Hello and welcome to the Intermittent Fasting Gems with Jen Podcast.

I'm your host Jen, a middle-aged Michigan mama, wife, and teacher who

in 2021 stumbled upon this crazy cool thing called intermittent fasting.

And before I knew it.

I've lost 46 pounds in four months and gained an incredible lifestyle

filled with complete food freedom.

If you're hungry for unique, no nonsense fasting tips that actually

work, you're in the right place.

So whether you're walking the dog, folding that last load of laundry or cruising to

your nine to five, let's start fasting.

Our way to freedom together.

well, hello there, my fabulous fasting friends.

Welcome back.

Or if you're new, welcome to the Intermittent Fasting

Gems with Jen podcast.

Either way, I'm super glad that you're here with me today.

So have you ever wondered what in the heck is actually going on in our bodies

as we journey through our fasting window?

I know that for me, once I learned about the power of intermittent fasting.

I wanted to know all about it.

Uh, that's, that's the teacher in me too, I guess.

So in today's episode, we are going to go on a fun little field trip together

and explore hour by hour all of the wonderful things that are happening

inside our bodies as we make our way through a 24 hour fast for the day now.

Actually, this topic can get pretty sy and a bit complicated, but don't

worry, I'll be keeping things super simple and sticking to the elementary

teacher version of this whole process.

You know, like Miss Frizzle from the classic 1980s magic School bus videos, how

one teacher can take a super complicated science topic and turn it into a fun

and easy to understand field trip.

Cartoon is beyond me, but it's pretty darn awesome.

I love.

Miss Rizzo and I loved the Magic School bus videos and actually I teach,

uh, a high school health class and I started, showing them clips from certain

magic school bus science episodes.

And I gotta tell you, even though they're high schoolers, they absolutely love it.

And they say that it helps them understand the science concepts so

much better and it's super fun too.

So whether you are an experienced intermittent faster, who's curious about

the science of all this or maybe your new and considering possibly getting

started with IF soon, let's jump on the bus and get going on our field trip.

Today.

Alright.

Channeling my inner Miss Frizzle.

So let's imagine you've just finished your last bite of food for the day.

Hopefully it was a healthy, fat food like Greek yogurt so that

you can fast, easier, and longer.

Alright, so let's say it's 7:00 PM You've officially closed your eating window.

You've pushed.

Start fast on your watch or your phone or whatever intermittent

fasting tracking app you're using.

You're feeling satisfied and ready to take on your next 24 hour fast.

What happens next?

Okay.

Hours zero through four.

This is sometimes referred to as the Fed State.

This is right after you've eaten when your digestive system is working

really hard to break down your meal.

Think proteins, carbs and fats being broken down into smaller pieces

that your body can actually use.

At this time, your blood sugar levels rise as glucose from

those digested carbohydrates.

Enter the bloodstream and this prompts the pancreas to release insulin,

which is a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps regulate your blood

sugar levels by allowing your cells.

To use glucose for energy, so your cells are soaking up all those nutrients for

energy and muscle repair and storage.

You're basically running on energy from your last meal at this stage of the game.

The benefits of this stage include immediate energy availability.

And nutrient utilization.

At this time, you're probably feeling full and satisfied, and you may have a

temporary boost or a surge in energy and alertness as your blood sugar levels peak.

As we move into hours four through eight, your body starts

to shift gears this phase.

Is sometimes referred to as the post absorptive state, and that's

because by now your blood sugar is dropping back to normal and your

insulin levels are coming down too.

Your body starts tapping into its stored energy, mainly glycogen, which

is like your body's quick access energy stash stored in your liver.

Muscles, you're still at this point, you're still feeling pretty normal, maybe

even a little hungry, but nothing too dramatic is happening in your body yet.

Hours eight through 12 glycogen depletion begins, and this is

sometimes called glucogenesis.

Um, sometimes it's referred to as glucco neogenesis, which is the

metabolic process by which your body creates glucose from non.

Carbohydrate sources like fats and proteins, and this is where things

start to get really interesting between the eight and 12 hour mark.

And that's because your body's glycogen stores are beginning to run

low, especially if you haven't had a super carb heavy meal before, you're

fast, your body starts nudging you for food, like hello, hunger pains.

But this is also when your body starts to get creative.

It begins to break down stored fat for energy.

A process called.

Lipolysis or lipolysis.

I'm not exactly sure how to pronounce it, but L-I-P-O-L-Y-S-I-S.

Le, let's go with lipolysis.

This is the start of your body's transition from burning sugar.

To burning fat.

You uh, may have increased hunger at this time as the body signals the need for

energy, and you also might experience some mild fatigue as your body shifts

its energy production mechanisms.

