Find Your Lady Tribe

Revitalizing Your Midlife Experience with Strategic Eating Patterns

• Brenda Billings Ridgley • Season 3 • Episode 9

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Unlock the secrets to a life brimming with vitality and purpose as Brenda Ridgely and intermittent fasting sage Marisa Moon guide you through an empowering exploration of this longevity hack. Discover how Marisa harnessed her ADHD to master her mind and productivity with intermittent fasting, and how you too can navigate the mental and physical challenges of adopting this lifestyle, without battling cravings.

We delve deep into the emotional intricacies that tie our egos to our eating habits, confronting the realities of self-sabotage and the power of positive reinforcement. We connect Dr. David Sinclair's wise advice "Eat Less Often" as a longevity hack with our own experiences, crafting a new narrative of health and longevity.

Whether through the gradual embrace of intermittent fasting or geeking-out on the evolving science of autophagy, this episode equips you with the knowledge to make informed choices about your health. Step into a world of mindful eating and meaningful connections, where your path to wellness is as unique and diverse as the friendships that fuel your personal growth.
 
Connect with Marisa Moon:
Website: MarisaMoon.com 
Book - Not So Fast available on Amazon
Instagram: https://instagram.com/marisa_moon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarisaMoonWellness/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisa-moon-17207095/   
Free Download: The RESET Manual, a 26-page guide to gradually start intermittent fasting with long-term success - https://www.marisamoon.com/iffreedom

Connect with Brenda:
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Facebook

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Speaker 1:

Welcome back, beautiful souls, to another season of Find your Lady Tribe. My name is Brenda Ridgely, your host. You know there's a certain kind of magic that happens when women of a certain age come together. We've weathered some storms, discovered our strengths and are ready to tap into the wisdom we've accumulated to create our next big thing. This season we're diving deep into the wall spring of longevity. We'll explore how to nurture our minds, bodies and spirits so we can not only live longer but live vibrantly.

Speaker 1:

Whether you're dreaming of traveling, starting a creative pursuit, building an empire or even saving the world Yep, that's right, saving the world. This season is your guide to building the foundation for a life filled with purpose, joy and an unstoppable sense of self. So grab your cup of tea, settle in and get ready to be inspired. But before we get started, I want to remind you to subscribe. Give us a thumbs up if you're enjoying the show and share it with your fellow midlife goddesses. Together, let's create a wave of empowered women who are redefining what it means to age gracefully, powerfully and with a whole lot of Lady Tribe spirit.

Speaker 1:

Hello friends, welcome to Find your Lady Tribe.

Speaker 1:

This is a place where we connect together to our passions, our purpose and, most importantly, our tribe, our people, and this season is all about longevity, and I am really excited about the conversation today. To be honest, I've been kind of geeking out on this subject for a few years now, so there's always so much more to learn and new information, so I couldn't be more excited to be having a conversation today with Marisa Moon. Marisa is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, a Master Primal Health Coach and Intermittent Fasting Coach at Maramooncom, ranked as Google's number one intermittent fasting coach since 2018, marisa just published a number one new release and Amazon bestseller titled Not so Fast the smarter, more gradual approach to intermittent fasting benefits that last. Marisa is recognized as a leading expert in the fasting community, especially when it comes to flexible intermittent fasting strategies that work for real life. Through her relatable coaching style, marisa helps frustrated dieters put an end to the confusion about what's healthy and finally experience results. That last. Welcome, marisa, I'm so happy you're here today.

Speaker 2:

Hey, brenda, I'm super excited. I love the concept of your show and women our age, or maybe even of all ages after school. After school ages like we need help finding our tribe and prioritizing that. So it's so wonderful to be here.

Speaker 1:

Oh, thank you so much and, like I said, I kind of I have been a follower and practicer and we'll see if I'm really on track after we talk of intermittent fasting for years now and I just found it fascinating when I originally dove into it I don't know, it had to be 2018, I'm thinking and I thought, well, this kind of makes sense. You know, and I'm going to let you, the expert, kind of go into the reasons why, but just before we even get into that, would you share with us just a little bit more about you and why you do what you do?

Speaker 2:

Sure At first. I will just say that fasting, when I first heard about it, also made sense to me, but it didn't appeal to me. So anyone who's listening, who's thinking like intermittent fasting is not for me. I would like for you to know that we're going to talk about a lot of things, about health and your wellbeing. That is sometimes going to share a corner with intermittent fasting, and I really think you might be surprised at how effortless and rewarding it can be, which is what really happened to me as I found my way to it.

