" I'd never try any of this FASTING crap"

I too spoke those exact words until I read more into why you FAST.  If you think about it, we all do it every single night.  When you finish dinner, you don't eat anything (hopefully) for another 12 hours until breakfast.  That is FASTING.  Have you ever had certain blood work or a medical procedure done where you were told to not have anything to eat or drink after 9pm the previous night?  That is FASTING.  If you think about it, it becomes more psychological than physical.  The only reason you want something to eat when your FASTING is because you know your not supposed to.  Think of children (or some adults for that matter), you do just fine without something until you are told you CAN'T have it.  The same is true here.  We have to think of Nutrition's best practices on 4 levels:

• How much you eat (calories)
• What you eat (food selection)
• When you eat (food timing)
• How you eat (how long does it take you to finish a meal)

The first two are pretty easy even though not all of us follow the general guidelines.  "When you eat" is up to the individual.  I myself eat every 4-5 hours depending on whether or not I am working out that day and how long I will actually be awake that day.  I basically take the amount of time I will be awake and divide those hours by 5 and that is how often I am eating.  This is up to the individual.  As far as the last practice "How you eat", it's best to follow these two simple guidelines:

• Slow down your eating by 15-20 minutes and give yourself a moment to feel full
• Only eat until you are about 80% full (satisfied not stuffed)

I  myself will FAST for once a week (on a non-workout day) for the next month starting Monday and will journal my progress along the way.  I cannot very well advise my clients to try this without having tried it myself.  I have set some basic goals as to why I am trying this as well:

• I want to take my fitness to a new level
• I want to lose 10 pounds on FAT
• I want to support my training
• I want to feel good while "fasting"
• I want to stay healthy through the process

There are other fasting options but for the next month this will be the one I follow.  Stay tuned for updates, before and after pics and stats.  Feel free to join me in this quest...I am sure it will be a learning experience.