How Do You Get Started With Intermittent Fasting
One common mistake I see with Intermittent Fasting is people jump in without a plan. I’ve seen this mistake lead to hormone imbalances, extreme sugar cravings and halted weight loss results. I believe that knowledge is power and with the right tools, you can achieve your wellness dreams while still eat foods you love!
That’s why I created The Complete Intermittent Fasting Program. It contains all of the latest research on Intermittent Fasting, breaks down the science so you can understand what you’re doing and why. It even has 8 weeks of meal-by-meal planning with delicious recipes to help keep you satiated AND your taste buds happy! I’m talking L.A. Street Tacos, Pumpkin Chili, Strawberry Coconut Muffins, Spicy Curry and MORE! The Program also includes a 3 week workout program and exercise strategies specifically designed for Intermittent Fasting in order to maximize your fat burning results!
What Do You Drink On A Water Fast
Surprisingly, not just water! I drank plenty of herbal teas, plain soda water, and I also drank an electrolyte salt mixture which kept my body in check. Your body needs essential minerals to thrive. The formula for fasting juice was:
- 1/2 tsp Food grade Epsom salts
- 1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt an essential compound our body uses to absorb and transport nutrients, maintain blood pressure, and maintain the right balance of fluid.)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- Mix this up in 2 liters of water.
- Drink the entire 2 litres daily.
It tasted absolutely disgusting, and I definitely didnt drink enough of it. Before my next fast, I want to experiment with making this more palatable.
The Refeed: Transitioning Back Into Eating
Once youve completed a 7-day fast, you need to eat again. How you eat during this period makes a big difference.
You cant just eat whatever you want when youre done fasting. Since the fast ended with a calorie restriction, its important to transition back into eating by taking in nutritious foods.
The best way to do this is to start with protein and vegetables. Keep your portions small when they are reintroduced so that your digestive tract can get used to getting food again.
You want to spend roughly 3 or 4 days refeeding. Each day, eat more than the previous, but do it slowly.
Try to eat regularly throughout the day instead of three large meals because its easier on your system. You can also get away with snacking on some fruit or nuts every few hours.
During the refeeding period, focus on cultured dairy and other probiotics. This includes yogurt, kefir, and kombucha. These help to replenish the beneficial bacteria in your gut and get it ready for more food. Together with nutrient-rich vegetables, these will help to restore your bodys natural balance.
The idea is to use the refeed period to completely reset your bodys systems as well as your diet. A fast is the start of a better diet, not a quick fix.
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Initial Good Results Without Water Fasting
My nephews comment struck deep. Time to stop pretending I wasnt overweight and improve my fitness. Being over 110kg I wanted to lose weight and quickly.
Water fasting wasnt something I knew about yet, but I still got great results from traditional methods. I set an ambitious goal of losing 10kg in five weeks, so 2kg per week. So I started eating healthier and exercising more.
I managed to achieve my goal, losing 10kg in five weeks.
Going from no exercise and never eating healthy, to exercising and eating healthy, does produce quick results. And five weeks wasnt too long, so I was able to be strict with myself.
Being incredibly proud of the results I had achieved, I was expecting encouragement from everyone close to me, but it never came. Not a single person noticed that I lost weight quickly. But I was happy with my results, so that didnt stop me.
I extended my goal for another five weeks to lose another 10kg.
I struggled to reduce my weight in the final two weeks but was successful again. My strategy was starting to falter. In the end, I achieved my initial goal as well as the extended goal. Over ten weeks, I had lost 20kg and felt amazing.
Now all of a sudden people started noticing, everybody noticed. The encouragement I was expecting earlier started coming in thick, and it felt great.
I settled into the new me, exercising a little, and eating healthier than before, staying around 90kg. But then the weight loss urge returned, and I wanted quick results again.
For Best Fasting Results Work Your Way Up
I decided to follow time-restricted eating, or fasting 18 hours out of the day and eating the other six . The first day I managed to abstain all 18 hours, but it wasn’t pretty . My mind was racking up obsessive food thoughts faster than my phone hunts Pokemon. The inner dialogue went something like this: I’m hungry, I’m hungry, I’m friggin hungry, I’m hungry, I’m STARVING, get this girl a cookie already!
Well, it turns out that abrupt withdrawal may not be the best way to go. Some experts recommend starting with just a couple of days a week and working your way up, while others suggest gradually increasing the number of hours you fast from 12 to 14… up to 18. Still others say fasting isn’t for everyone, and if it’s making you miserable, just skip it. But I wasn’t giving up that easily, so I tried the gradual approach, starting with 12, then extending my fasted hours over the course of the week andsurprise, surprisethose swirling food thoughts faded away.
