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I'm experimenting with 2 exciting changes pertaining to fasting. Let's be clear, I've never fasted. I've recently been struggling with Hashimoto-induced weight gain, menopausal brain fog and hormonal mood swings. So, I've been experimenting with 2 small changes that have brought significant changes, time-restricted eating and intermittent fasting. It brought a lot of good into my life.

Whether you call it time-restricted eating, prolonged nighttime fasting or whatever. The theory is to delay the time you break your fast after sleeping. I call it time-restricted eating. I've been using this technique for about 6 months.

My eating window is 12 noon - 7pm. To put it simply, I break my fast at 12 noon and eat my last meal at 7pm. I don't eat before 12 or after 7. I started by postponing when I broke my fast when waking up. At first it was 9am, then 10am, then 11am, finally 12 noon. I spent a week with each one until I could easily break my fast at the 12 o'clock hour. I also reduced my intake of carbohydrates. That is important for me, because it reduces the amount of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, that is circulating in the blood. Now I'm in a place where I eat when it's time to eat. I rarely feel hungry.

There are so many benefits. My energy levels have increased dramatically and the brain fog is completely gone. The biggest change is how my hormones have leveled off. The depression is gone, the emotionality very steady. I haven't found a downside.

There was a challenge initially with social eating. The combination of restricting carbs and time windows meant I had to be a bit creative and my friends needed to be gracious enough to enjoy repetitive visits to the same restaurants so I knew my food choices were clean. The alcohol was difficult too. Who doesn't love a great glass of wine over a tasty lunch? I've decided to restrict my drinking to 2 days a week. That means during the week lunches are sans wine.

An important takeaway as you embark down this path...make sure you are eating good quantities of protein and high quality fats, that staves off the hunger. High quality protein and high quality fats.

Wild, large muscled fish. Pasture-raise tenderloin beef. Cage-free eggs. My good fats are from avocados and olives. I limit my carbohydrates to berries, onion, garlic, peppers and asparagus. I stopped eating chicken because there is no way to tell if it's even real or how it is raised. I've cut back dramatically on cheese, which is difficult for me, but for now I feel it's best.

The second change I've made is intermittent fasting. A lot of people confuse these time-restricted eating with intermittent fasting. With intermittent fasting, you cycle between eating and fasting periods. I have chosen to start by doing 1 24-hour fast per week. The idea is over time to be able to fast for 36 hours once a week. The benefits are surprisingly beneficial.

Fasting can cause autophagy. That is when your body cleans out old cells to make room for new healthy cells. It's purpose is to remove debris and self regulate your cells to optimal function. It's the best anti-aging system I have found. Allowing your body to create younger cells and shedding the older ones, improves your health dramatically.

Autophagy even removes dead or dying cells in the brain. Another tremendous plus is loose skin. So as I'm losing weight, my skin is reducing as well.

This is achieved with fasting and drinking tons of water. So, when your body is low on sugar through fasting or ketosis, it brings the positive stress that wakes up your body's survival repair mode.

The science varies on how long you need to fast to stimulate autophagy. Some think 24 hours is long enough, other believe is has to be 36-72 hours. I am starting on a 24 hour fast and will be increasing that to 36 hours. I'll hold that for a few months and see how I feel and if I notice the benefits.

Let me know if you've had experience with time restricted eating or fasting. I'd love to hear your story...

• Choose foods with very low glycemic index, foods that cause a small effect in blood sugar levels.

• If you want to track something, track your macros, proteins, fats and carbs. Suggested: 75% Fats; 20% Proteins; 5% Carbs.

• The increase in high quality fats regulate ghrelin levels, removing the feeling of hunger. Avocados, olives, olive oil, coconut oil are very good.

• Clean your environment. Have only keto foods in your house.

• Plan meals ahead of time. I shop and cook for the week on Monday. A crockpot for keto soup. My breakfast is eggs with onions and peppers with one avocado. Dinner is a small piece of tenderloin with grilled onions with garlic. And one avocado. My snacks are a bit of soup or olives.

• If you feel badly the first few days, make sure you are drinking lots of water, sodium and minerals like selenium and magnesium. Remember this is temporary. If you experience it at all, it lasts about 3-5 days.

If you peruse the internet, you'll find many potential health benefits of a keto diet. Some of the ones I found were:

• Improved weight loss

• Improves acne

• Reduction in digestive issues

• Reduces inflammatory issues like arthritis and swollen joints

• Increase in energy

• Better sleep

• Reduction of chronic pain

• May reduce risk of certain cancers

• Improves cholesterol levels, is heart-healthy.

• Is protective of brain function

• Can potentially reduce seizures (check with your doctor when beginning any new diet regimen.)