein foods like oatmeal, and eliminate animal proteins at lunch. It’s a way to rest your digestive system for long periods.  When you’re constantly taking in food—six times a day, for example, day after day—your body may have trouble keeping up with its ever-expanding to-do list. The food has to be digested, so the processes that could slow aging are neglected to a degree. Have you ever had a list of thing that needed to happen, like dusting, taking clothes to the dry cleaners, and finishing the book you’ve been reading, only to keep having more important tasks pop up unexpectedly? It’s like that. (This is also why sleep is so important—it gives your body a chance to take care of the repairs and maintenance!)

Reduced Risk of Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Cancer

Studies have shown a number of health benefits, some of which include lowered chances of developing heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

A Healthier Heart

A 2011 study from Intermountain Medical Center that built upon some of the knowledge researchers gained during a similar study in 2007 found periodic fasting to reduce the risk of heart disease. During the studies, researchers witnessed decreased weight, triglycerides, and blood sugar levels. They also noticed an increase in cholesterol, which helps explain why people lose fat when fasting. Cholesterol is released when the body experiences stress (hunger is stressful!), and when that happens, the body doesn’t want to burn glucose for energy—it wants to burn fat.

Less Fat = Less Chance of Diabetes

The Intermountain Medical Center study pointed out a secondary benefit of fasting and losing weight through that process—the fewer fat cells you have, the lower your risk of developing diabetes. Of course, no matter how you use up and remove those fat cells, you’ll reap the same benefit, so fasting isn’t the only (or even necessarily the best) way to keep diabetes at bay.

Better Health All Around

A review found in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition supports the findings regarding diabetes. Alternate day fasting has been shown to result in a lowered risk of cardiovascular disease, lower blood pressure, and lower heart rate (in animals only, so far), plus higher HDL cholesterol levels and lower triglyceride levels in humans. As a side note, animal studies also hinted at the possibility of a lowered cancer risk.

Growth Hormone

When you fast, there’s an increase in the human growth hormone. The Intermountain Medical Center study also showed a growth hormone increase of 1300 percent in women and 2000 percent in men during 24-hour fasting periods. The human growth hormone assists in muscle building, metabolism function, and fat loss. Could intermittent fasting contribute to better fitness? Possibly.

Better Cognitive Function

You may be thinking there’s no possible way you can get increased cognitive function from intermittent fasting. I know I don’t think that clearly when I’m hungry; it’s hard to focus. However, one study did show that mice that were fed only every other day were better learners and had better memories than the mice that were allowed to continue their regular diet. So while you may not be able to do your absolute best when you’re hungry, over time it could improve your cognitive capabilities. Those mice subjected to intermittent fasting also had more drebrin, which is a protein that helps out with the growth of neurons, and less oxidative stress than the control mice. I found another study that suggests intermittent fasting could slow the effects of cognitive aging. The reduction in oxidative damage correlated with better motor skills and cognitive skills.

Now for the Potential Cons

Despite the benefits of intermittent fasting, there are some definite cons to doing it regularly.

You Might Be Hungry…on a “regular” fast

If you’re skipping breakfast, there’s a good chance you’re going to get hungry before it’s your set time to eat. If you’re a night owl and you like to stay up late, there’s also a good chance you’re going to want something other than water or tea when you’re still awake and it’s been several hours since you had dinner. And the more you tell yourself you can’t have something, the more you want it, right? At least with cravings you’re trying to stop when you’re making a healthy lifestyle change, there are alternatives you can allow yourself, certain foods that might take the edge off and kind of scratch the sweet, salty, or savory itch. That’s why the fiber-filled Glowing Green Smoothie is key, both in regular life and during a Glow Bio cleanse. It helps stabilize your body- and mind! 

