Intermittent fasting, known as a “fad” by the many and an ancient healing necessity by the few. Whichever camp you fall into I am here today to hopefully save you the 10 years I went in the industry ignorant to this life-changing lifestyle and tell you exactly why you need to adopt it from now.
But first, let me ask you some questions…
- Do you struggle to wake up to your alarm in the morning??
- Do you unconsciously grab your breakfast at the station or the crappy bakery down the street from your salon??
- Do you rely on coffee or energy drinks to get you through the day??
- Do you crash halfway through the day and assume it’s thanks to the “3 pm dip” and fill up with yet more sugar?
- Do you see food as a way to fill a hole or as fuel??
Hopefully, somewhere in there I sparked something that got your attention. Perhaps you are the guy that walks in 5 minutes to your first client with a coffee and a pastry in hand at 8:30 in the morning still half asleep even though you’ve already over slept. Or perhaps you’re the snack queen. You love a snack in the staff room or in-between your clients, your salons next to an off license and if were to ask the shopkeeper right now he could pick out your daily purchases straight away. Who ever you are, I’ve been both of those and probably then some throughout my career. From rolling into work with a Greggs sausage roll in one hand and my hungover in the other as an assistant to 25 client days as a stylist to then country hoping as an educator – I will be the first stand up and say that my health and nutrition was last in line for priority.
In this post, I want to show you how I went from surviving amongst my success to thriving above and beyond my success in the hairdressing industry and how you can too.
What Is Intermittent Fasting??
Firstly, let’s clear up that intermittent fasting is not a diet. If it is going to be anything (without sounding horribly cliche) it’s a lifestyle.
Intermittent fasting in the simplest form is…
A set time frame where you eat and a set time frame where you fast consuming nothing but water reoccurring daily.
How Long Do You Fast For??
When you begin to dive into the world of fasting you will quickly realise that this is a “how long is a piece of string?” argument. But, to keep this post relatable I would always advise what is right for you, are your body type.
For instance, The fasting that works for me and my body and have found the biting point for where I perform at my best (because remember guys, the goal here is to enable us to perform at our best ) is from the hours of 7 pm – 10 am, a 15 hour fast.
The most popular studies I have learned from are recommending anything from 12 hours through to 16 hours (and beyond but thus begins to become territory I would advise you to seek your own research on )
“Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine explained that the liver stores glucose, which the body uses preferentially for energy before it turns to burning body fat. It takes 10 to 12 hours to use up the calories in the liver before a metabolic shift occurs to using stored fat. After meals, glucose is used for energy, and fat is stored in fat tissue, but during fasts, once glucose is depleted, fat is broken down and used for energy”
How my mind has simplified this…
If we want to begin to run on energy derived from fat then energy derived from sugar we need to leave at least 10-12 hours for our metabolism to begin to use up the existing calories in the liver.
SUGAR BURNING VS FAT BURNING
You can easily know if you’re a sugar burner: A few hours after you eat, you’re hungry again.
Extended periods of time between meals you feel tired or irritable and don’t understand why.
That’s because eating high carbohydrate foods raises blood sugar, which then triggers the hormone insulin to get released to bring blood sugar down by storing blood sugar as fat. When your blood sugar drops too low this causes you to crave more carbohydrates or sugar to raise your energy entering you into a vicious cycle. Sugar burners often feel cranky, tired, irritable, and constantly hungry.
By becoming a fat burner and rely on burning fat for energy, your blood sugar stays balanced and so does your energy level. When your body accesses and burns stored body fat this leads to weight loss, increased energy, and concentration. When you begin to burn fat you will feel satisfied longer, experience fewer cravings, and snack less.
What Are The Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting?
As mentioned before intermittent fasting has existed long before we millennials got hold of it. numerous studies throughout the years have continued to show the benefits this lifestyle has on the brain on the body. From the fight against cancer and Alzheimer’s, better sleep, stress reduction, lower blood pressure, and anti-ageing. I’m sure if I haven’t already I am beginning to sway you into this lifestyle choice. If you still need a little convincing below I have listed the 4 very relatable effects we can all benefit from as busy stylists.
- WEIGHT LOSS – Does dieting always fall second to your hectic days in the salon? leaving you no time to make conscious choices or plan ahead with your meals? By just fasting for 12 hours of your day you can begin on any weight loss journey you desire.
- INCREASED ENERGY – Increased energy, increased performance and productivity = better service and experience for your clients = client retention = increased income and appreciation for you as a stylist = goals hit.
