THIS Is Why Intermittent Fasting Never Worked For You | The Mel Robbins Podcast

(Clock Ticking) (Upbeat Music) Dr. Mindy is back, office hours are open, people. She is here to grab your hand and help you implement a fasting protocol that focuses on when you're eating for maximum health benefit. We are gonna dive deep, deep, deep, deep into the difference between fasting with men and fasting with women, because there is a profound difference, and this is not being talked about enough. And this stuff is so freaking cool. (upbeat music) Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins podcast. I am so excited that you're here. Welcome to this extraordinary master class and step-by-step guide into the science and the application of intermittent fasting into your life as a tool for healing and for improving your health. Now, we're about to jump into the step-by-step part and how you get started, and we're also going to talk about the different protocols for fasting for men and women and why this is extremely critical that you understand and follow. But for the sake of bringing everybody into the tent and so that we're all starting on the same page, if this is the first episode that you're listening to with me and Dr. Mindy Pelz about intermittent fasting, I want you to keep on listening, and I want to let you know that when you're done with this step-by-step guide on how to start and the protocols to follow and what you can expect, there is another resource for you. The episode just before this one is an in-depth analysis into the 101 of intermittent fasting and all the science and research. And so let me just summarize a few key takeaways so that we're all starting with the exact same information. Number one, intermittent fasting is a health protocol whereby you focus on periods of time where you're eating and periods of time where you are not eating. The purpose of intermittent fasting is to use periods of time where you are not eating to help you switch between the two different energy sources in your body. We learned all about this in part one from Dr. Mindy. You have an energy source that is all about sugar and calories and energy that happens when you eat, and then you have a second energy source that only turns on after an eight-hour period of not eating anything, and Dr. Mindy calls that your fat-burning energy source. And so what we learned is that you are designed to switch between these two cycles, kind of like how you have cycles of sleeping and cycles of being awake, you have a circadian rhythm cycle. If you're a woman, you have a menstrual cycle. The human body runs on cycles and rhythms, and your eating is no different, and fasting is a way for you to be very intentional not about what you eat, and that's why this is not a diet. Diets focus on what you eat. Fasting is a protocol that focuses on when you're eating for maximum health benefit, and so we covered all of that in the first master class. We also talked about the six different types of fasting, and just so you know, the six different types are just a matter of how long you are fasting for and the different health benefits and reasons why people fast for different periods of time. In this episode, we're gonna focus on the first type of fasting, which is what you've probably heard of, intermittent fasting, which is when you intentionally do not eat for between 12 and 16 hours. And just so that we're using the same kind of language, that means if you were to stop eating at 9:00 at night and then sleep through the night, sometime between 9:00 AM and noon is when you would have the first thing to eat, because that means that from 9:00 PM until 9:00 AM, you have been fasting for 12 hours. And when you fast for a minimum of 12 hours, you unlock really incredible health benefits. And so that's all you need to know, but you now know everything that you need in order to step into the step-by-step guide. And so here's what we're gonna cover. Dr. Mindy is back. Office hours are open, people. She is here to grab your hand and help you implement a fasting protocol today, and here's what we're gonna cover. We're gonna cover the four questions that you need to ask yourself to determine what type of fasting you want to do and why you're gonna do it. Second, we're gonna do a quick start guide. How do you get started? Like, seriously, how do you actually get started, and when should you start this? We're gonna talk about what you can expect when you try this for the first time, day one, day two, day three. We're gonna talk about what you can expect to experience in terms of results, and then, most importantly, we are gonna dive deep, deep, deep, deep into the difference between fasting with men and fasting with women, because there is a profound difference, and this is not being talked about enough, and we're gonna unpack that today, and you're gonna learn a lot, and this stuff is so freaking cool. And of course, we're gonna talk hacks and everything else. So without further ado, please help me welcome Dr. Mindy Pelz. You know her. You love her. She is an incredible expert about fasting and the benefits. So, Dr. Mindy, welcome back. Let's get started.Let's talk about how. So first, let's start with you, how do you fast, Dr. Mindy?