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Is The Warrior Diet An Eating Disorder
Someone expressed their concern to me that intermittent fasting is an eating disorder. I actually feel like it’s the exact opposite. I feel more in control and have a healthier relationship with food than I ever had. I finally know what true hunger feels like and am learning to listen to my body to eat when I’m hungry and this is the most important thing to stop when I’m full. I’m no longer overeating or obsessing about food, and I feel more free from the thoughts about how eating affects my weight.
Average Weight Loss After One Month Doing Intermittent Fasting
For our Intermittent Fasting survey, we started with a question: How much weight can you lose in 1 month with Intermittent fasting 16/8?.
Turns out over half of intermittent fasting beginners lost around at least 8 pounds after 1 month of intermittent fasting and 30% reached at least 12 pounds weight loss.
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What Is Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent Fasting is really a lifestyle choice where you eat during specific periods of time and fast for the rest of the time. There are many variations of Intermittent Fasting and different people tend to choose what works best for their lifestyle.
One of the goals of Intermittent Fasting is to limit your calorie intake by temporarily putting your body into a fasted state. This in turns invokes various healing and regenerating processes in the body .
Can Water Fasting Get Quick Results
I had been experimenting with losing more weight, but my previous strategy wasnt producing quick results, so time to try something new.
By researching water fasting, I saw others getting incredible weight loss results. And then found out about the many benefits of fasting.
Considering the health benefits and possible rapid weight loss results, I was ready to give water fasting a try.
I also figured my digestive system deserved a break, as it had been working nonstop for decades, it had earned itself a well-deserved week-long vacation.
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Body Reactions And Experiences During A One Week Water Fast
If you are attempting a one week fast for the first time, be prepared for few body reactions during the process. As a habit, the body is used to consuming food at regular intervals. When there is sudden lack of food intake, you may feel weakness, dizziness, nausea, etc which is quite normal. Sometimes you may feel very energetic, but the very next moment you may feel weak. These fluctuations are common and normal. There may be also a drop in blood pressure and slight headaches. One need not get frightened with these reactions. You should take rest or lie down, when ever these symptoms become intense. Consult a doctor if these reactions are too intense.
One may even feel a sudden bout of hunger. To overcome it, just drink one or two glasses of water. Then lie down and take rest. The hunger should go away in a short time. If the hunger keeps recurring, consult your doctor. You can discontinue the fast if the hunger is unbearable. But in most cases, it is not a serious issue.
Food craving is another common reaction during a one week water fast. One starts thinking of various types of tasty food and how to prepare them. You may experience this even if you are not feeling hungry. One may even day dream of going to various restaurants and eating some special dishes. These are normal. Do not fight these thoughts. Just give some distraction to the mind, like watching a movie, television, music, etc.
You Are Not Eating Enough Protein
If you find that your meals cannot carry you across your fasting period to your next eating window, then you might need to adjust your diet.
Consider including more lean protein in your diet. It does not matter the type of protein, vegan or animal protein, all are fine.
Proteins can help keep you full till your next meal. Furthermore, if you are exercising during this period, proteins are important for building your muscles and protecting your bone health.
Your meals should have healthy fats, carbs, leafy greens, and proteins.
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/6feeling Hungry All The Time
Whether you choose to follow the 16:8 fasting method or 10:14, restricting your mealtime, in the beginning, can be difficult. You may feel famished and low on energy all the time. Your body will feel confused due to the new eating pattern and would need time to adjust to it. But if you would successfully stick to the plan in the first week, you will be easily able to sail through it. With time you will easily be able to manage this new eating pattern.
Why You May Not See Results
Although there is research supporting the effectiveness of intermittent fasting, there are many reasons you may not see results. It may sound counter-intuitive, but you may not be eating enough calories during your fasting window. If you severely restrict calories, it can backfire. Sudden under-consumption can lead to metabolic adaptation, a process where your body becomes more efficient at using energy and storing fat which means youll burn less calories. The goal is not to count calories and cut them, its to eat minimally processed, nutritious foods during your eating window until you are full.
If you eat ultra-processed, energy-dense foods during your meals, that could be another reason why youre not getting the results you desire. Fasting can help you burn fat, but it doesnt mean that its magic! Remember to fill your plate with lean proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats.
Finally, make sure you drink plenty of water during your fasting window. Hydration helps you feel full and satiated, and its easy to mistake thirst for hunger. If youre not hydrated when you approach your eating window, you may be prone to choose and eat ultra-processed foods.
