fasting – Chef V's Blog

Intermittent Fasting + Green Drink

November 19, 2022 Chef V

Trying to lose weight and get those abs to poke out? Try intermittent fasting AND breaking your fast with my Chef V Green Drink. Even better: do an early-morning yoga routine, before your first meal of the day. It doesn’t have to be very long. Even 10 minutes will do wonders. That combo works great for me … and you should see what my husband looks like. (Wink)

I’m having a little bit of a dilemma. Maybe you can help by telling me what you think.

You see, Brandon, my husband (and CEO of my nationwide Green Drink and Cleanse delivery operation) is looking like one of those Greek God statues you see in a museum.

Whereas in the past when “six-pack” was synonymous for Brandon with beer, these days, six-pack refers to his absolutely chiseled abs. Actually, 8-pack is more like it.

Brandon is absolutely shredded, chiseled and lean. He hasn’t put an ounce of flab on even though we’ve been under a lot of stress lately opening up our new Chef V store in New Jersey (NYC metro area).

So where’s the problem, you might be wondering? After all, isn’t every lady’s dream to have a gorgeous, sexy partner?

The problem is … he’s starting to look leaner than me. That ain’t right! So should I tell him to stop doing what he’s doing?

Actually, here’s what I’ll do. I’m going to put aside my petty insecurities and rechannel that negativity into something positive. And that’s sharing with you these 3 super easy things that Brandon has been doing these past six months that have resulted in his mad sexy physique.

It seems so easy. And in fact, it is. I’ve actually been doing the three things he’s been doing, too. It’s just that my weight has stabilized and I’m not really looking to break a plateau or anything.

Without further ado here are the three things you can easily do to melt body fat….

intermittent fasting table 16:8 method

What Do Beyonce & Brandon Have In Common?

Besides a killer smile that seems to stop time, what Queen Bey and my hubby have in common is success with intermittent fasting.

Human beings have been intermittent fasting since prehistoric times. But as a diet, this is the one method that seems like it has the potential to kill the diet industry. In other words, it’s not a gimmick, like this:

Brandon, Bey, and thousands of other people, are experiencing very impressive intermittent fasting results.

And the reason why is simple. You’re not doing a crazy starvation diet like the Master Cleanse (fasting on lemon water for several days) or the hCG diet (500 calories a day plus an injection of a pregnancy hormone) or the baby food diet (no explanation needed).

Intermittent fasting restricts when you eat, not what you eat. There are a few different ways to do intermittent fasting (I.F.). Brandon prefers the 16/8 method. That’s when you eat only during an eight-hour window and fast for the other 16 hours.

Fasting for 16 hours is a form of mild stress. That might not sound good to you. After all, most people have too much stress to begin with. But the mild stress from intermittent fasting can actually help you live longer.

And there’s no doubt I.F. will make you leaner.

Making Cleansing Easier Cookbook

How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?

Researchers are now just starting to discover why intermittent fasting can help make you live longer. (If you want to geek out on how it works, read this article published by Harvard University.)

But I.F. might take some getting used to. This is especially true if you’re prone to feeling “hangry,” you know, that combo of feeling hungry and angry at the same time.

A lot of times, though, you think you’re starving when you’re actually not. What’s more likely is that you’re used to eating a lot of starchy and sugary foods and your brain/belly axis of evil is saying, “Mmmm, give me more … now!”

If you can lower the amount of sugars and starches in your diet, those hangry feelings will likely fade away like your waistline.

And here’s why….

Unless you’re running an ultramarathon, a good chunk of your meal will be stored as sugar (glycogen) in your liver. However, after not eating anything for 16 hours, your sugar storage tank, so to speak, will be depleted.

So what does your hot bod do for energy if it doesn’t have any sugar to burn? It starts using fat for energy. Specifically, your fat cells release ketones (fatty acids). These ketones are converted in the liver as usable energy for your brain. Ketones also get released into your bloodstream to supply the rest of your body with energy.

My book, Making Cleansing Easier, is full of recipes for foods with low, healthy levels of sugars and starches. Use it to reset your appetite.

Survival Mode But Not Starvation Mode

Sorry, I seem to have gotten carried away and slightly geeked out. All you really need to know can be summed up in one sentence: By not eating for 16 hours your body goes in survival mode and burns fat for energy.

