Overeating And Potential Weight Gain
Restricting your intake to just 8 hours per day may cause some people to eat more than usual during eating periods in an attempt to make up for hours spent fasting. This may lead to weight gain, digestive problems, and unhealthy eating habits.
Interestingly, current research doesnt suggest that intermittent fasting leads to any more weight loss than typical diets that recommend overall calorie restriction. Both eating patterns may lead to modest weight loss .
If weight loss is your primary goal, you may therefore prefer to lower your calorie intake instead of fasting intermittently to prevent the overeating that may occur when restricting intake to a certain time window.
Best Intermittent Fasting Apps To Keep You Fit In 2022
Proven to be effective, Intermittent Fasting is being incorporated into peoples weight loss programs all around the world.
Its backed with solid evidence as more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon and seeing incredible results.
The fact that fasting has the potential to reprogram your metabolism only adds to the effectiveness of this weight-loss method, as we all know the key to losing weight is to eat fewer calories than the maintenance level.
The easiest way to get started is to utilize intermittent fasting apps on your smartphone so you can keep at it from anywhere. Well be going over some of the best intermittent fasting apps in this list, but before that, lets get some of the basics right.
WARNING: Intermittent Fasting is generally deemed safe but its always a good idea to be cautious and have a word with a healthcare professional before starting on it, as youll be changing your eating patterns using this weight loss program.
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What Is Intermittent Fasting
To put it in the most simple words, intermittent fasting is basically an eating pattern in which you switch between fasting for a certain period and then eating during the remaining time throughout the day.
This kind of weight loss program doesnt focus on WHAT you eat, but rather on WHEN you eat, as your whole purpose is to fast for a specific amount of hours at a stretch and then consume food after that.
Depending on your preference, you may decide to fast for 16 hours a day and eat during the remaining 8-hour window, or you can try eating only one single meal a day for 2 days a week. Similarly, there are different ways to approach this program.
Any of this can help your body burn fat, and it comes with a lot of health benefits as well, which are discussed below.What are the health benefits of Intermittent Fasting?
Many studies have shown that intermittent fasting can positively impact your overall health, including your body and brain.
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Bodyfast: Best Intermittent Fasting App
BodyFast is a great IF app that provides you with ten options of fasting plans from which you can choose. It also gives a lot of guidance and tips for meal planning. If you are a person who is dedicated to IF but you are not able to deal with the daily mechanics of it, then this app is capable of troubleshooting all your issues. The fantastic thing is that it is a free intermittent fasting app in which you get everything you need for doing intermittent fasting.
Tips For Intermittent Fasting For Healthy Weight Loss
Are there ways to use intermittent fasting to make sure you lose weight in a healthy way?
Yes! Here are our top tips:1
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When Should I Exercise
When Varady and her colleagues conducted a study that combined alternate day fasting and exercise, they allowed the participants to pick whether they wanted to exercise on a feasting or fasting day, and found there was no strong preference one way or the other. But the researchers were surprised the dieters actually reported feeling more energetic on fasting days.
That being said, exercise before you eat because people get hungry about half an hour after they finish working out and may find it too hard to stick to their plan if they cant eat anything at all afterwards, Varady noted.
If youre on the 16:8 plan, exercise before or during your eating window. If youre doing alternate day fasting and are exercising on your 500-calorie day, save food for after your exercise session.
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Day : Eliminate The Easy Targets
Now that you know that you tend to seek out a brownie at 3 p.m. or down an extra glass of wine with your BFF at happy hour, aim to omit one or two of those triggers from your agenda each day. A few formidable foes to keep an eye on:
- Processed foods, white carbohydrates, and sweetened drinks cause sugar spikes that can lead to hunger or powerful cravings that can wreck your progress, Shapiro says.
- Pass on the fried foods, Kaufman says, as theyre high in fat, low in nutrition and the excess oil will leave you feeling lethargic.
- Remove extra sugar from your diet: sugar in your coffee, flavored or sweetened dairy products, basically anytime you sweeten something, stop, Alpert says.
In fact, by removing added sugars from your diet for just 14 days can help you lose up to a pound a day! For the entire dietcomplete with recipes and a grocery guidecheck out The 14-Day No Sugar Diet on sale now!