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How Much Weight Can You Lose With Intermittent Fasting
The amount of weight you can lose through intermittent fasting depends on your starting weight, medical conditions, type of food you eat on your non-fasting days, and other factors like your lifestyle, age, and activity level.
For example, if you choose to eat sugary desserts, drinks, and refined, ultra-processed carbs during your non-fasting days, a fast may not help you lose body fat.
However, if you pair intermittent fasting with healthy eating, you can experience healthy weight loss. A systematic review of 40 studies published in Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology found intermittent fasting was effective for weight loss, with a typical loss of seven to eleven pounds over ten weeks. If you weigh roughly 200 pounds, that equals a five percent loss of your total body weight in just ten weeks.
You might want a quick weight loss fix, but experts recommend you dont try to speed up the process. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the UKs National Health Service recommend you shoot for a safe rate of one to two pounds per week.
According to the CDC, if you lose weight gradually and safely, youll be more successful at keeping it off. So, the average weight loss per week with intermittent fasting is safe, effective, and long-term.
What Happens If You Dont Eat For A Day
Lets take a look at a day in the life of a body that is fasting one day a week.
During the first 8 hours of your fast, your body will continue to digest your food intake from the previous day.
Your body probably has not yet realized that its fasting and will just continue on as usual, thinking that youll be fueling it up again soon.
However, after that 8-hour period, your body will start to realize that its probably not getting food any time soon. This means that it starts to search for a new source of energy. While its doing this, youll probably start feeling those hunger pangs. This is your bodys way of reminding you its time to fuel up.
That feeling of hunger should only last for about 20 minutes. However, you may feel some general stomach upset while youre working through the hunger.
Your digestive system is looking for something to digest and not finding anything. You might experience a little bit of nausea.
Drinking water, tea, or coffee is a great way to help your body through the transition from eating to fasting. Or, if youre on a strict 500-calorie fast, then now would be a great time for a little snack too.
After the initial 8 hours, your body will begin to use fat stores for energy. This is where fat loss typically comes from while fasting one day a week.
For the rest of the duration of your 24-hour fast, your body will be using its own fat reserves to create energy.
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Figure Out A Meal Plan
A person interested in losing or gaining weight may find it helpful to plan what they are going to eat during the day or week.
Meal planning does not need to be overly restrictive. It considers calorie intake and incorporating proper nutrients into the diet. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the MyPlatePlan, which focuses on showing a person food group targets for each day.
Meal planning offers many benefits, such as helping a person stick to their calorie count and ensuring they have the necessary ingredients on hand for recipes, quick meals, and snacks. As a potential bonus, meal planning could save money if it helps people waste less food.
Not all calories are the same. Although these fasting methods do not limit the number of calories a person consumes during eating periods, it is essential to consider the nutritional value of the food.
In general, a person should aim to consume nutrient-dense foods, or foods with a
- 2018 review of studies , calorie restriction and intermittent fasting can help the body activate a healing process called autophagy, which essentially means that the body digests or recycles old or damaged cell components.
Fasting dates back to ancient humans, who often went hours or days between meals because obtaining food was difficult. The human body adapted to this style of eating, allowing extended periods to pass between food intake times.
Research also suggests that fasting has a variety of other benefits.
Figure Out Calorie Needs
There are no inherent dietary restrictions when intermittent fasting, but this does not mean that calories do not count.
People who are working with a doctor or dietitian to manage their weight need to create a calorie deficit, which means consuming fewer calories than they use. People who are looking to gain weight need to consume more calories than they use.
Many tools are available to help a person work out their calorie needs and determine how many calories they should consume each day to gain, lose, or maintain weight.
A person could also consult a healthcare professional or dietitian for guidance on how many calories they need. A professional can help a person determine the best foods for them and find an overall healthy way to lose weight.
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Uh Foods And Beverages On Fasting Days Its A Definite Depends
If youre sticking to a strict fast, you can have only zero-calorie liquids on fasting days.
BUT if youre taking a modified approach, you can partake of some chomps and slurps on your fasting days. By the time noon rolls around, you just might be salivating at the mere thought of these delectable options. Nom nom nom!
The things you consume on your modified fasting days should be zero- or low-calorie items, preferably ones that are high in water content, fiber, and/or protein. These kinds of foods and drinks can be lifesavers because they can:
- ward off hunger pangs
- keep you from getting #hangry
FYI: Fasting regimens can also be incorporated into high fat, low fat, low carb, and other kinds of eating protocols. If you feel like hitting a double-whammy eating plan, talk with your doc first.