Speaker 2:

I found my way to it because I was struggling with ADHD. I was diagnosed in my late 20s, maybe 27 years old or so, and usually they're just like, hey, here's a prescription medication and figure it out, you know. And, being health-minded, I was like I don't really want to rely on medication, especially something that's like typically abused stimulant medications. Even though I don't have a history of like addictive behaviors and stuff, I still was like I want to do my best to optimize my brain however I can, and intermittent fasting is actually incredible for the brain. It allows your body to put resources and energy and blood flow to this really energy intensive center of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, and that's what we rely upon when we are trying to be productive, when we're trying to self-manage and crush it. In daily life, we need this to be firing properly. But if your digestion's impaired or your body, your brain is impaired. Quite honestly, in the ADHD brain we do have impairments, and so my brain is trying to prioritize this region that I'm demanding so much from, but I'm asking it to digest food when I should be getting my work done.

Speaker 2:

And so I found my way to it with that type of curiosity and, sure enough, it was immediately rewarding for me, and I'll explain why. Because for some women they can't just like jump into intermittent fasting, which is why I've created my method that's more gradual. But for me it came effortlessly and it was very obvious. Like I get more done when I'm fasting. And as soon as I break my fast, I want to check out For some women if they're used to eating all the time very frequently or high carb, high sugar diets. If they jump right in, they might feel starving or moody or distracted and thinking about food all the time. And so when I say it was effortless for me, it's because I was coming already from this like nutritious lifestyle. I was very like nutrition focused in my life because I had digestive problems that I was able to resolve once I learned more about my health and my needs.

Speaker 1:

Interesting Gosh. Yeah, that's a. I think a lot of us do what we do because of our own life experience and overcoming things, and you suggest that self-sabotage and an outdated self-image or inner narrative around healthy eating is really standing in the way of women making this change in a lasting way. Can you explain that a little bit?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So I just for everyone listening I sent Brenda some of the ideas that really mean a lot to me, that like resonate through the work that I do and self-sabotage shows up a lot, whether it's my client saying I self-sabotage all the time and like introducing themselves that way to me, or just having these conversations over and over during coaching calls where they feel ashamed that they're repeating old behaviors when they know better. I should do this but I'm self-sabotaging. And over over years of these experiences I was finally relieved of this sort of like conundrum that I faced as a coach when I heard a presenter at a conference describe self-sabotage as your subconscious mind's effort to keep you the same, based on an outdated self image that your ego is attached to. And so when we think about the ego you know the popular definition of the word is like pride you know we think of an ego we think of like a man you don't want to hurt his ego, kind of thing.

Speaker 2:

But when you get deeper into self-care and some Eastern philosophy and just the deep inner work, we realize the ego can attach to many things. It can be our identity, the role that we play in our house, the role that we play in our work, something we identify with as a personality trait. So the ego just attaches onto things. That is part of your self-identification, and when self-sabotage shows up, oftentimes it's because there is an outdated story that your ego is holding onto about who you are or how you relate to the world around you.

Speaker 2:

And so when it comes to healthy eating, we can unpack all of us can unpack like these interesting little threads that have woven this story that we now attach to so deeply. For instance, if your parents never cooked and everything was eaten out of a box, then of course your relationship with food is often going to be what's most convenient and what comes with a box. And if you don't like vegetables, maybe it's because you hated them when you were a little kid and there was this story you always said I hate vegetables, I don't eat vegetables, I hate vegetables. And that sticks with you, like you don't even really realize that you're doing it or that you have any control over it, or that you could be different than that person you always were. But imagine how that limits you from trying certain strategies, from allowing yourself out of your comfort zone and for pursuing something with the determination it requires to actually see results.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm very familiar with the ego and the voices and all that and I think it can almost. You talked about your upbringing and all that and how it can make you maybe fall into a similar path, but I think it can also make you do the opposite. My parents were kind of like in the fast food generation box foods for sure, and all that, what was easy and I'm like don't go there, not at all, because because of that upbringing yes, exactly you're like doing it to spite.

Speaker 2:

this is the situation. Yes, I do similar things like I don't like this trade about certain family members and I'm like I will be damned if I end up like that. So I will never, you know. So it's great that we can use it to empower ourselves, and sometimes just a simple reframe can make something that's been holding you back become empowering, and nutrition is a great way to start with that Like.

