Although it’s a new way to stay fit but most people doing it since civilization because of religious reasons. E.g. Muslims Ramadan fasting (A full month of fasting), Hinduism fasting (The common fasting called Ekadashi), Cristian fasting.
Nowadays people trying to lose weight, improve their health and make their lifestyle easier through Intermittent Fasting. Many studies have shown that Intermittent Fasting can have a positive effect on your health and help you live longer. According to the rules of Intermittent Fasting is not what you eat, but when you eat. (1)
In this regard, a study by Dr. Eric Ravussin found that- “Eating normally one day and not eating anything the next day can be much better than strict diet control to lose weight.”
He said Intermittent Fasting is a better option than fasting day after day for weight loss.
Dr. Eric Ravussin
Head of the Neuroscience Laboratory at the National Institute (2) of Aging, Mark P. Matson, and his colleagues show that regular dieting has the same effect on one’s body as fasting. The effects of fasting are studied first on rats and then on humans and they are successful.
SUMMARY: It is not a diet in the conventional sense but can be considered as a smart type of eating if described more accurately. Intermittent fasting is a type of eating that has a cycle between fasting and eating periods. It is very popular among those who want to stay fit.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?
Before shedding light on the topic of intermittent fasting, it is important to know one more thing, that is fasting and starvation are not the same.
Starvation means unplanned fasting so there is a risk of malnutrition. Intermittent fasting is a planned fast, it has a specific design, there are rules no matter what. Needless to say, the natural solution to keeping the body healthy is intermittent fasting. The human body is designed in such a way that it can store food for adverse conditions. If one is fasting for 10-12 hours continuously, the food stored in the liver provides energy by meeting the food needs of the body through the process of glycolysis. Excess body fat is also used in fasting, lowers the level of harmful cholesterol, reduces the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure is easily controlled, as well as weight loss. Moreover, there is peace of mind. (3, 4, 5)
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Intermittent Fasting 101 Guides
- 16-8 hours Method: You have to fast for 16 hours out of 24 hours and eat within the remaining 6 hours. For example, suppose you eat from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon, the rest of the time, from four to eight the next morning, do not eat. Divide the food into three or four portions during the meal. In that case, you must keep track of calories. (6, 7)
- 24-hour method: One or two days a week can fast in this way. After eating dinner one day, you should eat dinner at the same time the next day. In between, you should drink only water and fruit juice for 24 hours so that blood sugar stays normal and dehydration does not occur. (8)
- 5: 2 Method: In this method, you have to eat 500 to 600 calories two days a week. The remaining five days will be eaten normal food. (9)
Intermittent Fasting Benefits
Intermittent fasting helps to reduce weight, regulate blood sugar levels and aid metabolism, help normalize high cholesterol, reduce free radicals, and help with anti-aging, research says. (10)
Intermittent fasting has many benefits that protect your body and brain, and more below;
- Intermittent fasting is especially helpful in reducing body weight and belly fat.
- It reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- It helps keep normalize your high cholesterol.
- It reduces free radicals.
- Intermittent fasting prevents heart disease and cancer.
- It is anti-aging. Intermittent fasting will keep you away from premature aging and help you live a healthy life for a long time.
Intermittent Fasting Not Suitable For Everyone
Pregnant, lactating mothers who want to have children, who have a lot of gastric problems, who weigh less than normal, who are under the age of 18, should not follow such a diet. In addition, if you have uncontrolled diabetes, insulin users, kidney, liver or, heart disease must consult a doctor. (11, 12)
Intermittent fasting should include protein, vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, lean chicken, and plenty of water. Because each person’s metabolism is different, it may not work the same for everyone. You can have tea, coffee, water, saline, medicine while running intermittent fasting. Remember, if you want to start any kind of intermittent diet, you must consult an expert nutritionist. (13)
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What Foods to Eat During Intermittent Fasting?
That’s a million-dollar question, isn’t it? And you might say, it’s different for everyone. However, any stable or sustainable diet needs to have these characteristics:
- Must be healthy: This is an obvious point. However, it should not be omitted or packaged diet as it is easily achievable. Because, if the health deteriorates while trying to lose weight, it will be more harmful than good.
- You need to change slowly: Weight control eating habits should be mastered by making changes in more than one small case without making huge changes in a single case. For example, eating vegetables regularly, reducing excess sugar intake, and not getting too hungry between meals at different times. This is exactly how eating habits should be adopted in weight control.
- It depends on the skill: Not that any diet will just tell you what to eat and what to skip to reduce calories. Rather it will teach you how to deal with food, eating healthy foods, avoiding emotional overeating, and strategies to curb overeating. These skills will help you to stick to your particular diet for a long time in weight control.
Conclusion
Finally, I would like to end by saying this, Intermittent fasting is a very effective way to keep healthy. If you feel that you are unhappy with your health then intermittent fasting may be the best option for you. You can easily fit yourself by following any one of the mentioned methods. But don’t forget one thing, you must consult a nutritionist before starting intermittent fasting.