Moving into hours 12 through hours 16.

This is the fat burning stage, and this is where the magic of

fasting really starts to kick in.

Especially as you approach hour 16, your insulin levels are nice and

low, and your body is officially switching over to burning fat for fuel.

I love that.

It's so awesome.

This is often called metabolic switching.

If you've heard of that metabolic switching, and

you might notice your hunger comes in waves, but you could also feel

surprisingly clearheaded and energetic during this phase, and that's

because your brain is starting to run on ketones, a byproduct of fat

breakdown, which can actually make you feel more focused and alert.

Alright, moving on to hours 16 through 20.

Ketosis deepens.

So as you move past the 16 hour mark, you are now in a much deeper state of ketosis.

Your body is breaking down even more fat and ketones are becoming

your brain's primary fuel source.

This is one reason why so many people report.

Mental clarity and a sense of calm during extended fasts.

Your digestive system is also getting a well-deserved break, which can help

with gut repair and reduce inflammation.

You might feel a little hungry.

Or have some cravings, but many people find that hunger actually

decreases as the fast goes on.

I know that happens with me.

And that's because your body is getting more efficient at using

fat for energy and your blood sugar levels are nice and steady.

In just a little side note, I really do think, especially if you are

older, like I am, that the 18 hour mark is the magical golden fasting

hour when it comes to weight loss.

I started my fasting journey with the most popular fasting method,

which is the 16 eight method.

I lost a few pounds right away, and then my results came.

To a screeching halt.

So I researched and I researched, and then I researched some more, and I kept hearing

that 18 hours was the magical fasting hour that I really needed to get to.

And so I switched to fasting for a minimum of 18 hours daily

and my weight loss results.

Improved almost immediately and dramatically whenever anybody like

comes to me and they're complaining and they're saying, Hey, my weight

loss has plateaued and I'm struggling to lose weight with fasting.

My first question to them is almost always, how many hours

are you fasting each day?

And if it's less than 18, I tell them to try bumping it up.

Um, of course, do it gradually, you know, bump it up 30 uh, minutes

every 2, 3, 4 days, but bump it up gradually to at least 18 hours a day.

It really works.

It's like flipping the magical fasting fat burning switch, in your body.

I know it has worked great for lots of people, including

my uncle Mark, who is 65.

He was a guest on my podcast several months ago.

It's episode.

Nine actually.

Once he made that small little tweak and switched from, uh, a 16 eight fasting

schedule to an 18 six schedule, he was able to, at 65 years old, lose his

stubborn belly fat, lose 12 pounds, and get down to his goal weight.

So.

Anyways, let's move on to hours 20 through 24 autophagy and cellular repair.

Now we are in basically the home stretch of this, 24 hour fasting period

By the time you hit 20 to 24 hours.

Your body is doing some serious housekeeping.

This is when a process called autophagy really ramps up such

a fun word to say autophagy.

Alright, it took me a while, but autophagy is like your body's

internal recycling program.

It breaks down old damaged cells and uses their parts to.

Build new, healthy ones.

This can help with everything from reducing inflammation in the body to

supporting longevity and even lowering your risk of certain chronic diseases.

Your growth hormone levels are also elevated at this phase,

which helps protect your muscles and supports fat burning.

If you're worried about losing muscle while fasting, your body is

actually working hard to preserve it, especially if you're staying active

and getting enough protein when you do eat, which is something I've talked

a lot about in previous episodes.

All right, so that is the simple breakdown of what is happening

during a 24 hour fasting period.

The first few hours are usually pretty easy, especially if you're

busy or distracted, or if you start at seven and the first few hours,

you know, not too long after you're gonna probably go be going to bed.

So.

Sleep is definitely a great distraction.

Hunger tends to peak around hours 12 to 16, but it often

comes in waves and then it fades.

You might notice you feel more focused, less bloated, and even

a little energized as your body switches to fat burning and ketones.

Some people experience a little irritability.

Or hanger, but staying hydrated, sipping on black coffee, tea, plain sparkling

mineral water, uh, I'm a huge fan of that.

And of course, keeping your mind occupied can really help a lot.

Taking an unflavored raw zero calorie electrolyte supplement like element.

Element that's, it's my favorite.

Uh, if taking one of those packets late into your fasting

window can really help too.

If you wanna learn more about how to fast, easier and longer, you can go back

and listen to episode 11 of this podcast.

And if you're tracking your nutrition, it's a great time to notice.

How your body responds to fasting and what works best for you.

If your regular schedule is 20 hours of fasting or less, I do

highly recommend throwing in a 24 hour fast every once in a while.

So why do people do this?

Um, a 24 hour fast can help.