Speaker 2:

Let's say, you grew up with there's this term called an almond mom. An almond mom is like more popular now, more common now, where it's like your mom is all about health. That they're like constantly like criticizing what choices you're making about food or your body type and they're making you feel like nothing is healthy enough and you're never going to do good enough to meet their standards of what nutrition ideas they have about you and your family. So that can be really destructive to a young girl that's growing up and constantly thinking that you're being measured or assessed based on the choices you make around food can be really toxic. And so, let's say, you grow up with an almond mom but as an adult you're like I refuse to eat healthy, nutritious stuff because it just reminds me of my mom and that was so toxic. And so once you had the freedom to eat whatever you want, you were like I'm going to do whatever the hell I want because I'm not going to. You know, let her win and ultimately you can switch that story If it's no longer serving you and you start to see that it can be self-destructive. You can start to tweak that story Like I'm going to do healthy eating the right way. I'm going to do healthy eating in a way that shows self-love. Where I'm going to do, I'm going to find healthy foods that are actually awesome, instead of the stuff that sucked that my mom made us eat when we were growing up. So there can be reframes to like empower us for something that was once traumatic.

Speaker 2:

It's just difficult. You got to find the right support system to help you through that and you need to be patient and persistent. Oftentimes my clients will tell me they just need to be more consistent. I just need to be more consistent. I'm like, wouldn't that be nice? But let's just forget that and start being more persistent, because nothing in your daily life is consistent. For most of us, there's very few things that are consistent because there's so many other external influences that are going to derail our plans and our consistency, and there's so many internal things, too, that are going to derail that consistency. And there's so many internal things, too, that are going to derail that consistency. And so, instead of like constantly fighting the same battle over and over, getting mad at ourselves about it, we can decide to be determined and persist in our efforts to overcome these challenges, instead of expecting ourselves to miraculously become someone who is wildly consistent. For me, that will never happen.

Speaker 1:

Wow, that is a much better use of word. It's a more powerful word. Consistency just makes me think of. You know, I don't have what it takes to do it. I don't have. You know, I'm self-discipline. Thank you, the word I was looking for was discipline. I lack discipline. But if you flip that to persistent, it's just a pursuit of doing better. So I love that, thank you. Let's kind of move the conversation in the direction of fasting itself. Now, fasting is a what I believe is a huge longevity hack and I don't know if you're a follower of Dr David Sinclair that does all kinds of longevity studies, but he suggests just eat less often, not even less as much, but less often. And and I don't know that a lot of people would understand that Can you kind of just kind of give us a download of fasting and why it's good for us, especially in logic?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yes, so we are. As a culture in America, we have been misled for quite some time, for for generations, let's say. Now and I say that because so many authoritative organizations, including our US government, for instance, and leading dieticians and big name popular health enthusiasts or gurus have taught us first to fear fat and to count calories, then, to all along the way, to have carbohydrates as the base of our food pyramid and to fill up our plates with all different types of grains. And then, because of the consequences of that, these organizations then told us we need to start eating more frequently. In order to stabilize our blood sugar we and prevent obesity, we need to be eating more frequently. Has that worked? Has any of these solutions that these organizations have offered us worked? No, societally, we're getting more sick and we're gaining more weight and we're feeling more stuck, and I think that's why intermittent fasting is trending so wildly.

Speaker 2:

Intermittent fasting is a strategic way of eating, as a lifestyle, where you intentionally take a break from food long enough overnight to allow your body to enter a fasted state and spend time and energy doing other things besides breaking down your food. And when we were like evolutionarily in human history before the times of like machines and factories, the industrial revolution before the agricultural revolution, before we like settled down in societies. That's when these ancient, ancient times, that's when our biology was most influenced and last evolved, and so the reason that's really relevant in this conversation is because we need to start providing our bodies with expect like meeting the expectations our body has to give us good health, and those expectations are based on ancient, ancient factors that we no longer have in our environment. Now, food is always available. Food can be refrigerated or last on a shelf thanks to preservatives for freaking months. We can have access any time of day and someone can deliver it to our house.

Speaker 2:

There's a place in Chicago called Insomnia Cookies. After midnight they will deliver cookies warm, fresh baked cookies to your freaking house. Okay, you're bawling your eyes out, you're getting in a fight with your teenager, and then somebody just can come to your door with warm baked cookies. I mean, things have changed wildly and most of our food comes in packages and it's promoted to us. They, you know, they prey on our needs and our weaknesses, exploiting the things that we often are vulnerable to marketers. I mean, so they're making us think like this is going to help my family. This is a product that's packaged and says plant-based, or it says keto, and so it must be healthy, or this cereal says heart healthy, so it's got to be good for my kids and you can eat on the go.

Speaker 2:

Now you can do things at once Exactly Like that's the solution we need. So we've lost our way and, without intentionally taking breaks from eating, our body's no longer having this relationship with food and fasting that it's always had throughout history. So intentional breaks now are required, and at first that sounds crazy, like why, how and why would I take an intentional break? Like I'm hungry all the freaking time? Why would I do that? One of the most incredible benefits that you will experience early on, especially with a gradual approach like mine, is that you will be less hungry. It's so paradoxically strange that fasting actually makes you less hungry, but it does. We have plenty of research to show it. But I've also worked with hundreds of women and many men. To their shock and very pleasure, they were less hungry as soon as they started fasting with this method.

