How Much Weight Loss Can You Expect In A Month On Intermittent Fasting
Many factors go into how much weight you actually lose on intermittent fasting. Weight loss will depend on your current weight, metabolism, what you eat, and your activity levels. Obviously, if you follow a healthy eating pattern and exercise every day or a few times a week, it will help you shed weight faster.
Intermittent fasting may enable you to lose between 0.51.5 pounds a week. In 4 weeks, you could lose anything between 26 pounds.
Do Review Your Diet When Doing Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is technically not about restricting what you eat but about when you eat. However, if youre looking to lose weight, you should also take a look at your diet.
A general rule of thumb for a healthy diet is eating more whole foods, cutting down on sugar and saturated fat and making sure to include vegetables and fruits to the meals.
To ensure a balanced and nutritious diet, you can also try one of these 21-day intermittent fasting meal plans. There are various caloric options to choose from and 6 diet types regular, keto, vegan keto, vegetarian, vegan and paleo.
Eat More Good Carbohydrates
Okay, this might seem counterproductive cut down the carbs!, get more carbs!, bend before me!.
Lets put the emphasis on good carbs. What I mean by eating more good carbs is to replace your usual carb intake with good, non-refined, carbs.
Youll find good carbs in most vegetables, fruits, legumes such as lentils or beans, nuts, seeds, whole grain , and potatoes.
Whats great about good carbs is that its healthy, often fiber-rich and itll help leave you satiated quicker. Try eating a plate of pasta, against a bowl of lentils, youll see what Im talking about.
Yes, good carbs will raise insulin levels too if you eat enough of them. But carbs itself is not responsible for obesity. Refined carbs and sugar surely are linked to it, but weve been getting whole carbs for thousands of years.
Studies such as this one state for example that eating whole-grain may reduce risks of mortality due to cardiovascular disease.
Getting the good carbs, replacing bread with beans, white rice with quinoa, will be easier than cutting down carbs drastically, itll help reduce cravings since youll be having some carbs, while still being full of fibers that leaves you full.
These types of changes might be enough to get you out of a weight-loss plateau.
Read Also: How Does Fasting For Weight Loss Work
How Do You Do Intermittent Fasting
In intermittent fasting, there are generally no food or calorie restrictions, but there are restrictions on WHEN to eat. For example, eating may be restricted to an 8-hour window during the day, with 16 hours of fasting in between.
Some popular methods of intermittent fasting include:
- 16/8 daily regimen: of 8 hours of eating followed by 16 hours of fasting
- 5/2 method: eat only 500-600 calories for 2 non-consecutive days, and 5 days of normal eating per week
- Eat-Stop-Eat method: two 24-hour fasts per week on non-consecutive days
It can take the body two to four weeks to acclimate to intermittent fasting.
It is generally not advised to go for longer periods longer than 24 hours without eating because it might be dangerous.
What Is The Best Way To Get Started On A Fasting Diet
In addition to considering your health goals, follow these steps before diving into IF:
- Talk to your primary care doctor. He or she can determine if this eating style would be beneficial for your body. If you have questions about what is right for you, it’s important to talk to healthcare professionals, Lowden says. Everybody is an individual and your specific doctor might have preferences about what you do and don’t do based on your specific circumstances.
- Choose the best type of IF for you. For instance, if you often socialize late at night, 5:2 likely will be a better fit than 16:8. If you decide to try 16:8, Gottfried says to ease into it. I recommend starting slowly at first and ramping up, with a 12-hour fast and a 12-hour eating window, then move to a 14-hour fast with a 10-hour eating window, and from there to 16:8, she says. She also says to keep in mind that there is flexibility with the eating and fasting window. Some like to eat at 10 a.m. and stop at 6 p.m. others prefer to wait until 12 p.m. and stop eating at 8 p.m., she says. Find what works for you.
- Make sure you have water handy. The 2019 Nutrients study suggests drinking plenty of water during the day to reduce your risk of dehydration and to help replace fluids that you normally would source from foods.
- Limit physical activity. Its also a good idea to limit your activities during your fasting windows until you know how your body will react, Gottfried says.
Also Check: Does Fasting Lower Blood Sugar
Intermittent Fasting In A Nutshell
Fasting is an ancient practice which has a pivotal role in numerous religions including, but not limited to Buddhism, Islam, Judaisms, and Christianity.
Doesnt it seem a bit absurd that a human tradition as ancient as fasting has become a fad in the modern day? While ancient peoples reasoning for fasting might differ greatly from our own , the practice itself is undeniable useful.
So, how do people fast in the modern day? What are the exact procedures of an Intermittent Fasting diet?
The best way to unpack these questions is to review the most common fasting approach: The 16/8 Method.
16/8 refers to a daily fasting regiment wherein 16 hours of the day are spent fasting, while the other 8 hours are known as an eating window. You can orient these windows of time however you want, depending on your daily schedule, but the most common approach is to place your eating window between the hours of noon and 8pm. This means that most of the fasting window is spent asleep. Meanwhile the noon to 8pm eating window allows for regularly scheduled lunches and dinners.