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Is Not For Everybody
Like any dietary protocol, intermittent fasting is not an eating plan that suits everyone. As the 20:4 requires extended calorie restriction, it is recommended you speak with a trusted health practitioner before starting the plan.
The diet is not recommended for:
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding women
- Individuals under 18 years old
- If youre underweight or have a history of an eating disorder
If you have a pre-existing medical condition such as insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes or are taking medications, it is strongly recommended you consult your general practitioner before considering the Warrier.
How To Successfully Do The : 4 Intermittent Fast
The Warrior Diet plan involves fasting for 20 hours during the day followed by overeating in a 4-hour window at night.
For example, you may set your feeding window at 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. During this time you can eat as much as you want with an emphasis on unprocessed, organic whole foods particularly those high in dietary fats and protein.
After 10:00 pm, you fast or eat very small portions of specific foods such as raw fruit and vegetables until 6:00 pm the next day. Its important youre eating as fewer calories as possible during this time.
The method is best suited for people who have tried intermittent fasting before or who already consume a low-carb/ketogenic diet.
Hofmekler recommends you follow a three-week, three-phase plan initially before starting the Warrior Diet. This helps the body adapt to the eating and fasting schedule and become accustomed to using body fat as energy. This three-week introduction includes:
Once you have completed the three-phase diet, it is recommended you start it again before following the 20:4 guidelines.
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What Are The Different Types Of Intermittent Fasting
Now that you know all the health benefits, youre probably starting to wonder what ways you can do Intermittent Fasting. There are many ways to do IF.
But here are some of the most common ones:
1. The 12-hour fast: The 12-hour fast is one of the easiest types of IF. All you have to do is eat ALL of your meals within a 12-hour timeframe. So, if you eat breakfast at 8:00AM? You would have your last meal at 8:00 PM. 2.The 16/8 Method: The 16/8 method is similar to a 12-hour fast. But, instead, you take all your meals within an 8-hour timeframe. This can easily be achieved by skipping breakfast. So, for example, if you eat your first meal at 12, you would eat your last meal at 8:00 PM.
3. Eat-Stop-Eat: Do one or two 24-hour fasts each week. For example, not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.4. Alternate-day fasting: Alternate-day fasting is where you have a fast day where you consume only 25 % of your normal caloric intake. On this day, you avoid sugars or starches and eat only protein, vegetables and healthy foods. You then have a feed day in which you can eat whatever you want.
5.The 5:2 Diet: On 5:2 diet you eat how you would normally do, but only consume around 500 600 calories on two days of the week.
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Zero: Best Fasting App
Zero is the best intermittent fasting app, consisting of the timers, tools, and journals essential for getting started with this eating pattern. It also has a lot of helpful articles on fasting, the best beverages for drinking during the fasting window, and things to do for better sleep. The app also provides the feature of a mood graph that you can rate. This application is easy to use and provides unique features completely free of cost. You can also get the premium version of Zero at $69.99 a year, in which you get complete guidance on fasting from a coach.
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Is 16/8 Intermittent Fasting Right For You
Its true that 16/8 intermittent fasting can be a sustainable, safe, and easy way to improve your health when paired with a nutritious diet and healthy lifestyle.
However, it shouldnt be viewed as a substitute for a balanced diet rich in whole foods. Plus, you can still be perfectly healthy if you dont follow intermittent fasting.
Though 16/8 intermittent fasting is generally considered safe for healthy adults, you should talk with your doctor if you have any underlying health conditions. This is key if youre taking any medications or have diabetes, low blood pressure, or a history of disordered eating.
Intermittent fasting is likewise discouraged if youre trying to conceive, pregnant, or nursing.
If you have any concerns or experience any side effects while fasting, be sure to consult your doctor.
Omad Fasting One Meal A Day Aka 23/1
How: Fast for 23h and eat once a day
Another popular fasting schedule is called one-meal-a-day .
It is exactly what it sounds like you choose a time in a day that is the most suitable for you to have your on and only meal of the day.
I know what youre thinking isnt that almost starving? And yes, you are right OMAD diet shouldnt be done without thought on how to get at least 1200 calories during that one meal.
Thus if you choose this 23/1 fasting make sure your meal is a hearty and nutritious one.
If youre keen to try out OMAD we do have a21-Day OMAD Challengethat is packed with all the info you need, and also includes meal ideas and recipes to make it super simple.