Speaker 2:

And that was it for me too. I will say, like I freaking love food. You guys, like I, absolutely love food. Brenda's like me too and I.

Speaker 2:

Food was always, always, always on my mind. Like I was the snacks in the purse girl. I was like have to eat, even after I finished eating. If you offer me food, I say yes, eating till I'm so uncomfortable I can't breathe, unbuttoning my pants, leaning back. I mean, it was just madness. That was my whole life and I didn't know there was really anything wrong with that until I found fasting and I realized how free I felt from being in the grips of my appetite for so long.

Speaker 2:

And that's something I want you to experience too, because a lot of us feel like we need self-control, self-discipline, willpower. You know all of these words, portion control, all of these things that we need to do to, like you know, wrestle something into the way it's supposed to be. But that is not what I teach. I do not expect that from you and I don't think you should expect that from yourself. So when you work your way gradually into intermittent fasting, you're training your mind and your body and your metabolic muscles for fasting. Okay, you're not jumping in and saying you know, good luck, start fasting 16 hours and just will your way through it.

Speaker 2:

I'm absolutely not, because what happens when people do that? A lot of different things can happen. First of all, you can get headaches and feel like crap. You can be nauseated. You can be a dizzy, short, short, um breath and have just zero desire to continue. You can quit before you've even experienced any of the benefits. You can be starving through the whole damn thing and then binge as soon as the window opens. Hangry, yes, you can be hangry, absolutely. You should never be hangry when you're intermittent, fasting appropriately for your current circumstances. And that's why we want to gradually train your body from where you're at starting there. And that's why we want to gradually train your body from where you're at starting there, gradually training you to adapt. That's what that's what all the benefits come from is your body adapting, and these adaptations are what promote longevity, if we do it right.

Speaker 1:

Hey, lady, just wanted to take a moment and interrupt right now in the middle of the show to ask you to subscribe. Yes, press that button right now, this middle of the show, to ask you to subscribe. Yes, press that button right now. This show is all about you, the midlife woman. Let's do this thing together, so join us, subscribe now.

Speaker 2:

So thinking about exercise, Brenda, if you were going to suddenly be inspired by a girlfriend in your tribe. She said let's run a marathon, Imagine that, but you don't run. Do you run at all right now, Brenda? I have been a runner. I have not been running recently.

Speaker 2:

Okay, and how long has it been since you last ran more than a mile? Probably six months, okay. Uh, probably six months, okay. So if you were going to train for this marathon and the marathon was starting four months from now and tomorrow's your first day of training, how many miles would you try and run?

Speaker 1:

I could probably start with two. Okay, let's start with two.

Speaker 2:

That sounds reasonable, considering you used to be a runner and you have ran six months ago. So why wouldn't you start with 10 miles? I mean, a marathon is what 23 miles? Why wouldn't you start with 10 miles? Don't you got to hurry up? It's in four months, injury.

Speaker 1:

Just I would hate it there's a lot of reasons, right.

Speaker 2:

Your body's not ready for that yet. It's an unreasonable expectation. And similarly, that's what we do with diets. We're like I'm just going to start keto, so like starting today even though I had an entire gallon of ice cream yesterday and all this bread and pasta starting today, I'm going to be keto and have zero carbs Like it is absolutely, relentlessly unreasonable. So I'm inviting all of you now to take incremental steps to work your way to explore intermittent fasting, and you can do that with my free method. It's called the reset method. Anybody can grab it at marisamooncom slash if freedom and it's the backbone of my book not so fast.

Speaker 2:

Theet method is designed to help anybody effortlessly start intermittent fasting and potentially turn that into a lifestyle they want to stick with. So RESET the word is an acronym where each letter of RESET describes a phase of training your body for fasting. So the R is reduce your carbs, the E is eat nourishing foods, s start with 12 hours, the next E is extend your fast and the T is thoughtfully adapt. So we won't get into thoughtfully adapt. We might touch on extend your fast, but reduce your carbs is a great place to start because at first people might be resistant to this idea of reducing their carbs because they immediately think I have to go keto or I can never have carbs again, or she's going to tell me to do something impossible or quit sugar altogether.

