Ways To Eat Chia Seeds For Weight Loss
Fitness experts and influencers call chia seed water a magic weight loss potion. For starters, theres no set ratio for water to chia seeds. If you want to whip up chia seed water, soak one tablespoon of the seeds in a glass of water. Nutritionists suggest soaking chia seeds in water until they reach a tapioca-like gel consistency or for a minimum of 30 minutes. With that in mind, some may not be into the idea of drinking chia seeds. But then, you can also add them to smoothies and on top of salads or whip up a chia seed pudding or pancake.
If not water, then you can make chia seeds drink by mixing the seeds into your favourite type of milk and keeping it overnight. For added weight loss benefits, try to go for non-dairy milk alternatives. However, make sure not to add any high-calorie sweeteners and toppings. So, if youre eating a bowl of chia seeds for breakfast, mix in some slices of apples and bananas.
Chia seeds have a mild flavour. So you can add them to several preparations without worrying about startling flavour variations. For a low-calorie alternative, swap chia seeds with the flour in your pastry recipes. You can buy pre-ground chia seeds or grind them up in a blender until powdery to use in cake, cookie, or pancake recipes.
Foods List And Meal Plan
To maximize the potential health benefits of your diet, its important to stick to nutritious whole foods and beverages during your eating periods.
Filling up on nutrient-rich foods helps round out your diet and supports a healthy weight. Try balancing each meal with a wide variety of whole foods, such as:
- Fruits: apples, bananas, berries, oranges, peaches, pears, tomatoes, etc.
- Veggies: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cucumbers, leafy greens, etc.
- Whole grains: barley, buckwheat, quinoa, rice, oats, etc.
- Healthy fats: olive oil and avocados
- Protein sources: eggs, fish, legumes, meat, poultry, nuts, seeds, etc.
Drinking calorie-free beverages like water and unsweetened tea and coffee, even while fasting, also helps control your appetite while keeping you hydrated.
Its best to avoid ultra-processed foods like packaged snacks, deep-fried items, sugary drinks, and most frozen meals. These negate the positive effects of 16/8 intermittent fasting and may harm your health.
Summary
To begin 16/8 intermittent fasting, choose an 8-hour window and limit your food intake to that time span. Be sure to follow a balanced diet based in whole foods.
Summary
Animal and human studies suggest that intermittent fasting may increase weight loss, improve blood sugar levels, and extend longevity.
What Happens To Your Body When You Fast
There’s not a lot of evidence to show exactly what happens when we fast, says Nathalie Sessions, R.D., at Houston Methodist.
“Theres only been a few viable scientific studies that have been done with humans on intermittent fasting,” she tells Men’sHealth.
Learn more with The Men’s Health Guide to Intermittent Fasting
Learn more with The Men’s Health Guide to Intermittent Fasting
Most research has been conducted in animals, and human bodies don’t function in the same way.
Many theorize that giving your body a break from eating helps your body repair damaged cells, a process known as autophagy, says Sowa. However, most of this research has been conducted in mice, so the science isn’t 100 percent clear.
However, there is evidence that fasting lowers insulin levels, according to Sowa. Healthy adults experienced a decline in insulin levels after fasting, according to a 2005 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, regulates blood sugar and other hormones. Too much insulin has been linked to obesity and health conditions like heart disease.
Recommended Reading: How Can I Do Intermittent Fasting
Choosing A Time Window
To get started, begin by picking an 8-hour window and limiting your food intake to that time span.
Popular 16/8 time windows include:
- 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Many people prefer to eat between noon and 8 p.m., since you need to fast only overnight and skip breakfast but can still eat a balanced lunch and dinner, along with a few snacks throughout the day.
Others opt to eat between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., which allows plenty of time for a healthy breakfast around 9 a.m., a standard lunch around noon, and a light, early dinner or large snack around 4:30 p.m. before starting your fast.
However, you can experiment and pick the time frame that best fits your schedule.
It may help to set timers at both the beginning and the end of your eating window to remind you when to start and stop eating.
Can I Combine Coffee And Intermittent Fasting
Because a cup of brewed coffee is fat-free and almost no-cal, it wont screw up your fast…so long as it’s black coffee, says Boules. All your regular coffee variations and add-ins will cost you fat and caloriesand consuming fat and calories means you are no longer fasting.
According to the USDA, plain black coffee is around two to five calories . But once you start pouring in sugar, milk, or cream, youre adding anywhere from 16 to nearly 100 more calories to your morning joe. So while coffee can be a decent way to feel like youre consuming something during your fasting hours, make sure youre drinking it black to keep your calories almost nonexistent. The more calories you feed your body, the more outside fuel it has to use as energy, which means it won’t utilize the glucose stored upin your fat cells, in theory. Fast, broken.
But you dont necessarily want to start a coffee-drinking habit just to soothe your hunger pains if you’re doing intermittent fasting. Caffeine can temporarily speed metabolism and potentially take you out of that starvation mode. “But if you’re a regular caffeine consumer, the thermogenic effect is minimal, explains Boules.
