The new hot topic all health and wellness professionals are talking about is the benefits of intermittent fasting.
Don’t know what an intermittent fasting plan is?
No worries, we will explain all the ins and outs of eating periods and how to keep a balanced diet with healthy habits, so you can lose weight and keep it off.
Intermittent fasting is not a magic bullet. It’s to be followed with a healthy lifestyle and exercise in conjunction with the diet plan.
Always take into consideration any existing health conditions and talk to your doctor before starting any weight loss plan.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
First things first: What is intermittent fasting?
Well, it’s super simple, really. Intermittent fasting is a type of diet that involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting. Instead of eating three meals and two snacks per day, you restrict your food intake to two or three meals.
For some time now people have been doing intermittent fasting for various reasons including weight loss, increased energy, and improved mental clarity.
It’s when you purposefully go without food for a specific period of time. It involves eating on a schedule of fasting periods to help reduce body weight and aid in fat loss.
What are the benefits of Intermittent Fasting?
The science behind intermittent fasting makes perfect sense: When we eat food, our bodies use that food energy and burn calories. What’s left overturns stored energy (fat) if we don’t use it up.
This is where intermittent fasting comes in: When you eat, your body uses the food energy and burns it all.
What’s leftover ends up stored as fat…if you don’t use it up that is.
What would happen if you didn’t have any extra stored energy?
Your body would start digging into your muscle tissue for energy, and you definitely don’t want that.
Intermittent fasting helps keep your body from dipping into its stored energy reserves, so you won’t lose muscle mass.
What’s more, intermittent fasting can help improve your insulin sensitivity and make it easier to maintain a healthy weight in the long term.
What are the benefits of Intermittent Fasting?
- Weight loss
- Increased energy
- Improved mental clarity
- Improved insulin levels
Now that you know all about intermittent fasting, how do you actually do it? What are the guidelines?
What are the schedules? It can be confusing, but we will break it down for you.
How to Start
If you are brand new to intermittent fasting, start by gradually reducing the number of hours you eat each day. For example, if you usually eat three meals a day, try eating two meals and one snack instead.
Once your body becomes used to that routine, then reduce the number of meals to one per day. Once you are comfortable with that, then try an intermittent fasting schedule.
Intermittent Fasting Schedules
There are many different types of intermittent fasting schedules. What will work best for you depends on your lifestyle and personal preferences.
You may want to try a few different methods before finding the one that fits you best.
-The 16/8 Method: This is the most common type of intermittent fasting schedule. You fast for 16 hours and eat during an 8-hour eating window.
–The 5:2 Diet: On this diet, you eat normally five days a week and then restrict your calorie intake to 500-600 calories two days a week.
-The Eat-Stop-Eat Method: This is a 24 hour fast once or twice a week.
–The Alternate Day Diet: This diet involves eating 500 calories one day and then eating normally the next day.
-Remember to drink plenty of water and tea while fasting
-Avoid eating high-fat foods during your eating window
-Don’t gorge yourself after breaking your fast- eat slowly and enjoy your food
Intermittent fasting is a great way to lose weight and improve your health, but it’s not for everyone.
What’s important is that you find a way that works best for you.
It can be difficult to schedule your eating window when you’re intermittent fasting, but there are a few times of day that work well for most people:
– early morning (before noon)
– late night (after 8 pm)
– in the afternoon (between 2 and 4 pm)
These are just general guidelines, though. You may find that you prefer to eat later in the evening or earlier in the morning.
What’s important is that you find a time of day that works best for you and stick to it as much as possible.
What to eat on an intermittent fasting plan?
Now that you know how to do intermittent fasting, it’s time to talk about what you should eat on your fasting days. What’s important is that you keep your calorie intake low but still eat healthily.
Calorie restriction is going to be part of any weight loss plan that actually works. Even on your nonfasting days, you still need to maintain a balanced diet.
Some good options include:
– lean protein such as fish, chicken, or tofu
– fruits and vegetables
– whole grains such as quinoa or brown rice
– low-fat dairy products
– nuts and seeds
How long should you do intermittent fasting for?
How long you do intermittent fasting is completely up to you. What’s important is that you find a length of time that works for your schedule and lifestyle.
Some people swear by fasting for 16 hours every day while others fast twice a week for 24 hours at a time. Some people choose an alternate day fasting approach.
What’s more, some people do several shorter periods of fasting throughout the day or week instead of one long fast. What matters most is that you find a method of intermittent fasting that works for your lifestyle, schedule, and any dietary preferences.
For many on this type of regimen, they’ll take advantage of using Fat Burners or test boosters like these in conjunction with the diet and exercise.
Intermittent fasting has been gaining popularity in recent years as a way to lose weight and improve health. Proponents of intermittent fasting say that it can help you lose weight, improve insulin sensitivity, and decrease inflammation.
Risk Factors With Intermittent Fasting
There are some risk factors that you should be aware of before starting intermittent fasting.
Pregnant women, breastfeeding women, diabetics and people with low blood pressure should not attempt to do intermittent fasting except under the advice of a doctor.
If you are on medications, for example, blood pressure medication or insulin, remember that fasting can change how they work. This is another reason why consulting with a doctor before starting intermittent fasting is advisable.
You should also not fast if you are underweight or trying to put on weight quickly.
It is important that your body has enough calories to support it through the fasting period and this may not be possible if you are already underweight.
Finally, people who are at risk for eating disorders should refrain from doing intermittent fasting as hunger becomes an issue very quickly when fasting and could lead some people into bingeing behaviors where they lose control of their consumption of food.