You Are Not Drinking Enough Water
If you are reading, drink some water right now. Intermittent fasting restricts your meal times but places no restrictions on water drinking throughout the day.
Drink enough water to stay hydrated during your fast. You can also take tea or black coffee to replenish your lost fluids without breaking your fast.
Drinking water can keep you full till your next eating period. Therefore it keeps you from snacking and packing on extra calories.
Staying hydrated is important for your overall health. If you are exercising, you ought to drink even more water to replace what you lost through sweat.
You might also need to change your lifestyle to include better sleep if you are thinking of starting intermittent fasting.
Intermittent Fasting: Is It Effective
Dec 31, 2021 | Weight Loss Articles
Intermittent fasting isnt something new. Since the early 20th century, people have been interested in the concept, and its fluctuated in its popularity over the decades.
But what exactly is intermittent fasting? Why is it so popular? And is it even effective at creating a healthy habit that provides benefits for your body?
Well look into some of the research behind this lasting trend, as well as any health risks and benefits that might be associated with this eating schedule.
Examples Of Healthy Foods
- Avocados are recommended because they have monounsaturated fats that are very satisfying. Taking avocado with your meals can make you full for hours longer than if you did not include it in the meal.
- A large egg contains 6 grams of proteins, which is important for keeping you satisfied and building muscle.
- Beans and legumes have low-calorie and high-fiber carbs.
- Berries have vital nutrients such as vitamin C that boosts immunity.
- Fish is rich in healthy omega-3 fats, protein, and vitamin D.
- Kefir, Kombucha, or Kraut are probiotic-rich foods that can be included in the meals.
- Nuts have good fats. For instance, the polyunsaturated fats in walnuts alter biological markers for satiety and hunger.
- Potatoes can help in weight loss. Just be sure to prepare them healthily. For instance, avoid French fries or potato chips and go for roasted, boiled, or mashed potatoes.
- Vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts contain fiber, preventing constipation, and making you feel full. This will help you feel comfortable without food for 12 hours.
- Whole grains such as sorghum, millet, and bulgur have fiber and protein, therefore making you feel full. They also turn up your metabolic rate.
Also Check: How Do I Intermittent Fasting
How Do You Intermittent Fast
- Implement a fasting window that works for your lifestyle and do not eat during that window. I recommend starting with 12 hours, so if you finish eating at 8pm, you would start eating again at 8am.
- During your fasting window, you can consume water, herbal tea, and black coffee. Note that adding cream or sugar to coffee or tea technically means you are not in a fast.
- During your feeding window, you eat your meals and snacks. You get to choose what you eat during that window, but as Ive stated MANY times if youre not eating to keep your metabolic hormones balanced, keeping yourself in a calorie deficit OR youre eating fast foods/convenience foods than any potential weight loss or health benefits from fasting will be eliminated.
/8 Intermittent Fasting Method
There are so many different ways to intermittently fast, but the most common method is called the 16 to 8 split. Or, some may call it a 16/8 fasting method for simplicity.
In this fasting plan, you fast for 16 hours straight in a day and eat in the remaining 8-hour window.
It may feel really hard at first to go without food for a prolonged period of time, but its something you can get used to.
And if you allocate the 16 hours wisely, it gets even less difficult to manage the fasted period.
For example, if you include 8 hours of sleep time into your 16-hour fasting, thats already half of the fasting.
And typically speaking, theres also a lot of downtime between dinner and bedtime. So that gives extra 3-4 hours.
To make up the rest, you fast in the morning till lunch for about 4 hours while hydrating yourself with water.
Now, you have 16 straight hours of a fasted period from about 7 pm to 11 am the next morning.
There is the 16 hours you need for your 16/8 method.
No doubt, there will be a time of adjustments in the beginning. But be patient with yourself.
Youll find your body adjusting to this new eating schedule in no time.
All in all, intermittent fasting is a simple way to fast, so your body can boost metabolism and burn fat. Its also an easy hack to avoid unnecessary snacks and late-night meals that add calories.
All these help generate a great weight loss for many who adapt to this IF diet.
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How To Start Intermittent Fasting
If you’ve never fasted before, it takes some getting used to. Here are some tips to help you get started:
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The 21 Day Primal Reset
But we can shorten that adaptation period to just 21 days by doing a complete reset which is something I cover in the Fat Loss Accelerator.