The Temptation to Binge

Continuing on from the hunger and yo-yo eating issues of intermittent fasting, once you finally make it to that window when you’re allowed to eat, you’re probably going to want some of everything you’ve been thinking about eating over the past several hours—and a lot of it. You may also feel that since you’re going 16 hours (for example) without eating, it’s okay to eat the junk food you’re craving. It’s easy to justify caving to the bad habits you haven’t quite kicked yet when you’re fasting. That’s why balance is key, and keeping better long-term eating habits, and when you do cleanse you are having GGS during it. I find a lot of people binge to change their mood or when their energy is low. Again, that is where the Glowing Green Smoothie steps in, as it gives you high energy. 

Six Meals Per Day and the “Metabolism Myth”

Over the years, the bodybuilding and fitness industries have been promoting this myth that you need six high-protein meals every day for optimal performance, nutrition, and a more toned physique. In my opinion, this is part of broader scheme to sell protein powders and bars, because it’s really hard for most to have that many meals, with that much protein. But guess what? Intermittent fasting shows that you don’t need to rev up your metabolism with more meals. That is a myth, pure and simple.  You can get your nutrition for the day in three meals—and remember, you don’t need nearly as much protein as the fitness industry would have you believe.

The Beauty Detox Perspective

The same benefits as listed above, like the detox and rest for your digestive system, happen naturally on Beauty Detox because foods like the Glowing Green Smoothie are light and require very little energy to digest. You’re eating Light to Heavy each day, so you’re not overloading your body first thing in the morning.Eat when you’re hungry; don’t eat when you’re not. Eat as much as you feel like eating, too—but make sure they’re the right foods. When you keep your body happy with whole, nutritious foods, you’re less likely to get so hungry you binge on things you wouldn’t normally eat. Don’t impose any rule on yourself about the timing of your meals or when you should or shouldn’t eat. Just eat when you’re hungry. Be intuitive. Listen to your body so you know when it needs food. If you’re eating the right, high-fiber foods, you don’t have to obsess over calories either, because you’ll get full when you start with a huge salad and lots of veggies or a big veggie soup, etc. For instance, my day often begins with fruit and/or a Glowing Green Smoothie, then something like Kale Salad and soup or veggies for lunch, and a bigger dinner with salad, a little avocado, cooked veggies, soup and more. It’s very light to heavy and my digestive system doesn’t have to do much work from dinner all the way to lunch the next day. So it’s a little like intermittent fasting except you’re still getting plenty of food throughout the day. Another perk to detoxing and resting your digestive system on Beauty Detox is the amount of nutrition you’re able to get. Because you are getting more nutrition, it’s easier to go longer in between meals if your body doesn’t get hungry (which is sort of how I accidentally sometimes go several hours between meals). That’s really helpful if you’re super-busy—and a whole lot easier than trying to fit those six meals a day in, right? Who has time for that? So while you’re not exactly planning a fast, you fare better on one when life gets in the way and you have to go a while between meals. This will help you slim down and have lots of energy for your wedding day!!! 

Again, I do recommend going properly planned cleanses periodically, like a  3 or 5 day Glow Bio cleanse to “fine tune” your body and help you look your best, so you stay on the path for long-term benefits, and don’t feel restricted all the time in daily life as you might on a strict IF plan. A one day cleanse every week is also a great way to optimize your beauty, and you’re still having fiber from GGS to balance your body. 

What Do I Do?

I eat Light to Heavy, drink GGS, and do Glow Bio cleanses periodically. I do what I write for you to do in this article, because I think you truly have to authentically practice what you preach?! And why would I want to do differently when I feel amazing? :)

Listen to Your Body and Your Prepare 

The most important thing is always to listen to your body, make good choices, and see how you feel. That’s the key, no matter what—paying attention to what you’re body is telling you, and then making good choices that serve your long-term health. Keep in mind that just by following Beauty Detox Principles and adding GGS and more raw or lightly cooked plant foods to your diet, you’ll automatically be giving your body a big rest between meals — and you will see amazing benefits — including slimming down. The best part is, as many in our community have proven, this way of eating and lifestyle is truly sustainable and optimum for very long periods of time. After all, I want you feeling and looking your best all year long — not just for your wedding! I hope this helps and thanks so much for reading. Stay tuned for more tips and wedding pics. :) Love, Kimberly