In other words, if youre already addicted to an a.m. coffee, you should be okay: The calories are minimal and your body is adjusted to the caffeine. But if you were a decaf tea drinker before, dont start chugging espresso, mmkay?
Also Check: Tips For Starting Intermittent Fasting
How Can Intermittent Fasting Help With Weight Loss
Intermittent fasting can be effective in reducing body weight in people of every size, according to a report in Nutrition Reviews . Most studies focused on alternate day fasting or whole-day fasting trials, but there is also evidence to support the success of time-restricted eating. As well as weight loss, intermittent fasting can have cardiometabolic benefits for those with obesity, as found in another review in the 2021 Annual Review of Nutrition .
Similar to the way the keto diet helps with weight loss, intermittent fasting can put you into a state called ketosis where you are using ketones as fuel. A study in the journal of Cell Metabolism indicates that in the state of ketosis, the body metabolizes fat and produces ketones, which the body can use as an alternative energy source.
- Related:Is breakfast important?
After a meal, you pass through four different metabolic states as your body digests the food, explains Dr Deborah Lee, MD, from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy . These are: the fed state, the post-absorptive state/early fasting state, the late fasting state, and starvation.
Having worked for many years in the U.K’s National Health Service, initially as a GP, and then as Lead Clinician for an integrated Community Sexual Health Service, Dr Deborah Lee now works as a health and medical writer, with an emphasis on womens health. She is a menopause specialist.
Making Weight Loss Easier
Intermittent fasting can change the function of hormones, cells and genes, Sawyer says. “Changes in hormone levels makes stored body fat more accessible and initiates important cellular repair processes. When you fast, insulin levels drop, and human growth hormone increases. Your cells also initiate important cellular repair processes and change which genes they express.”
Also Check: What Should Your Fasting Glucose Be
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.
Fasting May Improve Blood Sugar Control
Some studies have found that intermittent fasting can improve blood sugar control in those with type 2 diabetes.
A study in 10 people with type 2 diabetes found that a fasting goal of 1820 hours a day lead to a considerable decrease in body weight and significantly improved fasting and post-meal blood sugar control .
However, another recent study showed that intermittent fasting increased the chances of hypoglycemia , even when taking lower doses of blood-sugar-reducing medications .
Though lowering blood sugar levels in a safe way is beneficial, hypoglycemia can be dangerous and lead to serious complications .
For this reason, people with diabetes who are interested in trying out intermittent fasting should consult with their doctor first.
Summary
Methods of intermittent fasting like the Warrior Diet may help reduce weight, improve brain health, lower blood sugar and reduce inflammation.
Despite potential health benefits of the Warrior Diet, there are some downfalls to this way of eating.
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Things To Look Out For
As long as someone is mindful about portions, chia seeds can be a great nutritious addition to the diet. However, consuming too many of them can have counterproductive effects. There is a reason why the serving size of chia seeds has a two tablespoons limit. Overeating chia seeds cause a sudden drastic rise in fibre, leading to gastric issues like bloating and diarrhoea. If your diet is low in fibre, gradually increase your chia seed intake. Check for the possibility of chia seed allergens. Although rare, chia seed allergy can trigger symptoms or cause a reaction.
Eating foods that promote satiety is not an issue, but they should not replace other foods in your diet. For example, when you eat chia seeds, focus on other nutritious mix-ins. Ultimately, though, reach out to your nutritionist if you are concerned about your consumption.
It May Be Difficult For Some People To Stick To
One of the most obvious limitations of the Warrior Diet is that it restricts the time during which you may eat substantial meals to a four-hour period.
This can be difficult to stick to, especially when participating in normal social activities like going out to breakfast or lunch.
While some people may feel great when consuming very small amounts of calories over a 20-hour period, others may find that this way of eating is not ideal for their lifestyle.
Also Check: What To Expect Intermittent Fasting
If I Am Trying To Conceive Can I Be On An Intermittent Fasting Diet
Yes! This goes with any other type of weight loss diet plan for women. There is no reason to discontinue it if youre trying to conceive.
However, during your periods of fasting, make sure that the meals are very satiating because feeling hungry during this time can hinder conceiving or cause you not to ovulate.
Can Coffee Enhance The Effects Of Intermittent Fasting
Since coffee makes you feel revved up, its only natural to wonder if it can give you an added boost when youre fasting. Heres the thing: Theres no data to either support this idea or shut it down, so its really hard for experts to say one way or another.
But its unlikely that coffee will do much, if anything, to give you a weight-loss boost of any sort when youre fasting, says Scott Keatley, RD, of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy.
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Black, unsweetened coffee increases metabolic rate by about 3 to 4 percent, Keatley says, noting that this can be seen in a very slight increase in your body temperature. The effect peaks at about 90 minutes after consumption, and the effect is seen in subsequent cups of coffee as long as they are spaced out by about two to three hours, he says.
