Uncut Perspectives About Fasting & ISH

Get ready to celebrate as I express a heartfelt thank you for an incredible 1,505 podcast downloads milestone—your support has fueled this journey. As we share the excitement, we give a special nod to our top supporters from every corner of the globe, with a warm acknowledgment to Anitra from our fitness family for her vibrant contribution. This episode isn't just about numbers; it's about the connections we've built and the collective passion for wellness that binds us. We're diving into the practice of fasting, not just from a physical standpoint but as a holistic approach to health that can ignite your spiritual growth and mental well-being.

Ever wonder why some days you feel like you can conquer the world, while others leave you feeling less than your best? This episode could hold the key, as we explore the emotional and mental health benefits of mindful fasting. We'll tackle why understanding your personal 'why' can make all the difference in a successful fast and discuss how factors like blood type and metabolism play into tailoring your fasting experience. From the '16-8' method to the potential for reducing inflammation and resetting the immune system, we unpack the multitude of ways fasting can enrich your life. So, join us and discover how to approach fasting with intention, wisdom, and a dash of motivational energy to support your wellness odyssey.

Chapters

• 0:00 Positive Energy and Fasting
• 10:00 Perspectives on Mindful Fasting
• 22:54 Mental Health Benefits of Fasting

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:17

Nama 2D Slay 2. You, nama 2D Slay 2. All of you, okay, my friends, my family, my community, my supporters, my 2D fit boss, queen girl squad. Okay, girl gang. All right, listen, I hope that this podcast finds you in a positive state of mind, not only feeling your positive energy, but spreading positive energy all throughout the world. Okay, I am super stoked to be here, not only to share this episode with you, but I'm grateful for this podcast, to have this podcast, to have another channel to hopefully inspire you and impact your lives in a positive way. You know it leads to the best of my ability. Right, I'm sitting here with a smile on my face and I've mentioned this plenty times before and I've been hearing affirmations all right, at the beginning of this podcast. It fills my heart with joy. I just love hearing those words. I don't know about you, but I just love hearing those words. It excites me, it inspires me, it pumps me up. Okay, it encourages me and it just makes me feel good. Right, in today's world, we need all the positive energy that we can get. Maybe I'm just speaking for myself, I don't know. Okay, perfect, patty. Okay, but I will take all of the positive energy, affirmations, mantras. Okay, that I can get, because, now, what's that phrase that folks say, what they say now? That the life be life in? Okay, that's the style now. Yeah, because the life be life in right. Yes, because the life be life in all right.

Speaker 1: 3:39

Before I get into today's topic, today's episode, I always like to share the recent downloads for the 2D Fit and Ish podcast. Now, are you ready for this? Because I'm pumped. I've been excited, all right, as of today, I have 1,505 podcast downloads. Isn't that great? 1,505 podcast downloads. Okay, I am grateful. All right, thank you so much for your support, and I just have so many locations that are supporting me.

Speaker 1: 4:22

I wanna highlight the top five. You know, that's what I like to do. I would love to go down the list, okay, but listen to the top five. So number one is Fort Washington, maryland, and you know, listen, fort Washington. I am grateful and I appreciate this so much because you all know that's where my studio is. Okay, the hub, right, 2d Fit is in Fort Washington, maryland, and to have the support of the community, it means the world to me. So, thank you.

Speaker 1: 4:58

Number two Frankfurt, germany, germany. I see how you do. Okay, listen, I cannot express my gratitude enough. Thank you so much for the support. All right. Number three Waldorf, maryland, okay, right down the street from Fort Washington, maryland, listen, I'm grateful for you and thank you for your support. Number four Washington DC is in the house. All right, again, right around the corner from Fort Washington, listen, dc. Thank you, I appreciate your support. I'm grateful.

Speaker 1: 5:38

Number five Acakeek, maryland, right around the corner, okay, from the studio, from Fort Washington, maryland. I cannot express my gratitude enough. Thank you so much, acakeek. And then I have other locations as well. Okay, texas is on here, california. So again, thank you for your support. I am grateful. Above all, listen. I appreciate you being part of my mission and my vision, right, my mission of inspiring women, empowerment, self-confidence, self-love, sisterhood, all through not only the arts of fitness, but the 2D Fit and Ish podcast. And the vision is you, the vision is you, so thank you.

