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Hey guys, Dr. Brabottal. Hope you're all doing well and thanks for joining me today.
Now, if you've been using intermittent fasting to help out with your hypothyroid symptoms, you may have noticed an improvement in your weight and also some of your metabolic markers on your labs. But there could still be some things that you could modify or change to help you improve the results you're getting from your intermittent fasting. So, in today's video, I'm going to go over some of the advanced strategies that I use with my patients and also different tips that will allow you to be successful with them. And of course, if you like this kind of information, don't forget to click on the subscribe button and also ring the bell. I post new videos every single Thursday. And if you enjoy learning about different ways that you can naturally support your Hashimoto's and low thyroid symptoms, you're in the right place.
Now, to start off, I would usually begin these videos with an explanation for who intermittent fasting would be good for and who it wouldn't be good for. Because just like with any different type of health strategy out there, there's going to be certain people that these types of approaches are a better fit for. But most time, people just want me to jump into the strategies. So, we're going to do that and then I'm going to leave the rest of that explanation for the end. But I will say that fasting isn't for everyone. And if you find that it's something you struggle with, it might not be for you at this time. But that doesn't mean that you can't have success and still move towards your health goals.
Additionally, if you're relatively new to intermittent fasting and you don't necessarily want to jump into the deep end with some of these more advanced techniques, I'll link for you right up here in the cards above my previous video on the topic, which takes people who are eating most of the day and gets them down to a 12-hour eating window and shows how they can then advance that to where they're only eating eight hours per day and fasting for 16. It's a good place to start and really covers a lot of the basics that you might not be familiar with.
But if you're sitting there nodding your head saying, "Yes, Dr. Brad, I've heard all this before," let's move on to some of those more advanced techniques. And in my clinic, I like to use a 24-hour fast, a 48-hour fast, and also back-to-back 24-hour fast and back-to-back 48-hour fasts. Yes, these are a bit longer than what most people might be doing, but that's also why they're the advanced techniques and why it's something that we should work towards and maybe not start out with. But if we approach them in the right way, then there's no reason why we can't be successful with them and use them as a long-term tool.
With the 24 and 48-hour fasts, you're going to abstain from food for that entire allotted amount of time. For the back-to-back 24s or 48s, then you're going to fast for 24 hours, then eat a single meal, then fast again for 24 hours. And the same goes for the back-to-back 48s. But although the concept is straightforward, getting there isn't always that easy. But that's where our tips come in.
And our first one is: Don't stress about the time of day that you decide to break your fast. Now, it's relatively common for people to debate whether you should skip your morning or your evening meal when you start out with intermittent fasting. And there's decent evidence on both sides of the fence. However, that becomes less of a problem when you're fasting for a day or two. But you still might be asking, "Should I start with breakfast or should I start and finish with dinner?"
Interestingly enough, when we look at the research, there isn't much research. But I have found some studies that talk about swing shift workers. And we do know that calories in the middle of the night can be detrimental to our long-term health. However, swing shift workers who keep their eating within a specific window of time may mitigate some of the negative effects that come along with that. What that says to me is, as long as we're following a standard protocol with our fasting, then whether we're eating in the morning or in the evening doesn't really matter. As a personal preference, I like to start off by having breakfast and then fasting until the next morning. The reason for doing so is if I am feeling a little bit more hungry, I'm spending that time asleep rather than awake and at work. However, if you want to change it up, I think that's totally fine and it's all up to your personal preference. Some people do like to finish with dinner because that's part of their day that they spend with their partner or their family and they don't want to skip out on that specific time. So, play around and test some different options, but in the end, just find the one that fits best for you.
Tip number two is: You need to eat properly. Now, a lot of times when people start fasting, they use it as an excuse to eat whatever they want during their eating window and then of course restrict during their fasting window. But I think this is the wrong way to go about it. And it perpetuates this whole diet culture myth of we have to restrict when we do something bad. Instead, if we really want to use fasting to not only help us lose weight but also support our overall health and thyroid function, then we need to make sure we're on top of it with our nutrition.
I know this might sound strange, but fasting should be relatively easy. And if it's not, we're probably doing something wrong. Sure, you're going to be a little bit hungry, but you shouldn't be super ravenous, symptomatic, or gnawing your coworker's arm off while you're trying to finish up the workday. To allow for that and avoid any potential reports of cannibalism to HR, you'll want to do two things. The first is that you want to follow a diet whenever you're eating that is anti-inflammatory, whole food-based, and also lower in carbohydrates. By choosing a nutrition plan that supports your physiology and really nourishes you and also cuts down on the carb intake, it allows you to more efficiently burn fat. And when you're fasting, not only will that help you to move the scale in the proper direction, but it will also allow you the energy that you need during that time without food.
And secondly, and this might be the most important tip of the day because it's the one I most often see people messing up, but before you fast, you're going to want to really increase your calorie intake and increase your portion size, especially on that meal that splits up the back-to-back 24 or the back-to-back 48. Again, a lot of people are tied to this idea of restriction. If they want to lose weight, then they need to restrict themselves. And if they're going to do fasting, then they don't want to mess it up by eating too much before. But nothing could be further from the truth. As long as you're having the right things, having a larger meal will only help your fast, not hinder it. I like to recommend to my patients that they get a bigger plate out than usual and include a lot of fatty meats or fish and also have some fibrous vegetables to go along with it. If you're still not convinced, then take a look at the research and you'll see that studies where calories were controlled and where people were allowed to eat as much as they wanted, both scenarios when combined with intermittent fasting allowed for weight loss over time. But based on my own experience with many of my patients, I assumed that one of those groups was having a real tough time getting through their fast and the other one not so much.