Try fasting for 12-14 hours for a week or two before working your way up to 16 hours. That’s what Brandon did. (I tried calling Bey to find out how she got started but she hasn’t returned my call … yet. haha)

Just to be clear, I.F. is not a starvation diet. True starvation is going for many days without food. But since we’re still wired like our prehistoric ancestors, our bodies go into survival mode. And to survive, our bodies shift from burning carbs for fuel to fat.

Is it making sense now why I.F. is so easy? And you don’t have to be crazy strict about sticking to 16 hours of fasting. If you go one day cutting it down to a 14 or 15 hour window, you’ll still see results.

Jill Ramirez testimonial

Breaking the Fast Without Breakfast

And if you follow this second tip for easy weight loss success, you’ll experience even more impressive results.

You might be tempted to break your 16-hour fast by pigging out with a large breakfast. But there’s two reasons why you shouldn’t do it. First of all, your stomach’s holding capacity will shrink after not eating for 16 hours. Thus, you simply won’t feel like or be physically able to eat a large stack of pancakes.

Secondly, you don’t want your first meal of the day to put you in a food coma. Instead, drink a couple glasses of water first thing when you wake up. And when it’s time to break your fast, have a Green Drink. The seven certified organic greens will help wake up your belly and gently cleanse your system.

There are other methods of doing I.F. such as the 5:2 method. This is when you take a couple days a week and eat only 500 calories.

Regardless of what I.F. method you choose, always break your fast with a Green Drink. Another benefit is you’ll be providing good bacteria in your gut with food (prebiotic fiber) that they need to multiply and keep your immune system strong.

The healthier you are, the better your fat burning potential.

Yoga Before Breaking the Fast

And if you really want to accelerate your weight loss, do some moderate exercise before your first meal of the day. I prefer doing yoga shortly after I wake up. Depending on when I finished the previous night’s meal, I might take a 16 oz bottle of Green Drink with me to stay hydrated during class.
Keep in mind that having a Green Drink will break your fast even though it’s not a meal. The simple reason why is that it has calories and will provide glucose (blood sugar) for your liver to burn.

However, let’s say I’m done dinner at 8 p.m. If I’m taking a 10 a.m. yoga class, I might sip on a bit of Green Drink throughout the class. I’m not super strict about always doing a 16-hour fast window; that’s more Brandon’s thing.

But the key takeaway here is that you should give exercising before breaking your fast a try. You’ll already be in fat-burning mode. And light exercise like these 3 detoxifying yoga poses may help accelerate your weight loss. Just make sure not to do any strenuous exercise when you’re first getting used to I.F.

So there you have it. Three simple strategies for long-term weight loss success: try eating only during a 8 hour window (work your way up to a 16-hour fast); break the fast with Green Drink and do some yoga in the morning before breaking the fast.

Kickstart Your Fat Loss With Chef V’s Intermittent Fasting Cleanse!

Need someone to hold your hand getting started with Intermittent Fasting? Want to maximize your body fat burning potential?

Let me help! Introducing Chef V’s Intermittent Fasting Cleanse, where on each day (you choose: 4, 7 or 14 days), you get 16 oz. of Green Drink, one packet of Chocolate Protein Shake and one Detox Soup (alternates between Carrot Ginger and Sweet Potato Curry). And that’s just for your “break-fast.”

For lunch and dinner, you’ll be using my Healthy Eating Guidelines, which includes the following 3 easy to follow things:

Eat This, Not That Chart (takes the guesswork out of what to eat)
Healthy Portions Chart (takes the guesswork out of how much to eat)
Download of my recipe book Making Cleansing Easier, with delicious healthy recipes for smoothies, snacks, soups, appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts.
Recommendations for non-caloric drinks to keep your energy up during your fasting window (including my recipe for Electrolyte Cocktail).

Intermittent Fasting isn’t a diet. It’s a lifestyle! And with Chef V’s IFC, you’ll quickly learn how to combine time-restricted feeding with healthy eating habits you can use for the rest of your life.

Despite Its Buzz, Are Doctors On Board With Intermittent Fasting?