Speaker 2:

No again, we're going to gradually work your way into it, and that, for a lot of people who are not currently eating a low carb diet, is to start with less than 130 grams of carbs per day and go on a 21 day carb reduction journey. So you're just exploring what this is like. This is sort of like a self-assessment of how dependent am I on carbohydrates, because carbohydrates create this dependency on eating more frequently. That's why, as a society, we started eating and snacking every two to three hours, and that's why we get hangry. As soon as the carbohydrates are used up or put into storage, our body's like we need to get some more right now, because I am very uncomfortable with this blood sugar level being so low. So I want to refresh that for you and help you get back to your factory settings we're all born with, which is to go without carbs and instead use the fat that's on your body for energy. We store fat for that reason.

Speaker 1:

Right, and that energy shift of calorie usage or whatever feels a little different and it's an adjustment.

Speaker 2:

It is an adjustment. That's why we got to give ourselves some grace, meet ourselves where we're at and think about like that. That's why we start with 130 grams of carbs a day or less. First of all, if we're having like 150 grams of carbs or more, it's leading to unnecessary weight gain or inflammation in the bloodstream, which can be a cascade of effects on our health. And we want to think about what the body can naturally withstand, but without straining it too much, like we're removing too much carbs at one time, because if we remove too much at one time, you can get constipated, you can have headaches, you can get nausea, you can be starving all of those things we were talking about earlier. So you're gradually taking your time because you're going to have to think how do I make this meal without the two slices of bread? How do I make this meal without tortilla, without the rice, without the? You don't have to do that every meal. I always explain.

Speaker 2:

Just start with replacing it in one meal a day, because that's already going to probably put you under 130 grams of carbs a day. If you're not drinking sugary drinks. If you're drinking sugary drinks, maybe that's where we start. How do we cut out the sugary drinks first, and gradually, over these 21 days, work on reducing some of the excess carbs that we don't need, and all the while, you're starting with 12 hour fasts and eating more nourishing foods. So nourishing foods are the things that are going to take the place of those carbs, because you're taking these carbs out of your meal. What does that mean? You eat less food, not necessarily. No, it's just you're replacing them with something that's more nutritious, because your brain is going to send you signals like I'm satisfied. Finally, it's going to start doing that, and that's a good feeling.

Speaker 1:

Right, and that 12 hour mark is getting us close at least to the circadian rhythm, that's that two mile run you were doing. Yes, it's like, can I?

Speaker 2:

do the two miles. Can I do 12 hours? So this is like meeting you where you're at and doing this little self-assessment, like just getting real about your current situation, because for some people 12 hours is going to be hard for some people, but we know we can do it and we know it's safe and I would describe 12 hours as just a baseline. You know relationship with intermittent fasting that every adult should have if they care about their health. We need time, the body needs time to clean up our messes, to work on detoxification, to work on, like, repairing and reducing inflammation in other areas. But when you're eating or digesting food I mean nine organs are involved in digestion is extremely energy intensive and we need to provide our body this intermittent break daily that soon becomes so effortless. You don't even have to think about it, you just need to be willing to try.

Speaker 1:

Right, so then what's the next?

Speaker 2:

step. So once you start with 12 hours and you're reducing your carbs, you're gradually probably by week two or three most people are comfortable going under 100 grams of carbs a day. The closer we get to under 100 grams of carbs a day, the more effortless fasting is going to be for you to keep introducing. They work hand in hand. So you're trying to deplete your body of stored carbohydrates and make it look for fat to turn into energy instead. That's what we're trying to tap into. But this is a genetic switch, literally a metabolic switch that we need to instigate. That right now is a little rusty. I mean, your body is not used to doing that. For some people, these three weeks are going to be needed in order for them to go 13 hours, 14 hours, 15 hours fasting. So we're doing this all simultaneously because they really work together favorably. And it allows you to tap into ketosis. That's what happens when your body starts burning body fat. It allows you to tap into ketosis without eating a keto, low carb diet. It's a great way to find this like happy medium. That is very doable, and then you can customize it and thoughtfully adapt later, which is the T. You can thoughtfully adapt for circumstances or for your goals, to make it even more appropriate for what you're after the.

Speaker 2:

Extend your fast, though we didn't touch on which we should real quick, because you asked what comes after 12. Anytime you're comfortable, for four to seven days fasting at your current fasting window, we're going to call the 12 hours your fasting window. So from 7pm at night, let's say you finish dinner and you're willing to give up the nighttime snacking after seven, then boom, 7am, you're already ready to break your fast. I mean it's very doable for a lot of people, especially because our hunger hormones are the lowest in the morning. So let's say you try that for four days straight and 12 hours is really effortless, but you haven't tried it on the weekend yet. I'd say go a little longer, try it on the weekends too, because your circumstances are different, your schedule is different, temptations are different on the weekends. Is it easy on the weekends? If it is, it's time to go.