I like to call it the 21 day primal reset where we just go back to our roots on how were supposed to eat. We do a complete purge of your pantry and we start stocking it with the right foods.
You then supplement this change by making supportive lifestyle choices that up regulate your fat burning metabolism. If you do this reset properly, it will then turn you into a fat burning machine after just 21 days.
Because you need to have a multifaceted approach to this life changing transformation.
80% of your body composition is determined by your diet. While the other 20% is determined by your genetic predisposition to store fat and making supportive lifestyle choices that up regulate your fat burning metabolism.
During your 21 day reset, intermittent fasting should just be optional because fasting is basically step number 10 in all of this.
You need to learn how to walk first, before you can run. Its not about going from 0-100. Its about going from zero to 1.
You need to establish a baseline first that you can work with, hence the 21 day reset.
Again, this is where you also take the time to learn how to make supportive lifestyle choices like proper sleep hygiene, managing your stress levels, incorporating movement throughout the day, and doing proper workouts that promote fat burning.
Also Check: What Can You Eat While Fasting On Keto
How To Do The 12
When following this IF method, in as much as the two meals are 12 hours apart, you must finish your last meal before the 12 hour fasting-eating interval. For instance, if your eating window is 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., you should eat breakfast at or after 8 a.m. finish dinner before 8 p.m. As you begin, you will have hunger pains, but your body will adjust with time.
Do not jump into the 12 hour intermittent fasting. Your body takes time to adjust to not eating, especially if you usually take three meals and two snacks a day. Begin by staying off some meals, then when you get used to staying without food for hours, increase the period slowly to the 12 hours optimal window. Ensure that you are comfortable staying for long without eating because 12 hour intermittent fasting should not make you miserable, but rather, you should enjoy doing it.
Why Might Changing Timing Help
But why does simply changing the timing of our meals to allow for fasting make a difference in our body? An in-depth review of the science of IF recently published in New England Journal of Medicine sheds some light. Fasting is evolutionarily embedded within our physiology, triggering several essential cellular functions. Flipping the switch from a fed to fasting state does more than help us burn calories and lose weight. The researchers combed through dozens of animal and human studies to explain how simple fasting improves metabolism, lowers blood sugar levels lessens inflammation, which improves a range of health issues from arthritic pain to asthma and even helps clear out toxins and damaged cells, which lowers risk for cancer and enhances brain function.
Read Also: How To Lose Weight Quickly With Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent Fasting Rule #: After A Rough Day Or Weekend Fast And Rest
Did you screw up? Did you fall off your diet?
Try to see how long you can go on water. Let your body rest. Dont beat yourself up over your mistakes. Try to recover by letting your body process the food.
Youre going to mess up. You dont have to punish yourself. Treat yourself to the gift of nothing. Do nothing. No detoxes. No fat burning supplements.. Not fit tea. Nothing. Drink water and try to keep your mind occupied. Catch up on your sleep. Its amazing how refreshed you can feel after a solid rest and fast.
How Does Intermittent Fasting 14/10 Work
The intermittent fasting 14/10, especially if accompanied by the well-balanced healthy diet, has shown to be quite effective at weight loss, to say the least. When a person enters a fast, their body has no caloric intake and thus no glucose to burn in order to turn it into energy. But it still needs energy to support the body functions and perform physical and brain activities.
That is when it enters the state called ketosis due to the lack of glucose, and it will start to use the deposited fat. In such a way it can not only only help you lose weight but may also reduce the most dangerous type of fat , which is located around your organs, decreasing the risk of different diseases. Furthermore, if you start to eat healthy during a fast, you are doubling the positive effect of the intermittent fasting 14/10.
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Putting A Plan In Place
Planning your fasting routine is a great success tool. Once youve chosen your fasting method and found a schedule that fits, a plan will allow it all to work together.
Like any dieting technique, meal and exercises plans help. They encourage you to stay on track.
Like scheduling, planning is also specific to the fasting method you choose. In general, there are no specific meal plans for intermittent fasting. Instead, you should eat nutritious balanced meals. Avoid snacking or overeating to achieve the best results.
It is safe to exercise whilst fasting. Whether that be after eating or during the fast. Some like to exercise on an empty stomach. This can excel fat burning. Others like to exercise after eating. Either plan is fine and safe. It depends on the person.
Exercising alongside fasting is also very beneficial. It can increase weight loss and improves the mental attitude towards fasting.