- BOOST IMMUNE SYSTEM – In a world where your immune system is your best accessory. fasting has been shown to lower white blood cell counts, triggering the immune system to start producing new white blood cells, once you begin to eat again your stem cells kickback to replenish the cells that were recycled.
- IMPROVED BRAIN FUNCTION – Stimulation of BDNF, best described as your brain’s “growth hormone” this protein plays a major role in stimulating the growth of new brain cells and the performance of your existing neurons. By stimulating the production of BDNF you are accessing one of the best things you can do for your brain and body.
So, we’ve established what IF is, how we do it and why we should do it, let’s now see how to relate this to life in the salon. If you aren’t on shift until 9 pm most days in the week, then you’re one of the lucky ones. Hairdressing hours long and vary from day to day making sticking to a schedule slightly more difficult than if working a 9-5. The new morale to your story here is to be organised. I understand that not everyone reading this post may initially care for nutrition enough to add to your already long “to-do” list. BUT, once you get past that resistance and establish that your outer world (success, progression, productivity, creativity, health, and so on) is all the product of your inner world, you will begin to create the shift you need to implement this lifestyle as second nature. By getting organised this can simply be as little creating the awareness of what you eat and at the times you eat to then eventually getting set with meal prepping. Once you begin to feel and see the effects and the benefits you experience throughout your day I promise you that just the idea of not living this way will then be alien to you.
How Do I Get Started?
Getting Started doesn’t need to be scary. Simply begin by noticing your habits and one by one begin to shift them. Let’s start with breakfast…
Depending on your hours of fast, you will be re-adjusting to consuming that “most important meal of the day” between 10 am – 12 pm. By which point let’s be honest, your gonna be ready to eat but more importantly (depending on your shift) you will most likely be with a client.
To avoid hanger taking over when it’s time to break your fast (break-fast, get it?) I always have some kind of protein or oat bar in my kit bag ready to tide me over until lunch when I can enjoy a proper meal.
MY TOP TIP: MCT OIL COFFEE
By adding MCT oil to your morning coffee you will be setting yourself up for success for that home stretch to breaking fast. MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) is easily absorbed and transported throughout the body and in turn, becomes an instant source of energy. As MCT is a fat, by mixing this with your morning coffee you will sustain the injection of caffeine into the body resulting in a steady flow of energy and suppressed hunger throughout the morning.
I like to see lunch as my new most important meal of the day. Consuming a larger lunch will keep you going throughout the later part of your day, keeping snack temptations at bay and, not ravenous by the evening (leading to that after work binge we all know and love)
I understand that this method of lifestyle can get overshadowed by non-stop days in the salon. I’m sure there will be many days where all this goes out the window and you head to your favourite takeout at some point though out your day – and that’s fine! But to have the knowledge and experience of this daily ritual is what’s important. Even if you do not follow this every day, you know that when you do have a busy period coming up, or your traveling for your work, or striving for that promotion and you want to be on your A-game you have this tool that will set your body and brain up for achievement.
Many of my students and friends in the industry will have heard me recommend this podcast to establish a fasting routine, but in case you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing this episode yet urge you to head over to The Hair Game Podcast to go more in depth on why nutrition and fasting is every hairdresser’s superpower.
To Recap…
- Intermittent fasting simply means to eat in a certain time frame and fast in another time frame, daily (with exceptions)
- Fast between the hours that best suit you and your ability ranging from 12 – 16 hours.
- You can drink water, herbal tea, and black coffee during your fast
- When eating resumes stay away from high sugar and processed carbohydrates and instead consume balanced meals and high protein, low sugar snacks, and water.
- By leaving at least 12 hours after eating you allow your liver to use up all glucose from calories for energy and begin to burn fat
- By burning fat, you aid excess weight loss, increased energy, and concentration. Feeling Satisfied for longer, experience fewer cravings, and snacks less.
- Becoming organised by preparing and bringing health conscious meals to work with you is one way to get ahead and begin adopt fasting as part of your everyday routine.
Many of my students and friends in the industry will have heard me recommend this podcast to establish a fasting routine, but in case you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing this episode yet urge you to head over to The Hair Game Podcast to go more in depth on why nutrition and fasting is every hairdresser’s superpower.
That’s it guys, it was a long one today but as you can tell one I am very passionate about so I do hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. So tell me, will you give fasting a go? Or do you already fast and want to share your knowledge with me? Leave me a comment below as I would love to hear from you. Peace out until next time.