Speaker 2:

12 and a half hours, you might say I'll go 13. The reason I say half hour is better is because there's usually, like scheduling, things you need to consider. Like now you're going to try and break your fast, but it's when you have your first meeting in the morning, or you know you want to break your fast, but then by the time 12 o'clock comes, your 12 hours comes around you're. You're going to talk yourself into just breaking it now, cause what's the difference between 12, 12, 13 is too long. I'm going to do 12 and a half. She said so take your time going. There is what I'm saying. We really want to stay where you're at, comfortably, and once you're comfortable, you know it's time to move on to the next increment.

Speaker 1:

Right. So is there a goal number that you recommend that eventually you want to do that, practice this on a regular basis?

Speaker 2:

Well it, the goal is up to you as an individual, for several reasons. Number one are you trying to lose weight? If you're trying to lose body fat and your body is not currently at a healthy body fat percentage because I wanted to preface that by by saying you might want to lose 10 pounds, but your body is probably at a healthy weight right now, like there'll be women who are my size and they're like I really want to, just like you, lose this little extra love, handle or whatever and it's like you're at a healthy weight right now, like your body is going to fight you on that Right. But if you have excess fat to lose that is you know. Even your doctor would agree. Yes, it would be good if you lost some weight then fasting longer is usually a great solution for you. You just have to work your way up to it.

Speaker 2:

And if, if you want to get there as a woman, you have to take into consideration where you're at in your reproductive cycle of life and like which phase of reproductive menopause, perimenopause or fertility are you in currently at this age? And that's important because if you're getting your period, we need to factor in the delicate time leading up to the time you bleed every single month, known as your late luteal phase. Part two of your luteal phase, those seven days leading up to your period. That's when your body is most sensitive to stress. So we can't just be pushing 14, 16 hour fast during that week before your period, because your body's going to hold on to fat so, so hard and you're going to plateau and you're going to be starving and you're going to self-sabotage. And so there's a lot of like strategy involved, depending on where this woman is at in her life and what her goals are. Because the internet's going to tell you you need to do 16 hour daily fast, or you got to do OMAD. Or, if you have type two diabetes, it's going to say you got to do three hour fast, three day fast, excuse me, 72 hour fast. Yeah, your, your face is going like this because it's like dizzying how many things we would have to consider.

Speaker 2:

And so you need to take yourself into your own hands as your hobby. Your health needs to become your hobby. You need to think what do I need and what does my body need from me? You're in a reciprocal relationship with your body and we're asking so much from our friend, who is the body I'm asking so much from my body Give me more energy, make me thinner, make me less hungry, make me more self-disciplined, make me more happy. But we're not asking our body what it needs from us in return. Like any good friendship, we need to ask what am I doing to support this friendship and what do I need to feel loved and supported in return? And that's what our bodies are missing from us. If we don't just step into this role as, like someone who cares for our own health and make our health our hobby, it's always going to fall last on the priority list and you're never going to have time to just refresh your metabolism and get the results you truly want.

Speaker 1:

Marisa, let's talk just a little bit about taking it a little further for longevity purposes, and can you share, like I mean, I know that it's different for everyone, but there's some certain guidelines of when you hit ketosis and when you hit autophagy and then, and beyond that, when you're actually and what autophagy is. Can you talk about that a little?

Speaker 2:

bit Sure. So there's a lot of like, misconceptions or misinterpretations of some of these concepts, because a lot of the science is done on animals, first of all on rodents, and it's also done on when it's done on humans. It's done on humans who are not fat adapted, so who have not trained their body for fasting. They're suddenly thrown into a research study where they are told to fast 16 hours. Those are very different circumstances for someone that is training their body and they're also coming from all different types of diets et cetera. So autophagy is a complicated topic that we won't go deep into. But I will say that autophagy is always occurring at all times in our bodies. So that's one misconception that the fasting community has instilled in us, almost like you cannot achieve autophagy until you are 24 hours fasted. That is false. We can enhance autophagy every morning just in a 12-hour fast, just by introducing certain plant compounds like ginger or even creatine we can use, which is a compound for cellular energy. There's lots of ways to induce or enhance autophagy. Exercising during your fasting window enhances autophagy, even if you're only fasting for 12 hours. So the reason I don't like to hang my hat on this autophagy benefit of fasting is because there's a lot we don't know about autophagy yet, and the more they study autophagy, the more they realize they don't know. So, for instance, I'm someone who has always suffered from cold sores, ever since I was a kid, and cold sores are these unsightly blisters that occur on the outside of my mouth, and it happens when my body is the most stressed. Source is able to exploit the autophagy process and take advantage of the cell when it's in its most vulnerable state. I should pause here for the listeners.