August 21, 2022 Chef V

We’re all down with the Intermittent Fasting trend here at Chef V. My husband, Brandon, looks totally chiseled because of it. Several of our Customer Relations Specialists have lost lots of weight following it. And their cravings for sugary snacks have diminished like their waistlines because of following a time-restricted diet plan. And me? Well, I’ve been doing Intermittent Fasting before it was even recognized as a health trend. I credit it greatly for the reason why I wake up buzzing with energy.

But even though us Chef V peeps have had success with it, I wanted to see what the mainstream medical community thinks about Intermittent Fasting. After all, anybody can have short-term success when they modify how–and when–they eat. But that weight can quickly come back on and then some. And more than that, certain diets can have unintended consequences. Remember when low-fat diets were all the rage? People started eating tons of carbs instead, which has greatly contributed to the obesity and diabetes epidemic.

So, are doctors on board with Intermittent Fasting?

Health Experts See Great Promise In Intermittent Fasting

I don’t need a doctor to tell me that Intermittent Fasting works for weight loss. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ve even read an incredible story in People about a physician who lost 125 pounds because of time-restricted feeding.

But beyond incredible weight loss success stories, I was really interested in finding out about the effects of time-restricted feeding on heart health. After all, many people who struggle with their weight also have other chronic health problems such as high blood pressure and type-2 diabetes.

I was happy to discover that Monique Tello, a medical doctor, who is a contributing editor with Harvard Health Publishing, is all in favor of Intermittent Fasting. She says, “[Intermittent] fasting, when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle, can be a particularly effective approach … for people at risk for diabetes.”

Dr. Tello was also impressed by a University of Alabama study, which concluded that after five weeks, the Intermittent Fasting group had dramatically lower insulin levels and significantly improved insulin sensitivity. The test group also had significantly lower blood pressure. Not only that, the group also had significantly decreased appetite.

Intermittent Fasting: It’s Good For Your Heart (And May Prevent Cancer)

Fasting for short periods of time isn’t just good for your belly. It’s also good for your heart. According to a web article on the highly-regarded academic medical center, Cleveland Clinic, temporary fasting can help lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, control diabetes and reduce weight.

These four health markers constitute the greatest risk for developing heart disease.

Cleveland Clinic even acknowledges that some studies also show that “fasting may help prevent cancer or increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment.”

The good news about Intermittent Fasting keeps rolling in. Consider this article in the New York Times, which says that more studies are showing that eating late at night and snacking during the day is a major culprit of weight gain and metabolic dysfunction. The recipe to break this cycle: time-restricted feeding.

The NYT article references a study of prediabetic men. The men who ate only during a six-hour window had lower insulin, reduced levels of oxidative stress, less nighttime hunger and significantly lower blood pressure.

Doctors Warnings About Intermittent Fasting

Just like everything else in life, there are pros and cons about doing intermittent fasting. From a health perspective, some doctors and researchers are warning people about temporary fasting. The reason? Not eating for, say, 16 hours (which is how long I recommend not having calories), can deplete your cells of electrolytes. Electrolytes are like spark plugs for your cell; they ignite cellular energy.

That’s why I recommend having a non-caloric electrolyte drink before you go to bed and when you wake up. A simple way to get electrolytes without breaking the fast is adding a teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt to a glass of water. Or buy some cream of tartar. (Cream of tartar tastes nothing like tartar sauce. In fact, it’s often used in baking.)

Another thing you should keep in mind about intermittent fasting is that you shouldn’t pig out when you break the fast.

“You don’t want to shock the system,” Dr. Haitham Ahmed tells the Cleveland Clinic. Ahmed recommends breaking the fast by snacking on a few dates or other dried fruit. Then take a break, he says, and then eat fruit and other light foods at first.

I both agree and disagree with Dr. Ahmed. I agree that you shouldn’t eat a huge meal when you break your fast. But eating dates and then more fruit after that? I strongly disagree. Just eating a few dates contains 25 grams of sugar. And eating more fruit? That’s going to add more sugar to your system. Sure, natural fruit sugar is better than added sugars in junk like soda, but isn’t the name of the game when it comes to weight loss and other positive health outcomes curbing sugar intake?