Speaker 1: 6:33

Now, while I'm on the topic of thank you and gratitude, before I get into today's podcast, I want to recognize one of my fitness sisters okay, one of my Zen queens, and her name is Anitra. Anitra, I know that you are listening and I want you to know that I am grateful for you. Thank you for sharing your energy, your positive energy as a whole. Listen y'all. I have a support page for this podcast, right, buy Me Coffee page. And every so often I see a pop-up from a supporter that treats me to a cup of coffee and it's Anitra. And when she does it, it just puts a smile on my face. Okay, I love coffee, black coffee, bougie coffee. Okay, I just love to drink coffee, but it's beyond that. You know just the fact that she takes time to support my page and support my classes and my workshops and my boot camps, and she always shares positive words of inspiration. She says that I inspire her, but the feedback that she provides inspires me to keep going. And so, anitra, I thank you for that. Thank you for sharing how my classes and my boot camps and workshops inspires your life. All right, and it is an honor to have you part of the 2D family, anitra. So I love you. Sis, wanna give you that shout out.

Speaker 1: 8:29

So let's get into today's topic. Y'all, today's topic is different and I'll tell you why. All right, now, if you look at the podcast titles okay, we have affirmations and ish, which is ooh, of course, you know. Okay, that is my favorite. And then another favorite of mine is living a purpose-driven life. Oh, I got deep with that one, okay, and then we had some popular episodes that follows.

Speaker 1: 9:05

But listen, today and I want you to pay attention to this one okay, today's topic is about fasting. It sparked from a question that I received not too long ago about intermittent fasting. Okay, and I shared my perspective with this phenomenal lady and I thought, hey, why not share my perspective on a podcast episode? Now, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Okay, all right, listen, there are and I know this, okay, there are a lot of resources out there about fasting, a lot of books, okay, a lot of ish that you can look up about fasting. All right, let's keep it 100, all right.

Speaker 1: 10:01

But I wanna share my perspective about fasting because what I find okay, listen to me, I'm gonna tell you some good stuff. All right, I want you to pay attention to this what I discovered is that there are a lot of folks out there. They get down and dirty with the fasting, but it's not successful because of the mindset. All right, I'm gonna tell you this right now because of the mindset. Or listen, or they get caught up in the copycat phase, right? Or in yoga, we call this. We call this astaya, right? Astaya is basically false identity, wanting to do something, or wanting to be someone else, or trying to keep up with the Jones, or basically doing ish because it is a fad, right? So when you think of those reasons alone, how successful, for whatever your reason is, how successful do you think your fast will be? If that's what you choose to do, okay, you can fast all day, all night long, all year long, if you want to.

Speaker 1: 11:32

Okay, but I hope that you would take my perspectives into consideration and you might be like well, hey, dawn, I disagree with that and that's fine. All right, that's why I have this podcast to share my perspective. If it inspires you, great. If you wanna do more research, than hey, that's your business. Okay, do you Buu? All right, I'm just giving you my perspective. Okay. Now, as I talk about fasting, I wanna remind you I am not a doctor, I am not a licensed dietitian. Okay, I want you to know that. All right, I am certified in fitness nutrition, okay, so in most cases, when I talk about nutrition, it is tailored towards your fitness goals.

Speaker 1: 12:35

Okay, but today, again, I wanna share this perspective about fasting, and this goes beyond weight loss and the body snatching. Okay, I'm gonna mention that, but let's just talk about it as a whole, right? So, the first thing, write this down on a piece of paper or make a mental note, sit down and ask yourself the true reason behind it. What is your why? That's a harsh word, right there. Okay, you know a lot of folks out there tired and irritated when someone asks their why, and I'm one of them. Okay, why, why, why, why, why? Well, why? Because that's what I wanna do. Okay, that's what I wanna do.

Speaker 1: 13:35

But if you think about it, right, you have to have some meaningful connection. Come on now, okay, listen. You have to have some type of meaningful connection behind not only fasting, but behind everything that you do. I don't know, I'm old school, okay, but I wholeheartedly feel that if you have some type of emotional connection behind what you are doing, you are more than likely to see it through, versus treating whatever your project is as just another thing. I mean, think about it. How many of you experience, or at least in the past, those roller coaster diets, right? Or a project that is unfinished? What about New Year's resolutions? What about a goal that perhaps you set for yourself five years ago and every year you say you're gonna do it, but hey, you know, you never see it through. Unfinished projects, you know? Ish like that. What is the emotional connection? I don't know. Maybe I'm just speaking for myself, okay, and so that's fine. Alright, I'll use myself as an example. Ain't no shame in my game, okay, but when I attach myself to something emotionally, I see it through to the best of my ability. It might take me three weeks, it might take me three months, okay, hell, it might take me three years, but I see it through because of the why behind it, and I have many stories to share on that topic alone, okay. But hey, that's not what we're talking about today.