Losing Weight Vs Losing Fat: Whats The Difference
When you watch the numbers on your scale drop, it can be exciting. But the scale doesnt reflect if youve lost fat or weight in general. You may think the goal of your health journey is to lose weight, when what you really want is to shed body fat. The reason is simple: When you lose weight, you can lose a combination of muscle, fluids, fat, and even organ size.
If you want to increase your health and add muscle so your body feels and looks toned, losing muscle and fluids likely isnt your goal. Instead, youll want to focus on fat loss, so any more than two pounds a week could undermine your goals.
According to research and Doctor Joel Seedman , when you shed upwards of five pounds per week, youll lose water weight and muscle along with your fat. Muscle and water loss can be dangerous, since it puts you at risk for dehydration, nutrient deficiencies, poorer fitness and mental performance, and puts you at risk for regaining the weight. To combat this, incorporate strength training into your workout routine. Cardio can promote fat burning, but you need resistance training to maintain your muscle mass. Also, the more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolic rate. Basic strength training exercises, such as squats, lunges, and push-ups, can add muscle and improve your body fat composition.
Read Also: How To Lose Weight Fast While Fasting
Intermittent Fasting Rule #: Replace Breakfast With A Black Coffee
Replace breakfast with coffee. Delay your first meal. Dont stuff your face first thing in the morning. Thats all there is to it.
- Eat lunch at 12-1 after sleeping in.
- Eat dinner 6-8 hours later.
- Ensure that youre satisfied with both meals.
- Theres your 6-8 hour eating window.
How simple is that? An 8 hour eating window isnt that challenging.
You can add a splash of cream if it helps you get through it. You can also try espresso shots because theyre quick. Drink a glass of water to ensure that youre hydrated.
Black coffee for breakfast after 8 hours of sleep will help you start the day off with a boost of energy. Bonus points if you can get some sunshine. Youll also have more time for yourself.
She Tweaked Her Plan For Special Occasions
Over the holidays, Etienne-Mesubi continued with intermittent fasting but gave herself an expanded eating window of six or eight hours. We were celebrating, and I have no regret and no guilt for extending my window, she says. Even though I allowed myself extended time to eat, I didnt go crazy. I still enjoyed myself and my time with my family and kids. It was so freeing to know if I want to eat longer I can, and if I dont feel like eating anymore Im going to stop, she says.
Also Check: How Much Weight Can I Lose With Intermittent Fasting
What Is Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is often abbreviated to IF. It is a fasting method as opposed to a diet. Most people use intermittent fasting as a part of their lifestyle instead of using it just for short term effect. The reason being due to the incredible results it can offer.
Intermittent fasting is not similar to other dietary methods. In that to aid weight loss, it does not restrict calories, particular foods or provide an exercise plan. Instead, it works by restricting when you eat. It is a timed approach to your diet. It includes eating cycles and eating windows. This means that fasting will occur during certain hours or on certain days. Then, for the non-fasting period a person can eat normal foods.
There are many intermittent fasting methods. The most popular and effective for weight loss is 16:8. This method involves fasting for 16 hours a day and the remaining 8 hours indicates the eating window. During this window it is recommended to consume well balanced, nutritious meals. This is to maximise results and ensure the body is attaining all the essential nutrients it needs to function properly.
Other methods include alternate day fasting, 5:2, spontaneous meal skipping and water fasts. All of which promote weight loss. Each method is different and involves different eating patterns. This means there is one for everyone, if intermittent fasting is safe for you and your current health status.
Now, lets uncover the real results of intermittent fasting for weight loss:
You Are Eating The Wrong Type Of Food
Many other diets come with a list of foods that you can and cannot eat. However, that is not how intermittent fasting works.
Intermittent fasting lets you eat anything you would like within a specific eating window.
Because intermittent fasting does not restrict your diet, it is easy to slip right into unhealthy feeding habits. Binging on unhealthy processed foods even if it is only in your eating window could be responsible for your slow results.
Stuffing too many calories during your eating periods is also counterproductive.
During your intermittent fast, consider changing your meal plan. Toss out the unhealthy processed food and switch to healthier options. Think of foods like whole grains that are rich in dietary fiber.
Furthermore, sugary foods could send your blood sugar levels through the roof and contribute to reduced insulin sensitivity.
Staying away from sugary foods protects you from sugar highs and the sugar crash that results after. It also helps keep your blood sugar within the normal range.
Read Also: Why Is Intermittent Fasting Good For Weight Loss