Speaker 2:

Autophagy is your body's recycling processes that it uses to clean up old, junky cells and turn those components into usable. You know features for growing or surviving another cell. So it's like how can we take these parts from this cell and use it to nurture a new cell or start and grow something better? So autophagy in the case of this cold sore virus is the cells are breaking down the parts during autophagy and the virus says oh this is a great time for me to come in, because the cell right now is vulnerable, because it's being broken down by the systems, and so I'm going to infiltrate the cell right now as a virus and allow this as an opportunity to express myself as a cold sore, so when I have too much autophagy going on, I can induce a cold sore if it's not the right circumstances for me.

Speaker 2:

This can happen with certain tumors. We hear about autophagy breaking down tumors and fighting cancer, but can also help certain types propagate and exacerbate those undesirable conditions, and so we have to be careful about how much we're promoting something like that that we are just beginning to learn about. Everybody's experiencing autophagy every day. There are so many incredible benefits of it that we do know. I would just encourage you to optimize autophagy in your current circumstances instead of striving for a certain type of fast to achieve autophagy based on some arbitrary or premature conclusions on this complicated topic. Does that make sense?

Speaker 1:

I appreciate that. Yeah, I mean I was. I've been under the mindset that basically autophagy was that stress allowed the cell to actually pass away so that new cells could grow. It's probably very simplistic thinking and it helps. Newer cells are better for you, yes, and all that thinking and it helps.

Speaker 2:

Newer cells are better for you, yes, and all that it does. So that's it does do that Absolutely, and I I think that we can all tap into that beautiful benefit based on fasting for our current circumstances. So, like I have a couple of type two diabetic clients who are now comfortable doing the occasional 48 to 72 hour fast and they're doing them every month. Occasional 48 to 72 hour fast and they're doing them every month and this is important for them to really reverse their condition or to prevent loose, sagging skin. Thanks to autophagy, that is possible and they are ready to take it to that level and they're comfortable and feel amazing while they're doing it.

Speaker 2:

I always tell everyone that if you're not feeling better during your fast than you do outside of your fast, then you're not doing it right for your current circumstances. So that's a sign that you're doing it right. So they feel incredible when they're doing 50 hour fast or 72 hour fast. But you have somebody else who's kind of new to it. Try to do a 72 hour fast. You could see it on fasting documentaries or Gwyneth Paltrow's goop lab. She did an episode on doing the fasting, mimicking diet. She was like I'm starving the whole time. I'm so exhausted I'm like you're doing it wrong. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1:

Right, you should feel great, I think you're right. Marisa does a practice of sorts and you you can, if you want to say better, you get better at things, you practice yeah. He's going to get better at it too yeah, personally I'm pretty regularly do 16 and I try to hit 20 two or three times a week. That's just kind of my own personal goal and just the time I save on not preparing meals and eating.

Speaker 1:

I know me too it feels great. Do you have, do I does my stomach growl sometimes yeah, it sure does, yes, does, but I mean, I remember when I started at one point going oh my gosh, that is a real tummy growl Right. How many people haven't really had it been hungry?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, felt that Really hungry and how many of us thought that that is alarming, like that. That's really bad. Yeah, a hunger pang, which is what you're describing, or your tummy growling, is actually something very easy to cope with. And that which is what you're describing, or your tummy growling, is actually something very easy to cope with and that passes very quickly when you're fat adapted or adapted to fasting, like you are, and it's something you learn about yourself that we've rarely experienced, those of us who are fortunate enough to have never been starving. The only time we experienced it is when we're extremely irritable and saying I'm starving you know right, it's like it's a different type of starving.

Speaker 1:

Well, I just I've loved this conversation and I honestly could just keep you know, asking questions forever, but we, we can't. So tell us, can you, can you share just one, two, three, whatever you got easy in your pocket tips for someone to get started today?

Speaker 2:

Just move in that direction.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I will say that, depending on where you're at as a woman right now in your life cycle, it's one of the most beneficial things you can do for your health is to improve your insulin sensitivity, and that means you would have to reduce your carbohydrate intake to something more natural for the human body. So everybody listening can benefit from trying to bring your daily carbohydrate intake under 130 grams of carbs and thinking differently about your meals. What does a meal look like when it's not between those slices of bread or wrapped in a tortilla? You're going to be eating more things out of a bowl and with a fork and knife, and you're going to have to order differently at a restaurant, ask for something without the bun and start deciding between this or that.