While 16 hours of fasting per day might sound intimidating at first, the schedule we just walked through essentially equates to skipping breakfast. I know there are some real breakfast lovers out there, but even they have to admit that isnt the worst sacrifice you could make for your health. Many diets require far greater sacrifices after all!
What Is Intermittent Fasting And How Does It Work
Religious, cultural, and spiritual activities have employed fasting throughout history and around the globe for a variety of reasons. Fasting has been more popular in recent years as a result of the media attention given to diets such as the 5:2 diet, which allows people to lose weight without having to give up specific items like meat or dairy.
IF is centred on the periods of time during which we do not consume food – referred to as ‘fasting.’ The frequency and length of these fasting intervals are determined by the precise diet that is followed as well as the individual’s schedule. Some of the most common IF eating habits are as follows:
There are numerous proponents of intermittent fasting diets, each with a somewhat different view on what constitutes the ‘optimal’ approach to practise intermittent fasting. Most well-known are Michael Mosely, whose book The Fast Diet advocates for the 5:2 technique, and David Zinczenko, whose book The 8-Hour Diet advocates for the 16:8 diet.
Recommended Reading: Can I Have Cream In My Coffee While Intermittent Fasting
Is It Good For Running
Whenyou run, you expend a lot of energy.
Assuch, there is a lot of conflicting data and advice whether intermittentfasting is good for runners.
In fact, according to Natalie Allen, R.D., an instructor of biomedical sciences at Missouri State University, People who work out regularly such as runners need carbohydrates for fuel, as carbs are most easily metabolized into energy by the bodyAthletes bodies need regular fuel to perform their best. Your blood sugar control, mental clarity , and energy levels can all be negatively affected with intermittent fasting.Runners World Whats the Deal With Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss?
However,it is important to clarify this previous statement.
Whileracing, it is important to have carbs to help fuel you to the best of yourability.
On the other hand, when training, according to Jason Fung, M.D., author of The Complete Guide to Fasting, many athletes use training in the fasted state to improve performance long-term, which helps them recover quicker and train harder. Fung elaborates on this saying, This is due to the physiological hormonal changes of fasting. During fasting, noradrenaline and sympathetic tone increase, allowing for more energy and the ability to train harder. Plus, the amount of human growth hormone is increased so recovery is faster.Runners World Whats the Deal With Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss?
Therefore,when used properly, intermittent fasting while running can be very helpful.
Does It Have Benefits
The Warrior Diet does not have any research to back up its exact methods, but intermittent fasting does.
Though the Warrior Diet is a bit more extreme than other, more common types of intermittent fasting like the 16:8 method , its simply a stricter version of this method.
For this reason, one could argue that the benefits linked to intermittent fasting also apply to the Warrior Diet.
Read Also: What Is The Average Weight Loss With Intermittent Fasting
Top 6 Questions About Intermittent Fasting
1) Wont I get really hungry if I start skipping meals?
As explained above, this can be a result of the habits you have built for your body. If you are constantly eating or always eat the same time of day, your body can actually learn to prepare itself for food by beginning the process of insulin production and preparation for food.
After a brief adjustment period, your body can adapt to the fact that its only eating a few times a day. The more overweight you are, and the more often you eat, the more of an initial struggle this might be.
Remember, your bodys physical and cognitive abilities most likley wont be diminished as a result of short term fasting.
2) Where will I get my energy for my workouts? Wont I be exhausted and not be able to complete my workouts if fasting?
This was a major concern of mine as well, but the research says otherwise: Training with limited carbohydrate availability can stimulate adaptations in muscle cells to facilitate energy production via fat oxidation.
In other words, when you train in a fasted state, your body can get better at burning fat for energy when there are no carbs to pull from!
Ill share some of my experiences, now doing heavy strength training for 3 years in a fasted state:
Here I am pulling 420 lbs. at 172 BW after a 16 hour fast:
A post shared by Steve Kamb on Nov 21, 2018 at 10:43am PST
LeanGains digs into various options here, but here is really what you need to know:
4) Wont fasting cause muscle loss?
Intermittent Fasting Could Make Your Diet Worse
Following on from the previous point, when youre really hungry and break your fast, its easy to overeat unhealthy or nutrient empty foods.
This has been one of my biggest challenges with intermittent fasting.
It takes human discipline to fast every day. But, it takes superhuman discipline to fast and maintain a clean diet every day.
The reason is that when youre fasting, your body is low on sugar and energy. It craves high carb foods with sugar as well.
Whilst, you could still achieve your weight loss and aesthetic goals without eating a clean diet, over the long run this may be detrimental to your health.
The best way Ive found to prevent this overeating tendency after breaking the fast is to design your environment for success and drink as much water as possible throughout the day.