A full article on OMAD diet you can find here: All You Need To Know About OMAD Diet
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Kick Start Your Success
Nothing makes dieting more difficult than having to follow a rigid regimen that revolves around skipping meals, eliminating certain food groups or having to weigh everything you put on your plate for every meal.
Free diet plans designed for the 5:2 diet are available when you join the intermittent fasting challenge. Why not join today?
When you are on the 5.2 diet, understanding and implementing it is easy. Just remember two basic rules:
Our free diet plans show you that on your fasting days you can still eat great meals that are healthy, hearty, nutritious and easy to prepare. You get to eat normal everyday foods that do not need to cost the earth or require expensive shakes or supplements.
With our 5.2 Intermittent Fasting Beginners Program, you will have access to a valuable quick start guide that contains recipes and meal plan ideas. This will save you a lot of time and energy as the calories have been counted, and if you follow the free diet plans in the guide you will see progress quickly towards your goals as you enjoy a new lighter and healthier you.
How Intermittent Fasting Helps You Lose Weight
Eating this way has many benefits with regard to weight loss. The first is that when youre fasting, your body will be forced to use its stored body fat for energy. After several hours of not eating, your body will use up its sugar stores, which will cause it to start burning fat for energy, a process known as metabolic switching.
Intermittent fasting contrasts with the normal eating pattern for most Americans, who eat throughout their waking hoursIf someone is eating three meals a day, plus snacks, and theyre not exercising, then every time they eat, theyre running on those calories and not burning their fat stores.
Burning calories this way, instead of from the food youre eating throughout the day, will help you experience significant weight loss, but specifically lose weight from any excess body fat youre carrying.
This means that you wont just be thinner, but you will also look better and be much healthier than if you lose weight the old-fashioned way.
Intermittent fasting can help optimize the release of the key fat-burning hormones in your body. This is especially true for the two most important hormones: human growth hormone and insulin.
Human growth hormone plays a key role in turning on your bodys fat-burning furnace so that it gets the calories you need to work and play from stored body fat. Studies show that fasting can significantly increase the production of HGH.
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Why Should I Lose Weight
Gaining weight is often a gradual process it happens over the years as a result of modern-day life and the odd unhealthy habit.
Extra weight causes fat to build up around vital organs, making it harder for the body to fight against diseases like cancer, heart disease and now COVID-19.
If you are overweight or living with obesity, lowering your weight can help reduce your risk of developing serious diseases.
You can learn more about obesity and get support from Obesity UK, the leading charity dedicated to supporting people living with obesity.
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How Does The 1: 8 Diet Work
The 16:8 diet works on an hourly basis, so each day you eat within an 8-hour time frame and then fast for the remaining 16 hours. This works for weight loss as it “helps you eat fewer calories while boosting metabolism slightly,” says Sawyer.
She adds, “It’s a very effective tool to lose weight and visceral fat. After hours without food, the body exhausts its sugar stores and starts burning fat – sometimes referred to as ‘metabolic switching’.”
Research has shown this switch is a natural process that happens when the body runs out of energy from food. The body changes its energy source from glucose that’s stored in the liver to ketones, which are stored in fat cells. While the body is getting its energy from glucose it’s maintaining or gaining weight, but when the switch happens weight is lost.
Calorie-restricted diets like the Fast 800 work in a similar way. So what’s special about the 16:8 diet?
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Weight Loss Meal Plans
For individuals wanting to lose weight, it can be challenging to find a suitable weight loss program since there are so many available online. However, adopting a diet rich in whole foods and limiting processed foods is a good starting point.
This article explains how to plan a meal for weight loss and includes a 7-day meal plan for people to consider. It also discusses other helpful approaches to weight loss for different groups and those with different dietary requirements.
A person should plan their meals according to their requirements. They should consider:
- how much weight they need to lose
- their activity levels
- any dietary requirements for health conditions
- any personal, cultural, or religious dietary requirements
- how much available time they have for food preparation and shopping
- their level of cooking expertise and the difficulty of recipes
- whether the meal plan needs to include other members of the household
Online resources are available that can help a person plan their meals. However, each plans nutrient content can vary greatly, so a person must ensure they receive a sufficient amount of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
The following section contains a healthy meal plan for weight loss that a person can adapt as necessary.
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