Speaker 1: 15:57

Today we are talking about fasting and I ask you, okay, your reason behind wanting to fast. And if it's, if it's weight loss, great, okay. So you know from what I found? All right, I'm going to share some examples with you. One reason for a fast, okay, is for, you know, religious reasons. You know, some folks want to use that to get closer to God, right, you know, some folks, they feel liberated after a fast.

Speaker 1: 16:43

Some folks use fasting as a sacrifice to achieve greater things. Think about that, right. And then, another reason behind fasting is for health reasons. You know, for some folks, when they fast off a certain food or thing, it can help to reduce inflammation, right. It can possibly cleanse your organs and your insides, right? Toxic items Just think about this alone, okay, and I'm not even talking about body snatching, but, you know, think of, like the medication that some of us take throughout the years, right? So some folks use fasting as a way to remove toxic items out of the body, right? Here's another reason why, you know, for your skin, for your hair, cleaning or clearing out impurities out of the body, right, for certain illnesses, okay, think about it.

Speaker 1: 17:56

If you go to the doctor, you might find something out. You can't eat certain things anymore. You got to get it out of your system, okay, and you know what I read somewhere, actually, I read on the Forbes website, and I cannot remember the month, okay, but I know the year it was 2020. I do remember that, okay, but it was a phenomenal article on the Forbes website and they said that fasting is great for resetting the immune system, and I can see that. All right. And so let's talk about weight loss, right, and that's self-explanatory, really, okay.

Speaker 1: 18:40

But you know, in addition to the weight loss fasting while on a weight loss program. It can actually support your metabolism, believe it or not? Right? It can, especially if you consume food during peak times of the day. Because if you consume foods during peak times of the day, think about this thing. Okay, I'm giving you some good information right now. I want you to think about this. Right, it can increase your calorie burn. Think about this, because your body is already on 100, okay, so when your body is on 100, it's like you know you want more, more, more, more to eat to support this energy. As a result, possibly more calorie burn, right, and when you do that, when your metabolism is high, possibly you can burn more fat. Right, think about this and not only that. Think about your how do you say this? Your cognitive skills, right?

Speaker 1: 20:03

Some folks that fast and I've seen it certain times of the day, you know they say, oh, you know what, I can't cope, I'm just combobulated. You know I'm confused. Okay, I have to sit down. I'm tired and fatigued. Okay, maybe and I highlight maybe, because I'm not a doctor okay, I'm not going to go that way. Maybe get a physical, I don't know. Okay, but think about this. Maybe you're hungry. You know what I'm saying. Maybe you are hungry and your body is like, okay, feed me something, at least feed me some type of carb. Okay, you know a lot of folks ex out carbs, but carbs are important because it fuels your body to function. Right, healthy carbs. So think about all of that.

Speaker 1: 21:01

When you consider a fast diet or just fasting period and I'm not even going to go deep into the mental and emotional fast, you know, when I say mental and emotional fast, that reminds me of one of the limbs of yoga. Okay, in fact, the first limb of yoga llamas. They have a component. A llamas has a component called a paragraha, and we talk about this in the create your indestructible space yoga boot camp, right, so to break that ish down, basically, a paragraha is non attachment, right, not taken more than is needed. So don, why is this relevant? Because some just accumulate and pack on so much stuff that it causes a mental and emotional overload. Right, some folks are emotional eaters out there. Some folks, just you know, they can't eat two, three, four or five chips. They have to eat two, three bags of chips, okay, just taken on more than needed. So, with a paragraha which follows under the limbs of yoga, okay, specifically the first limb non attachment. Some folks have to fast to completely clean all of that out.

Speaker 1: 22:54

In other words, fasting from things that affect our emotional and mental health. Don, say it again no problem, fasting from things that affect our emotional and mental health. So sit back and think about this thing. Okay, keep it 100 with yourself. Who am I talking to? If I'm talking to you, say it right now, don, you're talking to me.

Speaker 1: 23:27

Maybe, if we consider fasting from things that affect our emotional and mental health, perhaps the weight loss would be easier. Come on now, don, right, maybe, and I'm highlighting maybe if you have some health issues, maybe that fast from the emotional and mental thing, okay, will improve the health issues. The chest pains, right. The anxiety? Come on now, okay.