Greatly with weight loss, improve insulin sensitivity, support cellular

repair, and give your digestive system a serious break that it so

desperately needs from time to time.

It's also a great way to practice mindful eating and kind of reset

your relationship with food.

Just remember, of course, fasting isn't for everyone.

And if you have any health conditions or concerns, you always wanna make

sure to check with your doctor first.

So here are a few quick tips for, um.

A successful 24 hour fast.

Of course, you wanna stay hydrated with plenty of water,

herbal tea, or black coffee.

Keep yourself busy plan activities, or work during your fast or sleep,

of course, part of, through part of it, to distract from hunger.

Listen to your body.

If you feel dizzy, weak, or unwell, it is okay to break your fast.

That's a big one.

And also break your fast, gently.

Check out episode number eight.

If you wanna learn about the eight best foods to break your intermittent

fast with, uh, safely and gently.

Alright, so we've reached the end of our fabulous field trip.

I hope you had fun.

I know I had fun.

Channeling my inner Miss Frizzle, from burning through your last meal.

Switching over to fat for fuel to deep cellular cleanup.

Your body is seriously doing amazing things every step of the way along

your fasting journey, and if you have stuck around and listened this far,

first of all, thank you so much, but I have a very big bonus tip for you.

So when I started, my fasting journey back in January of 2021, I began using the life

fasting app and I fell in love with it.

And unfortunately, it's been over a year now and that app is no longer available.

But, I think the new most popular question that I've gotten in the last

year has been, Jen, I need a, fasting tracking app that is like life because

I loved it so much, but also I need one.

That is free and still gets the job done.

I have an answer for you finally.

Uh, I've been using easy, fast, two words, easy, fast.

The icon is blue, blue with white lettering if you're looking for it.

I will also leave the link to that app.

They have a paid version, but.

In my opinion you don't need it.

I'll leave the link to that so you can, um, get that going to help you with your

fasting, and tracking and all of that.

So you can press start, you can track your fast.

It has a journal area where you can keep track of your weight, your water

intake, um, a bunch of other cool stuff.

Honestly, I. Keep it very simple.

I use it to track my fasting hours, um, and my weight, and that's

pretty much all I use it for.

But the one thing that is huge, the little thing that's big.

So it's the little things, uh, that makes this app very much like

the life app, which all of us.

Loved is, it has on the countdown tracker.

Um, it has the little pictures or the little icons that track where you are at.

What is happening in your body like we talked about today, um, along your fast.

So as you hit each kind of milestone into your fast every couple hours,

that little picture, that little icon lights up and lets you know that you

have reached that goal into your fast.

It's, I love it because I like play a little game with myself.

Okay, can I get to the fat burning mode?

Can I get here, can I get to autophagy?

Um, it's, it's a mind thing, but it totally works.

And that again, is something that we all loved about the Life app.

Um, but this app, easy, fast, has it along with a lot of other great

features that you can get for free.

So.

You can check that out.

Alright, we are wrapping things up.

So, if you want healthy, high protein, low carb, intermittent fasting recipes,

head to, the link on my website.

So what if with jen.com and just go to recipes at the top?

You will find over 150 recipes there.

And of course, if you want to get my intermittent fasting and weight loss.

Video Masterclass.

It's a six week video course.

You can do it when it works for you.

Be sure to use the code GEMS 10 at checkout GEMS 10 at checkout.

It'll save you 10 bucks and you can have the whole course

for and ever for just $39.

Um, and also it's nice because you get access to a special course email that

goes to me that I check every day and we can have personal conversations and

I can email you with help or, um, answer any questions that you might have as

you work your way through the course.

Alright, my fasting friends, that's all I got for you today, I hope.

You, enjoyed this episode of the Intermittent Fasting Gems with Jen, and

I'll catch up with you in the next one.

Have a super duper awesome day.

Hey, thank you so much for choosing to spend part of your day listening

to this episode of the Intermittent Fasting Gems with Jen podcast.

If you think these tips could help a friend or a family member, please

consider sharing this episode with them.

And if you really enjoyed the show, taking a minute or two

to leave a positive review.

Would be so appreciated.

Tune in for new 15 to 25 minute episodes released on the 10th,

20th, and 30th of each month.

Episodes will feature solo shows filled with if F hacks that

have worked for me, as well as episodes where I get to chat with.

Fun folks of all ages who've experienced incredible success

with intermittent fasting.

If you have questions or want more unique intermittent fasting health and

weight loss tips, tricks and recipes, please visit my website and blog at.

So what if with jen.com?

Finally, we'd love to welcome you into our free intermittent.

Fasting Facebook support group.

So what if with Jen?

Find all of these links in the show notes below.

And as always, I hope you spend your day loving without fear and

laughing until your cheeks hurt.