I’ve been practising intermittent fasting based on my circadian rhythm for almost a year now. On most days, I have a 12-hour fast.  On some days, it’s only 10 hours of fast.  At our home, the kids and I eat our dinner very early. On some days, we have our dinner at 4 p.m. when the two older girls are back from school.  On other days, we have our dinner at 5ish p.m and other days latest by 7 p.m.  With a circadian rhythm fast, I don’t need to torture myself with not eating during my waking hours.  We stop eating by 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. and from that time until the next morning, we only drink plain water.  This is safe for bigger kids with no health issues.  My 3 daughters aged 11 years old, 14 years old and 16 years old are practising circadian rhythm intermittent fasting as well.  And the most surprising thing is that they do not complain of feeling hungry anymore when they wake up in the morning.  In view of their dinner time (between 4 – 7 p.m.) and recess time in school the next day (at 10 a.m.), my eldest and youngest daughters have more than 12 hours of fasting during school days.

During the building phase or the time when I’m allowed to eat, I eat what I want, in small portions, keeping to a low-carb low-sugar diet. When it comes to food, less is more. You don’t need to eat a lot even if you’re eating healthy food. Eating too much of anything, whether it’s fruits, nuts and seeds will still have negative consequences. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat. It’s pretty simple.

By aligning your food with your circadian rhythm, you can help maximize weight loss, energy, get better skin, get rejuvenated and see overall better health. And it’s proven. I now wake up at 4:30 a.m. on school days without the zombified feeling like I used to, though I only get 5 or 6 hours of sleep. And I have the energy to exercise an hour a day from 6:30 am till 7:30 am and then keep myself busy with house chores, chauffeuring, running errands, computer work and much more.

When it comes to eating healthy, most people talk about what’s on their plate, but not what’s on the clock. The latest science is showing that when we eat is as important as what we eat. That’s because our metabolism actually changes throughout the day because of our circadian rhythm (your body’s clock, which tells your body to do the right thing at the right time).

Eating out of sync with your circadian rhythm can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, being overweight and even cancer. But by aligning your food with your circadian rhythm, you can help maximize weight loss, energy and overall health.

How do you do it?

It all starts with the sun, which is what sets our circadian rhythm. That rhythm expects us to eat during the day when the sun is shining (because for long periods in past history we also didn’t have electricity and light bulbs) and fast during the night. In fact, some fascinating research has found that calories eaten in the morning might not actually count as much as those eaten at night. Human studies have shown that in dieters, people who eat most of their calories before 3 p.m. tend to lose more weight than people who eat most of their calories later.

Eat with the sun

Most of us typically eat over a 15-hour window. Instead, eat only when the sun is up, since this is when your body wants you to eat. Ideally, that’s 12 hours between your last meal of the day and the first of the next day.  This is a form of intermittent fasting, which appears to have important health benefits for longevity. If you can stretch this “fasting” window out to 14 or 16 hours, that’s even better. Since you’re asleep for most of it, it’s actually not that hard.

How can simply changing the times when you eat have such dramatic health benefits? According to new research, the secret lies in the effects of Intermittent Fasting (IF) and Time Restricted Feeding (TRF) on the body’s internal clocks.

Recently, IF as well as TRF have emerged as potential strategies for avoiding major dietary changes while achieving strong effects not just for one diseases risk factor but for an array of factors that constitutes the foundation for metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and possibly neurodegenerative diseases.

To see results in IF and TRF, there must be consistency in the time that it’s being carried out. Do not keep changing the frequency and time of the IF and TRF.  If you start at 6 p.m., stick to 6 p.m. and not have different times each day. Our biological clock aligns with nature – sunset and sunrise. Try to practise this for 5 days a week. You can have a break during the weekend, if you wish.

Jump start your health by embracing this simple 12-hour fast based on your circadian rhythm.  The number of fasting hours can be gradually increased to 13, 14, 15 and 16 hours based on how well your  body copes. If you are not hungry, extend the fast.  You don’t have to follow what other people are doing and stress yourself out. Every body is different. Stick to a number that your body feels comfortable with. On days that you use more brain power and energy, you can shorten the fast. On days that you are more sedentary, increase the fasting hours. Keep it simple. It’s not a game or a competition.  Listen to your body and follow an IF and TRF based on your own lifestyle. Do not compare with what other people are doing and make yourself miserable.

IF and TRF help tremendously with your digestive system and repair your cells more effectively. Our human body is not designed to break down food after 7 p.m.

IF and TRF are not an excuse to practise an unhealthy lifestyle. It does not mean that if you fast, you can binge, drink alcohol excessively and eat junk food. IF and TRF won’t work if you have an unhealthy lifestyle.  Fasting for longer hours of time to make up for your bad lifestyle does not work. You may stress your body even more.

Fasting is essential for everyone for better health.  If you’re new to IF and TRF, start with 10 hours based on your circadian rhythm and gradually increase the numbers. Listen to your body.  Have your dinner by sunset and break your fast at sun rise. Break your fast with water, fruits or dates followed by a simple breakfast.

Give this a try for a week and see how you feel — the results may surprise you!