That’s why I recommend breaking your fast each morning with 16 oz of Organic Green Drink, which contains 7 leafy green vegetables, and a wee bit of organic apple and apple juice to sweeten things up. Containing only 3 grams of sugar per 8 oz., Green Drink is a great way to start your day and get your daily dose of disease-fighting antioxidants.

After having Green Drink, you can eat a sensible breakfast (example: an egg or two with low-carb/high-fiber bread and a slice of turkey bacon and a serving of fruit).

I’m sure most doctors would get on board with my recommendation to combine Green Drink with Intermittent Fasting.

Chef V

Intermittent Fasting: The Diet That Tells You When To Eat, Not What to Eat

April 7, 2021 Jean Yates

CBD oil

Intermittent fasting might sound like a desperate weight loss starvation protocol to some, but it’s quite the opposite. In fact, you can eat until your belly’s content and still lose weight—but only within a specific window of time.

Move over Atkin’s. You, too, South Beach. Zone Diet: you’re so last decade….

The latest diet trend is intermittent fasting. Not familiar with intermittent fasting? After reading this, you’ll know the basic facts and health benefits of intermittent fasting (IF). And you’ll certainly be hearing about intermittent fasting more and more in the mainstream media. It seems poised to become just as popular as household-name diets, if not more so.

That’s because, first off, it’s not really a restrictive diet. And secondly, despite its relatively recent entry into the mega-billion diet marketplace, it’s actually thousands of years old.

There are a couple other primary reasons why intermittent fasting will likely surge in popularity. Peer-review research supports it for weight loss and other benefits. Furthermore, it’s really easy to stick to the diet, unlike many other popular weight-loss schemes. (Ahem, Master Cleanse, we’re talking about you.)

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. First, let’s learn some basic facts about intermittent fasting.

Sample Code

Intermittent Fasting: how old is it?

Although this may be one of the first times you’re hearing about IF, the practice of it dates back to prehistoric times. In fact, fasting as a practice is a mandate in holy texts such as the Old Testament and Koran.

The type of fasting in the Old Testament differs from that of the Koran. And this difference illustrates a couple popular ways of fasting. In the Old Testament, religious fast days (such as Yom Kippur) require adherents to the Jewish faith to abstain from all food and drink, usually for 25 hours (from sunset to nightfall). As for the Koran, holy book for over 1 billion Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan is an example of an intermittent fast. During Ramadan, observers eat only between nightfall and sunrise.

Intermittent Fasting: how do you do it?

There are a couple primary ways to do intermittent fasting for weight loss (religious overtones aside). First, is a calorie restriction diet. And it works like this: 2-4 days a week, you eat way less calories than you usually do. For example, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you restrict your intake to about 500 calories. This method (alternate day fasting) is gaining in popularity. But there’s another method of IF that I prefer….

Before discussing what the second kind of intermittent fast is, let me get this out of the way first. Intermittent fasting is not starvation. When some people hear “fasting” they equate it with food abstinence. As a certified nutritional therapist, I consider starving yourself of vital nutrients just to lose a couple pounds (say, to squeeze into a wedding dress) the worst thing you can do for your health.

And let me just also add that this second type of intermittent fasting, which I’m about to describe, I’ve seen first hand how well it works.

My husband, Brandon, is a IF guinea pig. Intrigued by it, Brandon has been doing intermittent fasting for over a year now. I gotta say I think I’ve fallen back in love with him (don’t worry, babe; I didn’t really ever fall out of love with you). His abs are now like a Greek statue; his slight fast food belly melted away.

Intermittent fasting: time-restricted feeding

The second kind of intermittent fasting, the protocol that’s really benefited Brandon and lots more people, is called “time-restricted feeding (TRF).”

And it works like this. At first, you only eat during a 12-hour window. It really doesn’t matter when. This is one reason why Brandon and lots of others love intermittent fasting. You’re probably familiar with one of the golden rules of nutrition that you shouldn’t eat late at night. Well, with TRF, you throw that theory out the window.

Eventually, with TRF, say, after a week or two, you narrow your eating window to 10 hours. Do the simple math and that means you’re fasting for 14 hours. Then, after another week or two, you narrow the eating window by two more hours. That means you’re only eating during an 8-hour window, say, from 12 noon to 8 p.m.