Speaker 2:

Do I need the fries and the bun? Do I need the soda and the bun? I mean, those little things make such a huge difference. You're going to have an easier transition in perimenopause to menopause. You're going to have less PMS symptoms, you're going to sleep better, you're going to detoxify better, you're going to get sick less often, all because you're starting to eat a more reasonable amount of carbohydrates that your body can handle the demand for. So that's number one.

Speaker 1:

I love it, I love, I love that number, because to me that sounds like it's not that low carb threshold, it's just lower, just lower.

Speaker 2:

Yes, exactly, it's very reasonable. You can still have your cultural foods and your favorite foods. It's really just like we're not snacking on candy, I mean, unless it's literally like Halloween and that is a choice that means something to you. Candy is really just self-destructive and, unfortunately, wildly addicting, so it really doesn't belong. And and I will say that when when we think about 130 grams of carbs a day, for some women that can be like a number that just just can't wrap their head around or they don't like tracking this is what makes it easy when you're looking at how much carbs you're going to eat in one meal. Typically, that's pretty easy because it's on a package. Your rice comes in a package, your tortilla comes in a package, your bread comes in a package, and so I don't want you counting all your, your vegetables. Only ones you're counting are potatoes, really sweet potatoes. And then if you consider corn a vegetable, I'm sorry, it is not a vegetable, it is a grain, but yes, you would count the carbs on those, but everything else, really, you're just counting on a package.

Speaker 2:

What is the serving size that you ate and how many carbs are in the serving size that you actually ate? And I want you to keep that number under 40 grams of carbs. 40 grams is really the max that your body can meet the demand for with insulin safely in the two hour postprandial which means after you eat window. So your body can can process up to 40 grams of carbohydrates, really, no matter who you are, even if you were exercising. That's really like kind of like the limit of what we want for that safe two-hour window so that your blood sugar can come back down to our normal level and insulin isn't still being produced, which leads to insulin resistance, obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and so forth. So that's just an easier way to look at it. Are your meals, every meal, under 40 grams of carbs and avoiding sugary snacks, because how quickly would that add up, right?

Speaker 1:

Right, I love that per meal limit or goal or whatever you want to call it, because that really does make it more manageable. And yet the green vegetables yes, they have carbs, but you're saying you don't need to count those. No, you don't need to count those, and they're mostly but you're saying you don't need to count those.

Speaker 2:

No, you don't need to count those and they're mostly. Yeah, they're, because fiber is a carb. Fiber counts as a carb. So you're just going to confuse yourself and have to do net carbs, and then it's complicated. There's sugar, alcohols, there's allulose, now there's like all different things that make it complicated, and your body doesn't use all carbs the same way. It doesn't use all calories the same way, and so really, this is just about self discovery figuring out how you're going to start eating differently, what kind of ways you're going to shop differently, how your plate's going to look different and how you're going to feel different after that meal. The cravings you're going to have are going to change, and you're just nurturing your body in a new way, and it's just part of the self discovery process that's going to reward you along the way.

Speaker 1:

I love that, marisa. That's just fabulous information, thank you. So how do we find you and how do we find?

Speaker 2:

your book. Yeah, so Not so Fast is on Amazon. You can easily find that. I think it comes up right away. You can type Not so Fast, fasting book and I am at marisamooncom. Marisa is with one S, so even though it looks and sounds like Marisa, it's M-A-R-I-S-A. I'm on Instagram at Marisa underscore, moon underscore, and you can grab the free reset manual 26 page guide that started it all at Marisa mooncom, slash I-F freedom.

Speaker 1:

Yay, free gifts, we love free gifts.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for that Awesome All right my final question Marisa, how do you tribe?

Speaker 1:

Awesome, all right. My final question, marisa, how do you tribe?

Speaker 2:

Well, I like to have different groups of my tribe ladies for different purposes of self-fulfillment. I have my friends that live really close to me, that are local, and I have my friends that like to do wellness events and like health related events with me. And then I have my tribe of my girls that I've known the longest, that know me the deepest, that I like to go and do crazy fun things with and really like just express ourselves socially and go out dancing downtown in Chicago or go try new restaurants. And I think for me it has turned out to be important for me to have these like little individual tribes, because I don't want to have expectations for any of my friends to grow with me in new ways or grow into my interests as I do, but I also don't want to alienate myself because of these new interests. I want to feel nurtured in every aspect, and there's many sides to Marisa and so there should be many friends for all of those sides.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. I love that and, ladies, what? This is a great tip. You know, if you have an interest that you want to explore that your spouse doesn't, maybe even your current tribe doesn't, that's a great excuse to explore and find someone to do that with a go to a new group or whatever, and start making those connections, and that's what we're all about here. So exactly, marisa, what a pleasure it has been. When three or more gather, we are tribe Awesome.

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