Speaker 1: 24:10

Illnesses that you are confused about, because maybe you eat right, maybe you exercise, okay, but you still find yourself getting sick from something. Well, let me tell you this right here, okay, If no one ever told you before I'm getting riled up, now I'm getting excited, okay, let me tell you right now, all right, that stress is a silent killer and it can open up the door to so many other illnesses, okay, so again, let me ask you this all right, why are you fasting? Why Break it down? If you want it to be successful, let's break this thing down. What's the reason behind it? So listen, here are some things that I want you to consider.

Speaker 1: 25:00

Okay, and all of this is my perspective. You might agree to disagree. You know that's your business, okay, so listen, all right, whatever fast that you decide to do, I inspire you first to consider your daily schedule. All right, this is just some things for you to think about and consider. When you are more active during the day, okay, and I talked about that earlier. All right, make sure.

Speaker 1: 25:43

Here's the next thing. Make sure that you're not fasting for the wrong reasons. An example of that is you want to lose 200 pounds in one month. Or you want to get into this dress by Friday, so you're going to starve yourself all the way up to Friday so that you can get into this dress for one day, right? So don't do it for the wrong reasons. Okay, y'all, it's not healthy. Okay, you know, consider your food choices, but I want to mention this because I've seen some that said that they are fasting, but then, when they break fast, they eat a pizza or a cheeseburger or something that is not healthy. You see, if you fast, you still have to make healthy food choices.

Speaker 1: 26:49

All right, you know your blood type has a lot to do with it. Your metabolism, your genetics, your health conditions, your hormones, your lifestyle, your role at work, stress Many factors plays a role in the success of your fast, right, and I hope that you caught on to this already. But because someone else is doing it and it worked for them, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're gonna get the same results. Just off of what I said earlier, right, the lifestyle, the blood type, all of that Everybody dietary needs are different Because their lives are different. Everyone is unique, right? So you know, you can't have poor planning, you can't be inconsistent and you have to be about that life.

Speaker 1: 28:02

And when I say poor planning, again, you can't fast for a certain number of hours and then break your fast with some junk. You can't say, hey, you know what I'm gonna do this Monday through Thursday, but then Friday through Sunday I'm gonna go hard in a paint hand with whatever I want to do. If you're gonna do it, okay, be committed, be obedient to your fast and to whatever goal it is that you want to accomplish from this fast right. If you don't have a plan in place, you will set yourself up for failure, okay, and you know you could also incur new health problems, right. So, all in all, just make sure that you know what you are doing and do it right, okay, so that you can get the outcome that you want to accomplish.

Speaker 1: 29:11

You know, one of the other things that I observed is someone not having a plan in place after the fast right, sort of like a post-fasting plan, because you want to keep that lifestyle up. You know what I mean. You want to continue a balanced diet, right. So I hope that this is helpful and that this perspective, okay, is making you think about fasting as a whole, right. And whatever additional resources or books or websites or magazines or whatever, you know that you read, that you will consider everything that I've said, everything that I've said, right. So I'm gonna share with you how, like some fasts that are popular, okay.

Speaker 1: 30:18

So the first one is the first one is my favorite, and it's the breakfast. Yes, breakfast, you get it. Break that word down, break fast, okay. And you know, with the breakfast, we all know, okay, you go to bed at a certain time, your body fast while you sleep and when you wake up, you eat. And that, for me, that is my favorite, that is my go-to, because my days start early, my metabolism is on 100. My schedule is busy, so when I wake up in the morning after my workout, after my Zen practice, I have to fuel my body, okay, because when I leave that door, then it is on and popping, all right. So I need all the energy that I can get so that I can continue to inspire the ladies that I'm in touch with, right? So that's the first one.

Speaker 1: 31:22

Now the second one is and this one is the most popular one, in fact, you know, if I were to recommend a fast, it will be this one, and it is the 16-8 fast. Right, and I like this one because, in my opinion, if you organize this one right, you know it will support your peak times of the day, right? So I really do admire the 16-8 fast if you do it right. Okay, Basically, you choose eight hours to eat and the 16 hours you don't eat, right? So I imagine that the 16 hours would be during your down time, during your down times of the day. You know, as I said before, it is centered on the peak times of your day, right? You know this is easy to manage if you work at night. You see what I'm saying. So because, if you're going to do it, consider that one, but as always, I recommend consulting with your doctor. Okay, I'm just sharing our perspective.

