ICYMI: June Fruit + Veg, Hydration, Fasting, and My Personal Foray Into Fasting
Before I knew anything about anything as a nutritionist
The Night fasting finally made sense (and the morning after)
I was standing in my kitchen at 10pm, staring into the fridge, when it hit me. Not hunger. Not boredom. Something different.
I realized I wasn’t looking for food. I was looking for a feeling. The feeling of control over the end of my day, the release valve on whatever stress was still humming, the ritual that said “we’re done now.”
For years, that ritual was eat-whatever-because-it’s-late-and-I’m-tired. A second dinner that wasn’t really dinner. Extra snacks I didn’t need. Portions that made sense in the moment and made me groggy in the morning.
But this month, I decided to experiment with fasting. Three types, to be exact: a 72-hour water fast, the Prolon fasting-mimicking kit, and 16:8 intermittent fasting.
My fasting experiments
The 72-hour fast was brutal. I had headaches the whole time and had to hide out in my room to avoid kitchen smells while my husband cooked. I lost about 6 pounds, but it was all water weight. And the allergy mechanisms I was trying to reset? They can actually get worse with mast cell activation, which fasting can trigger. Lesson learned: jumping in blind is not the way.
Next up: Prolon (the Fasting Mimicking Diet). I tried the 5-day kit first and hated it. Constant hunger, headaches, zero energy. Then the 1-day reset, which wasn’t as miserable but still spiked my blood sugar from the rice flour in the soups (CGM data doesn’t lie). Another lesson: packaged fasting kits don’t work for every body.
Finally, 16:8 intermittent fasting. This one clicked. With my summer sleep schedule, pushing breakfast to 10am was doable. And the benefits were real: lower fasting blood sugar, less bloating after travel days, and steadier mood and energy.
Here’s what I figured out, standing in my kitchen that night: fasting is about more than skipping breakfast. It’s about the emotional pull of food at the end of the day. The CGM data showed me the physical effects. But the real work was confronting the habit of soothing myself with late-night snacks.
Some nights still felt like a push. But waking up lighter, calmer, and more clear-headed? That was worth it.
→ My advice if you’re thinking about fasting: start slow, listen to your body, and be willing to experiment. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. It’s about finding what works for your life and your physiology. {The whole essay about how to try any of these out is linked below} 👇
In case you missed it, here’s what else went out this month:
Free Essays
| 20 Summer Foods to Reduce Inflammation | Why these seasonal picks are uniquely suited to calm summer inflammation spikes - and how to use them beyond salads.
20 Summer Foods that Decrease Inflammation in the Body
Summer is here, and it’s the perfect time to savor the flavors of the season with these 20 foods that reduce inflammation in the body.
| Better Bad Choices | How to navigate summer celebrations and travel without wrecking your progress or stressing over every bite.
Better Bad Choices: Anti-Inflammatory Edition
Growing up in the South, the concept of “eating healthy” wasn’t really part of the cultural vocabulary unless you had a specific reason to lose weight. Food was love, food was the centerpiece of every gathering, and the unspoken rule was that you showed up, you ate, and you didn’t make it weird.
If you’re an ✨Alchemist, here’s what landed in your inbox this month. If you’re not - here’s what you missed:
|Deep Dive #1: Hydration| Why most women are dehydrated in a way that makes blood sugar harder to manage in summer heat - and what actually helps.
Hydration Is a Blood Sugar Strategy: How to Stay Cool, Steady, and Less Inflamed This Summer
A few years ago, I started waking up in the middle of the night with vicious cramps in my feet. The kind that pull you straight out of sleep and have you hobbling around the bedroom at 2am. Around the same time, I started getting recurring UTIs. I figured they were unrelated annoyances. My doctor did not.
|Deep Dive #2: Fasting| - how fasting affects inflammation, blood sugar, gut health, and weight loss - and common mistakes that sabotage results.
The Three Types of Fasting (and the One Worth Trying This Summer)
Summer makes routines looser, which usually gets blamed for throwing healthy habits off track.
|Meal Plans:| Weekly anti-inflammatory plans for June - built around in-season produce, lighter proteins, gut-soothing recipes, and meals that hold up on the go.
|The Summer Reset Protocol + 90-Day Goal Session|
Summer Reset Protocol + 90-Day Goals Session
Every June, I used to walk into summer already running on fumes.
💎VIP Alchemists, here’s a recap of your June lineup:
Anti-Inflammatory Summer Moods + Foods: Lighten, Stabilize, Sustain
Here’s the mood. Here’s what we’re eating, sipping, simplifying, romanticizing, and refusing to drag into Summer.
And everything else in ✨Alchemy!
💎You also got the newly structured BEAT Inflammation framework with all workshops!
That’s what Alchemy + VIP look like. You can join us here:
✈️Coming in July: cookouts + travel. How to keep inflammation low and energy steady when you’re away from your usual routine - without a suitcase full of supplements. Stay tuned.
✨ Why upgrade to Alchemy? ✨
Every Friday: A done-for-you anti-inflammatory meal plan with shopping list and prep guide. No more Sunday decision fatigue.
2x/month: Deep dive essays that go further on inflammation, blood sugar, emotional eating, and real-life implementation than the free tier.
Every season: A full Seasonal Reset Protocol and 90-Day Goal Session to help you recalibrate before each new season instead of scrambling to catch up.
On arrival: The Anti-Inflammatory Starter Kit, yours the day you join.
For half a dollar a day, you get the full system in the ✨Alchemist Lab: weekly plans, seasonal resets, and a growing library of tools built for women who are done guessing and ready to build something sustainable.
About the Author
I’m Laura Brigance, MS, CHC, nutritionist, certified health coach, and the founder of TRUE-WELL and The Balanced Body Brief.
I built this brand because I lived the problem before I studied the solution. I’ve personally navigated chronic inflammation, blood sugar instability, cravings, emotional eating, and the exhausting gap between knowing what to eat and actually making it work. That lived experience, paired with a master’s in nutrition and more than a decade of coaching, is the foundation of everything I teach here.
The Balanced Body Brief is for women who are done with conflicting advice, restrictive diets, and wellness systems that fall apart the moment life gets messy.
The work is practical, research-informed, and built to hold up in real life —I would know, we have 4 kids and I’ve been a solo-parent with a husband traveling for work every week for the last 24 years.
Want to go deeper? Here’s where to start:
🌿 [Upgrade to ✨Alchemy] for weekly meal plans, deep dive essays, and seasonal reset protocols — the full anti-inflammatory system, delivered consistently.
🔬 [Join 💎VIP ✨Alchemy] for the complete BEAT Inflammation Framework, workshops, and advanced seasonal tools.
💬 Thanks so much for reading The Balanced Body Brief, and if this was useful, a like or comment helps more women find it. I read every one.