The best part about TRF is that you’re not really restricting your calorie intake. Although, to be sure, your belly will shrink after fasting for 16 hours. Therefore, you’re not going to want to break your fast with a huge serving of steak and eggs. (Keep reading for tips on how to break your fast.)

But how does fasting for 16 hours a day benefit your health and help you lose weight? And get washboard abs like Brandon?

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Studies like this one (and this one) show that IF normalizes (reduces) the amount of fat you have in your blood. In addition, IF controls your blood sugar, increases insulin sensitivity (a good thing) and even decreases blood pressure. Moreover, intermittent fasting reduces inflammation in the body. Most importantly if you’re trying to lose weight, IF reduces body fat. And here’s the best part: studies show that it takes just 8 weeks for these benefits to manifest. (For hubby, Brandon, it was even less.)

And here are some other benefits of IF, according to research. University of California, Berkeley researchers suggest it can reduce your risk of cancer. Also, when you fast for 16 hours, it might help activate genes in your DNA that help you live longer.

To remind you, intermittent fasting isn’t really a diet, within reason, of course. You’re not going to reap the benefits of intermittent fasting if you eat lots of junk food during the 8-hour eating window. But because you can more or less continue to eat the foods you love without restricting your calories, lots of people are able to stick to IF for a long time. In fact, this study concludes, “an IF protocol has been shown to produce higher compliance.”

Anecdotal evidence doesn’t mean squat to scientists and certain consumers who need proof that something works. All I can tell you is that Brandon swears that he has more energy and is able to focus better, for longer periods of time.

Intermittent Fasting: how to break your fast

I cringe every time I hear or read about this. Allow me to explain. Every now and then, I’ll read a Facebook post. It goes a little something like this…. “So excited to start my 7-Day Cleanse and purge those toxins. One last naughty meal at the Jack In the Box before I officially start.”

Argh! No! No! You can’t eat like crap (pardon my potty mouth) right before you do a cleanse or an even longer 21 Day Detox. Absolutely not. You’ll set yourself up for nasty detox symptoms like a killer headache.

The same goes for breaking your fast. After you fast for 16 hours, the last thing your body needs (and wants) is junk food. Eating junk after fasting will negate much of the benefits of intermittent fasting (including activating human growth hormone [HGH], which helps you burn fat).

What your body needs to break the fast is a nutrient-dense drink, which will resupply your body with vitamins and minerals. Organic Green Drink is the perfect thing for breaking the fast.

What to Drink In the Morning So You Don’t Break Your Fast

As I previously state, your belly will shrink after fasting for 16 hours. (Don’t worry, it takes very little time to get used to going this long without eating. Plus, you’ll feel very energetic because your hormone levels will be more balanced.)

Thus, you’re not going to feel like breaking your fast with a big meal anyway. Keep in mind, though, that if your fasting window is 8 p.m. to noon, you can’t have any Green Drink before noon. That’s because Green Drink contains calories. So you’d be breaking your fast.

There are some non-caloric things you can have in the morning to keep you going. Brandon likes to have some black coffee. I don’t recommend adding non-caloric sweetener. That’s because it may trigger cravings for calories. That being said, add Stevia or Monk Fruit Extract if you can’t stand the taste of black coffee and need to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Another popular drink that won’t break your fast that’s been making the rounds in intermittent fasting circles combines the following ingredients: Himalayan sea salt, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, and cream of tartar. The ingredients in this bizarre concoction all have a purpose.

The sea salt provides you with trace minerals, which are essential for everything your body does. The apple cider vinegar helps your body absorbs these trace minerals. Also important is that the vinegar helps stabilize your blood sugars. This helps you stick with the fast. Next, the cream of tartar is very high in potassium, which also will help you fast for a full 16 hours. The lime juice is optional but the reason it’s added is it may help aid the body in detoxification.

Intermittent fasting: how to get started

If you’re ready to give IF a try, it’s really simple. For the first week, pick an equal 12-hour fasting/eating window. For example, eat between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. A week later, try to extend your fast time by two hours. Then, a week after that, bump it up to a 16 hour fast. And don’t forget to break your fast with some Green Drink.