Speaker 1: 32:37

This one I don't necessarily agree with, but it is the 24-hour fast, right, and that's when you just go hard in the paint. You know, everyone has their reasons. If your doctor tells you to do this, okay, do you boo? Okay, but yeah, the 24-hour fast, right. And then you have your liquid fast, and that's self-explanatory. And then you have your restrictive fast. So your restrictive fast is like giving up something, whether it's soda, whether it's if you find yourself eating fried foods all the time, you're like, okay, I'm going to give up fried foods, wine, okay. So restrictive fast is giving something up specifically, all right. And then there are the raw fruit and veggie fast that are out there as well, and some people like those. My thing about that, you know, on a fitness level and this is just my opinion protein is crucial, especially for your muscles. So, again, there are a lot of information out there about fasting.

Speaker 1: 34:01

So the purpose of this episode this right here, this episode is not to break down each fast, but to provide a fresh perspective so that you can choose the one that will work best for your situation, lifestyle goals, whatever that might be okay. That's the purpose behind me. Sharing this with you, okay, but listen, I want to share one more fast with you and in my opinion, this is the dada of them all honey, okay, listen. Boo boo, okay. Okay, listen, all right. This one is socha Done. What? Yes, socha, my Zen queens know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 1: 34:54

Okay, the second limb of yoga falls underneath yamas, right? So the yamas is basically how you live your life, right? The non-negotiables and the niyamas, basically, if I had to break it down, okay, it's basically the blueprint. Okay, now, listen, all right. And so if you participate in my yoga programs or come to class, you know I talk this all the time. All right, I break this ish down, right, but listen, okay. Now socha falls underneath yamas and I define SoCHA as purifying, cleaning, fresh perspective, gaining clarity.

Speaker 1: 35:49

So, when you think about cleaning, purifying, supporting a balanced emotional and mental health, what does that look like? What do you have to fast from? Is it a toxic friend? Social media, you know? Anything that is lingering in your psyche that's causing you to break down, right, I mean, if you clear those things out or work on it, think about how it will or could improve your concentration you know what I'm saying how your meditation sessions will be so much more powerful, how your journaling will become crystal clear, your awareness. So, again, in my opinion, that is the Dundada of all fasts, because if you have that pure, clean state of mind, think about what that can do For your liberation. Think about how that can impact your internal systems, right, any stress that is causing or could be causing pain in your body, hence lower back pains, chest pains, okay. Respiratory systems, digestive issues. Think about the focus that you will have for your weight loss goals and I'll take this up further Sustain your weight loss, keeping it going Right. And, to top it all off, think about how that can inspire a healthy emotional and mental well-being.

Speaker 1: 38:26

So, yeah, in my opinion, that's the Dundada of all fasts. Let me know if this was helpful. I mean, do your research. Okay, again, this is my perspective. All right, and I keep highlighting that because I want you to go to the dog that said, well, don't do the finish podcast at XYZ, no honey. Okay, no, don't, did not. All right, let's get that straight right now, okay, but let me know if this was helpful in any way. Okay, whether physical, I'm sorry. Whether physically and or, you know, emotionally, all right. And so if you need help with any of this, wherever you are, keep in mind that I do offer virtual coaching Okay, in person and virtual coaching Okay. I have a variety of Zen yoga programs in which I break ish down, okay, and you know, I have my community of ladies in my yellow diamond club in which we support one another with weight loss and sustaining the weight loss and healthy eating habits and just a healthy overall balance lifestyle as a whole.

Speaker 1: 39:52

Okay, listen, listen. I enjoyed sharing this with you. I really did, and I hope that you've got something from this, from this episode. Of course, you know I want to hear from you. I want to give you a shout out. If I inspired you in any way, okay, please don't hesitate to reach out. I appreciate, as always, your support. Please share this episode with anyone whom you think might benefit, and if you will subscribe to the 2d fit ish podcast, I would appreciate that.

Speaker 1: 40:38

Okay, and if you want to join my buy me coffee page, okay, there is a link somewhere in the show notes, okay, but you'll see it All right If you get your scroll on. Okay, but all in all, I appreciate you, I'm grateful for you and until next time. Please know that the bad ass slay in me recognizes the bad ass slay in you. Okay, oh, what someone asked for my Instagram handle. So my Instagram handle is 2d fit, ish. Okay, the number two, d as in dawn fit, f I, t I S H, that is my podcast Instagram handle. And if you want to check out the studio, hey, my Instagram handle for my studio, 2d fit, is 2d fit life, actually. Okay. So, yeah, stay in contact and I appreciate you until next time, peace.