Got all that? Cool, cool. Heres the slight issue with this, Keatley adds: Fasting actually slows down your metabolism as your body tries to decrease your metabolic rate to conserve energy. So, while coffee might increase your metabolism slightly during a fasting state, your body is also operating at a slower speed. Essentially, youre really not gaining anything special by drinking black coffee.
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Intermittent Fasting: Fad Or Valid Weight
Topics in this Post
Is skipping meals a bad idea or a secret weight-loss weapon? One diet trend that shows no sign of going away soon is intermittent fasting. That’s when you voluntarily abstain from food or beverages other than water for a certain amount of time. Some fasting is for religious reasons, while others fast for weight loss.
But is intermittent fasting a healthy way to lose weight?
Might Go Against Your Intuition
Intermittent fasting requires discipline, restraint, and planning ahead.
For some people, using those tactics to keep your calorie intake within a designated time frame is no problem, but for others, it might feel unnatural at first. This may be especially true if youre used to relying on your intuition to decide when to eat.
Further, if you prefer not to follow a strict schedule, you might find intermittent fasting frustrating.
Whats more, if your schedule tends to vary from day to day because of work, family, or other obligations, keeping your calorie intake to a designated time frame could be challenging.
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What Else Can I Drink While I’m In A Fasted State
Obviously, you can drink wateryou can even punch it up with some fresh fruit or a squeeze of lemon for flavor as long as you arent actually eating the fruit. But Boules says you can also reach for unsweetened tea, which is zero calories without anything extra added to it.
What you cant drink, however, are things like fruit juices, green juices, or smoothies. This trips people up sometimes, because we tend to think stuff in liquid form is calorie-free, just like water. But juices and smoothies are made with food, which means they have enough calories to break your fast.
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The whole idea behind the alleged health-promoting benefits is actually fasting , says Boules. consuming something caloric during fasting hours in the form of sweetened beverages, juices, or smoothies, you’re not fasting.
Remember, the whole concept of intermittent fasting relies on a prolonged, uninterrupted period of not consuming any calories .
Most people opt for a 16:8 dietfasting for 16 hours per day and eating during an 8-hour windowthough it’s not totally clear as of now if 16 hours of intermittent fasting is the magic number of fasting hours to see weight-loss results. But, that’s a reasonable rule to follow until science reveals more about IF.
There Is Interest In Whether Autophagy Can Increase The Lifespan Of Whole Organisms Though So Far This Has Only Been Replicated In Animals
There is interest in whether autophagy can increase the lifespan of whole organisms, too though so far this has only been replicated in animals, like 1mm-long nematode worms and mice, and not humans . Until there are longitudinal studies of human intermittent fasters, it is too soon to say that it will extend our lifespans.
But, other animal studies have linked autophagy to improvements in immune system memory. The fact that autophagy is essential to maintain cell health has also generated interest in its role in cancer suppression. There might be more reasons than increasing lifespan to take interest in autophagy.
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For most of us, autophagy occurs in our sleep, but it is also brought on by exercise and starvation. Could controlled fasting help to trigger it?
Unlike calorie-restrictive diets , the purpose of intermittent fasting is to increase the amount of time between the last meal of one day and the first of the next. This could help to promote autophagy, but to understand how we should look at what happens to us after we eat.
Eating even a small bite before bed extends the “fed state”, meaning you may never achieve ketosis before your next meal
When you stop eating at 19:00 you will still be in the fed state until 22:00 because you will still be digesting nutrients, says Clarkson. Any carbohydrates in your diet will give you a nice supply of glucose, our premium source of fuel, for a few hours.
Recommended Reading: What To Eat While On Intermittent Fasting
Is Intermittent Fasting Good For Weight Loss
- Mayo Clinic News Network
Recent research has found that using intermittent fasting for weight loss may have some benefits in the short term.
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: A friend told me that she is fasting to lose weight. Ive tried many diets over the years without much success, so Im thinking about trying fasting, too. Is intermittent fasting a healthy way to lose weight? Is this just skipping a meal occasionally or is there more to it?
ANSWER: One diet trend that shows no sign of going away soon is intermittent fasting. Thats when you voluntarily abstain from food or beverages other than water for a certain amount of time. Some fasting is for religious reasons, while others fast for weight loss.
The three most popular approaches to intermittent fasting are:
Alternate-day fasting: Eat a normal, healthy diet one day and then completely fast or have one small meal the next day. Usually, the small meal is fewer than 500 calories.
5-2 fasting: Eat a normal diet five days per week and fast for two days per week.
Daily time-restricted fasting: Eat normally but only within an eight-hour window each day.
Recent research has found that using intermittent fasting for weight loss may have some benefits in the short term.
Little long-term research has been conducted on intermittent fasting to examine how it affects people over time. As a result, long-term health benefits or risks are unknown.