Tip number three is: No beverages except water during your 24 or 48-hour fast. Now, I know a lot of people are using coffee or teas or other drinks to help them get through their fast and they've been successful with it. So, I'm not saying that it can't be done. But if you really want to take things to the next level, I think adding in some of these drinks introduces a factor that we really don't know how it will respond on an individual by individual basis. Well, it is true that coffee and some of these artificially sweetened drinks have minimal to no calories and therefore are less likely to influence our fuel levels in our bloodstream, things like our blood glucose and blood triglycerides. It's not always about the caloric effect of food, it's also about the hormonal effect of food. And it is possible that some of these beverages can increase our insulin levels. Our pancreas can release insulin in the anticipation of food. So, even though we're just tasting these drinks without any absorption of calories, that transient increase in insulin can put us into a state of storage and reduce the efficiency from which we burn fat. Again, I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm not saying you can't be successful having coffee with your fasts. But if we want to optimize all aspects of our physiology as we make this effort, I think the much better option is to just stick with water. And with that said, since one of our goals is to get our insulin levels lower, that way we can tap into some of those stored calories at a more efficient rate.
Tip number four is: To help mitigate any of the ill effects that can come along with that, which is add sodium. Yes, one of insulin's main functions is to help shuttle glucose from the bloodstream into our cells so it can be burned as energy or stored for later use. But insulin also helps to regulate our sodium levels. If our insulin levels start to dip lower, then we tend to lose more sodium. And that can lead to a few different symptoms. Sodium has a big influence on our fluid levels. And if we're losing sodium, then water tends to go with it. And when this happens, our blood pressure tends to drop. And we see a lot of blood pressure-related symptoms. So, people can feel more dizzy or light-headed, they can develop headaches, they can get brain fog, maybe your physical endurance isn't as good, and you'll notice feeling very cold in your feet and hands and potentially notice some muscle cramping. For obvious reasons, we would like to avoid these symptoms. And the way that we can do that is by adding sodium to our water or by taking it in capsule or tablet form. Taking two to three grams of sodium during your fast is a great place to start. But it wouldn't be unreasonable to need to bump that up to four to six grams per day, as long as you combine that with 80 ounces of water per day at a minimum. Keeping in mind, you may need to increase it based on demand, activity levels, body size, and the climate that you're in. Having that extra sodium will allow you to avoid some of those symptoms that we described. And also, it will help to reduce any potential increases in hunger that you might be experiencing.
And finally, tip number five is: Don't overdo it. Now, I know we've talked today about the benefits that could come along with these 24 and 48-hour fasts. But at the end of the day, they're just guidelines, they're not rules. And what your body is telling you should always have the final say. If you're feeling especially hungry or exhausted, then eat. There's no shame in that. And many times, there's external factors that are going on that are leading to you needing to adapt your plan and change the amount of hours that you're fasting. Things like stress, things like exercise, things like sleep can all change the way we process fuel and make it more difficult to have an extended fast.
Additionally, although many people will see benefits during their fasts like improved cognition, decreased inflammation, and better energy levels, we don't want to overdo our fasting. While 24 or 48-hour fasts can be done on a weekly basis, back-to-back 24s or 48s are better reserved for once or twice a month. We want to reap the benefits of fasting, not have it completely tear down our body. And that is something that's possible.
But as I said at the beginning of the video, fasting isn't for everyone. And for people with hypothyroidism, we have to be especially careful because adding additional stress when it's something that the body is not well prepared for can actually increase our symptoms when we're making an effort to try to decrease them. While some amount of hunger is going to be normal, if you start to get symptomatic before you get hungry, noticing things like migraines or headaches, big changes in emotionality or irritability, feeling completely exhausted and fatigued, or developing dizziness and nausea, then fasting probably isn't for you at this time.
Fasting can be great, but it's only one tool. And if it's not working for you, then we can look for other strategies to help you lose weight and also improve your symptoms. But if your body tolerates fasting well, and maybe it even feels a little bit better when you're fasting, then try out some of these advanced strategies. It might be just the thing you need to take your health to the next level and break through any barriers that you might be struggling with.
But I hope that you liked today's video. And if you have any questions or thoughts, leave them for me in the comments box below. Also, if you're tired of all the guesswork and you want to know what sort of strategies when it comes to intermittent fasting, diet, and lifestyle changes that you should be making to start improving your thyroid symptoms, you can always send me an email at contact@seattlethyroidhelp.com and we can get you set up with a free one-on-one consultation to see if we would be a good fit to work together.
Lastly, we talked today about sodium and how important it can be. And if you want some more guidance on the best ways to optimize your electrolytes, then make sure to grab my free download at the link in the description box below.
But that is all for now. I hope that you guys know how much that I love and appreciate you. And I hope that the information is continuing to be beneficial. But don't forget to do all the good things like and share the video if you enjoyed it. Subscribe to the channel if you haven't done so already. My name is Dr. Brabottal, and I'll see you all next Thursday.