How to Prepare Your Body for Intermittent Fasting: A Nourishing, Gender-Aware, and Holistic Approach

Preparing your body for an intermittent fast can dramatically improve your results—physically, mentally, and emotionally. In this guide, I explore how to make fasting a truly supportive practice rather than an added stressor to your already busy biology. Whether you lean toward a protein-and-fat strategy or a plant-based, cleansing lead-in.

You’ll also discover how gender plays a role in metabolic responses, why hydration and adaptogenic herbs are non-negotiables, and how choosing the right prep method protects your nervous system and enhances detoxification. This is fasting for real women—with real lives, real bodies, and real goals.

NutritionLeanne de GrootMarch 31, 2025Fasting, Intermittent Fasting, preparing for your fast, Detoxification, Cleansing, HungerComment

Detox - Should We Really?

If your body is highly symptomatic and you are trying to regain some control, be mindful of the trap of perfectionism. Perfection and being 100% symptom-free 100% of the time is impossible, and that goal can add stress which becomes inflammatory and actually burdens our body and our liver. Tread softly with self-compassion as the goal is to improve our habits in a way that supports detoxification, without driving ourselves to obsession.

DetoxificationLeanne de GrootOctober 6, 2021holistic health, Liver health, Cleansing, Detoxification, Detox Cleansing, Health, NutritionComment

A Sticky Topic - Castor Oil

“When used properly, castor oil packs improve the function of your thymus gland and immune system by increasing lymphocyte production. Increased lymphocytes speed up the removal of toxins from your tissues, which promotes healing”

DetoxificationLeanne de GrootJune 28, 2021Castor oil, Digestion, Lympth, detox, Detoxification Comment

Infrared Sauna Therapy - Weight Loss & Body Composition

It is crucial that every individual man/women spends time in parasympathetic dominance. But perhaps the most demanding times are leading into winter (where are resistance to bugs needs to be top notch), in heavy training and high perceived stress periods and in peri-menopause and menopause, because these are predominantly times that invite the body to hang in survival mode. If we stay situated in this survival mode over extended periods of time, eventually disease ensues, exercise gains are difficult, hormonal benefits are lost, abdominal weight can creep up as the natural healing mechanisms of the body are not able to engage fully.

Leanne de GrootMarch 12, 2020Infrared sauna benefits, Anemia, Iron intake, women’s health, Hormones, Detoxification, Sauna, bio-hacking, Anti-fragileComment

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