What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is the practice of only eating during certain windows in order to fast for a number of days or hours. For some, that means eating a normal diet one day and then either fasting or only having one small meal the next day. For others, it means eating a normal diet five times a week and fasting two times a week, and for others still, and perhaps what's most common, it's only eating during an 8 hour window each day.
This can look like skipping breakfast and finishing dinner by 8pm, or skipping dinner and simply having breakfast and lunch. One of the great things about intermittent fasting is you can tailor it to your own lifestyle, and you don't even have to do the same thing every day. And the health benefits are pretty great, too. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, "Many things happen during intermittent fasting that can protect organs against chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, age-related neurodegenerative disorders, even inflammatory bowel disease and many cancer."
Why Does Cameron Diaz Intermittent Fast?
Diaz started intermittent fasting at age 49, when her daughter, Raddix, was two. She found that while balancing taking care of both herself and Raddix, she wasn't mindfully eating anymore. "I’m the mother of a two-year-old, so we’re both having a little of this and a little of that," she explained on Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop podcast back in 2022. This made her ask herself, "Do I need to be snacking as much as she is all day?”
So, she gave intermittent fasting a try, and at judging by her toned physique she's maintained since she turned 50, it's been working. "Doing a little reset kind of brings you back," she explained. Intermittent fasting incorporates aspects of intuitive eating, with just a little more structure for those that need it. "It helps you be more present at the moment," Diaz continued, "Staying aware of what you’re saying and what you’re doing."