So let's look at intermittent fasting in more detail. I just want to recap a little bit before we go into intermittent fasting. from a previous lecture, we learned that glucagon is our fasting hormone. It's released by the pancreas to manage our energy when we are not eating. glucagon reduces stored glycogen from the liver and it's used as a fuel. And this allows some space in the liver for re storage at our next meal.
In addition, glucagon triggers fat burning, which of course we want. And this means that the fat that's released is also beginning going to become a source of fuel. Exercise increases the muscles demand for fuel. And when glucagon releases fat, if we have no insulin, then the masters are going to burn that fat directly. So two important points just to remind yourself to burn fat. The body needs glucagon and not insulin, and exercising in a fasting state will result in the muscles burning fat.
Now, if we look at intermittent fasting, and how to do intermittent fasting, your insulin levels drop about three hours after a meal. So to benefit from the glucagon fat burning, you need about four to five hours between meals, sometimes six hours. And we have covered this point earlier. But what you want to watch want to do to maximize the fasting benefit without stressing the body or going into a starvation mode is manage this process properly. And the easiest way to do this is to fast over your sleep time. This is going to accelerate your fat Burning and re sensitize yourself to insulin.
Because over your sleep time, you've got no food coming in, there's no insulin flowing out. And with no insulin flowing out, your body has time for those membranes to resynthesize. And because you're sleeping for most of the time, your body's not going to be stressed. And shortfalls, even up to three days do not lower your metabolic rate. And we'll just discuss the metabolic cycle shortly. So during a short fast, you available energy is put to use healing and repairing instead of being used in the energy draining activity of digestion and assimilation of food.
Plus, a short, short fast allows our fat regulating hormones and opportunity to balance art and it gives glucagon an opportunity to accelerate fat burning and human growth. is another human that is affected by fasting. Birth eating and insulin suppress the release of human growth hormone. And why do we want human growth hormone for weight loss growth hormone elevates the metabolic rate. So you burn more calories, shorter fast, increase the release of human growth hormone up to six times and exercising in a fasting state resulting in an even greater increase of human growth hormone. So, examples of short term fasting you can do it several ways you can either do daily each normally that you have dinner early, and then you eat breakfast a bit later on the next day.
This allows for approximately 14 hours from eating one meal on the one day two eating another meal on the next day. Alternatively, you can eat breakfast normal time so early, and lunch, but then skip dinner in tiny. So you stop eating after lunch. This will also allow 14 to 18 hour fasting if you eat. In fact, even better, if you can eat breakfast and lunch, you skip dinner, and then just push out your breakfast a little bit. On the next day it will allow a very nice long period with these no food coming in, and therefore these no insulin, baiting the cells.
Alternatively, on a weekly basis, or even a bi weekly basis, you can eat breakfast with skip lunch and dinner and then eat breakfast again the next day. This will allow 24 hours between eating or after a long period of no insulin so your body in your cells can be sensitized. Or you can eat breakfast and lunch. But skip dinner and breakfast the next day. This also allows for 24 hours when just needs frequent periodic times, with these no incident bathing themselves.