Read Also: What Are The Advantages Of Intermittent Fasting
You’re Engaging In Intensive Training Or Trying To Build Muscle Mass
As one would likely assume, attempting to do intermittent fasting while engaging in an intense training cycle is not an idealor safecombination. If you’re training for a marathon or regularly do CrossFit, you may want to reconsider doing IF. Oftentimes, you will need to eat something before you exercise to help you power through your workout. It’s also extremely important to eat something after you’ve finished exercising, too. “During a hard workout, you will put little tears in your muscle and deplete your glycogen stores,” says Kacie Vavrek, RD a sports medicine registered dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “A recovery meal within 1-2 hours plus regular meals every 3-4 hours after will help to replace glycogen stores and repair and rebuild muscle throughout the day.” Vavrek says skipping this post-workout meal could prolong your recovery and even inhibit essential muscle-building and repair.
Similarly, if you’re trying to gain muscle, Sass says it’s important that you consume protein at different times throughout the whole day, rather than trying to jam-pack it all into a specific eating window. In fact, many experts say that your body cannot properly metabolize more than 30-35 grams of protein per sitting. As a result, any excess protein that’s consumed and not utilized during the day typically stores as fat in the body, not muscle.
Should I Eat 6 Small Meals A Day
There are a few main reasons why diet books recommend six small meals:
1) When you eat a meal, your body does have to burn extra calories just to process that meal. So, the theory is that if you eat all day long with small meals, your body is constantly burning extra calories and your metabolism is firing at optimal capacity, right? Well, thats not true.
Whether you eat 2000 calories spread out throughout the day, or 2000 calories in a small window, your body will burn the same number of calories processing the food .
So, the whole keep your metabolism firing at optimum capacity by always eating sounds good in principle, but reality tells a different story.
2) When you eat smaller meals, you might be less likely to overeat during your regular meals. I can definitely see some truth here, especially for people who struggle with portion control or dont know how much food they should be eating.
However, once you educate yourself and take control of your eating, some might find that eating six times a day is very prohibitive and requires a lot of effort. I know I do.
Also, because youre eating six small meals, Id argue that you probably never feel full, and you might be MORE likely to eat extra calories during each snack.
Although grounded in seemingly logical principles, the six meals a day doesnt work for the reason you think it would , and generally only works for people who struggle with portion control .
Thats why we made this:
Don’t Miss: What’s Better Intermittent Fasting Or Keto
Slim Down Your Supper
Most Americans consume almost 45 percent of their total daily calories at dinner and in an after-dinner snack. A healthier goal, Sears says, is 30 percent. Thats 600 calories for someone who usually eats 2,000 calories a day. For example, in 2013, Israeli researchers looked at the effects of eating a small dinner and a large breakfast vs. a large dinner and a small breakfast in a study involving 93 overweight women. Both groups ate the same lunch and the same overall number of calories. After 12 weeks, those who ate the lighter dinners lost more weight, had a smaller waist, and had better metabolic profiles than the women in the other group.
One way to downsize the dinners that you prepare is to make them the healthiest meal of the day. Try eating lots of vegetables, which are naturally low in calories, suggests Courtney M. Peterson, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. That means you can eat a large portion so that youre not hungry afterward and still consume fewer than 600 calories. The fiber from those foods will also help you feel fuller.
And if you dont overdo it on calories in the evening, Peterson says, you can afford to have a bigger breakfast and lunch, when your body is primed for food processing.
What Are The Touted Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting And Are They Legit
Here are some of the proposed benefits of IF:
- Boost weight loss A review published in Current Obesity Reports in June 2018 found most research on IF has supported its link to weight loss, and the data suggest that it can result in between a 5 and 9.9 percent loss of body weight. The 2018 study published in Nutrition and Healthy Aging suggests alternate-day fasting may produce greater weight loss than time-restricted eating, but that alternate-day fasting may be harder to stick with than time-restricted eating. Ultimately, more research is needed on whether IF can result in real, sustainable weight loss.
- Lengthen life A study published in Cell in December 2014 suggests calorie restriction may slow aging. The study involved animals, however, and the same findings havent been shown among humans yet.
Read Also: What Does Intermittent Fasting Mean
Simple Intermittent Fasting Plans For Beginners
When you start intermittent fasting, you will surely think about how it will affect your body, metabolism, and mood.
Thats why the following two plans for beginners have proven to bring minimal changes to your everyday life through intermittent fasting.
Moreover, their rules are so simple that beginners can easily follow them.
Should I Eat Morning Or Night
It doesnt matter whether you eat in the morning or at night when intermittent fasting. However, in my experience, it is much easier to skip breakfast for the following reasons:
- Morning hunger is learned and can be unlearned
- The hormone release in the morning gives you power for the day
- Without breakfast, your focus at work will increase noticeably
- Dinner is usually the most crucial social pivot of a family
- You save time and can sleep longer
Over the decades, we have learned to be hungry in the morning. But this is not natural.
The body increases adrenaline, glucagon, growth hormone, and cortisol in the morning. For this reason, we wake up. Furthermore, this potent hormonal cocktail nourishes us with enough energy for the upcoming day.
Hence, the morning hunger disappears in just one or two weeks with the forced breakfast in my experience.
Nevertheless, you can also successfully do intermittent fasting if you skip dinner.
For example, if you sleep earlier, work longer, or cannot have dinner with your loved ones because of your daily working routine.
You May Like: Is Intermittent Fasting Good For High Blood Pressure
