Are There Any Side Effects Of Intermittent Fasting 20/4
Yes, there are. Some downsides of participating in a fasting eating plan include:
- May lead to a binge-eating disorder This is a serious eating disorder in which you frequently consume unusually large amounts of food and feel unable to stop eating. Fasting has been linked to the increase in the onset of binge-eating .
- May lead to nutrient deficiencies Since you are eating during a very small window, you are unlikely to consume the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Nutrient deficiencies that can lead to anemia, fatigue, weakness, poor eye health and immunity, short term memory loss, diarrhea, dementia, and skin disorders, muscle loss, osteoporosis, and depression .
- It has no basis in science As we mentioned above, this diet was developed by an ex-military guy who based all his findings from his experience during active duty. He is neither a scientist, nutritionist, nor a dietitian. On the other hand, most of the benefits mentioned have been linked to fasting in general or other forms of intermittent fasting and not the 20/4 method.
Alternate Day Fasting : 2 Method
Some people fast on alternate days to improve blood sugar, cholesterol, and weight loss. A person on the 5:2 method eats 500 to 600 calories on two non-consecutive days each week.
Some alternate-day fasting regimens add in a third day of fasting each week. For the rest of the week, a person eats only the number of calories they burn during the day. Over time, this creates a calorie deficit that allows the person to lose weight.
Resources on the Eat Stop Eat, Warrior, and Leangains fasting methods are available to purchase online.
My Experience With Intermittent Fasting
I started IF in August 2018. At the time I weighed around 181, which is acceptable for a 6-foot male. But I’d been 175 for years, and suddenly it seemed I couldn’t control my eating. I didn’t like where my belly was headed.
After about two months, during which my fasting windows varied , I’d lost 10 pounds. Needless to say, I was pleased with that result and became pretty evangelical about IF. My excitement stemmed from not only the weight loss, but also the total lack of hardship. This didn’t feel like a diet it felt like a smart way to live.
In fact, I discovered that I really liked this WOE. When I was feeling a little hungry in the late morning? Just wait a bit longer, I told myself, your window opens soon. Then I’d busy myself with something and forget about it. And if I wanted a snack after 7 p.m.? Too bad, window’s closed for the day — but you can have it tomorrow.
I stuck with it for about 10 months, though I’ll admit I got frustrated at times. For one thing, I’d been hoping to lose another 5-10 pounds, and assuming they’d come off as easily as the first 10, but the scale held firm at 171.
Result: After four months , the scale shows 171. In the interim, I’ve eaten an almost embarrassing amount of food while my window was open. I don’t have a sugar monkey on my back I have a sugar gorilla. Nevertheless: I’m thinner. And I’m going to see if I can hit 165. This lifestyle — not diet, mind you — is a piece of cake. Speaking of which, think I’ll go have one of those.
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How To Start Your 30
There are no special and strict rules. You can create your own dietary pattern. For instance, you can start your fasting by sticking to the approach which is simpler for you. You can follow the 16/8 method for the first two weeks of your diet and change it to 5:2 for the last two weeks. Maybe for you it will be easier to make it vice versa, everything is up to you.
If you feel you have enough energy, you can include some light training sessions to your schedule even on fasting days. As it was mentioned above, it is important to break the fast correctly. You can choose some healthy meals and start from smaller portions. Meals high in protein and healthy fats will be perfect . Eggs, nuts, or oatmeal will be perfect in this case.
Remember that when it comes to dieting and weight loss, everything is quite individual. Listen to your body and choose methods and tools that are more effective and suitable for you.
What I Ate And How I Exercised While Doing Intermittent Fasting
Limiting my eating to an eight-hour period of the day seemed reasonable. If I exercised in the morning, my first meal would be an early but large lunch at around 11:30 a.m. By 3 p.m., if I was hungry, I could have a snack. At 7 p.m., I would eat a reasonable-size dinner. No snacking after that.
My first thought was that there was no way I would be able to skip breakfast and still work out. My mind was telling me that I would be hungry. The first few days that I tried it, as I would warm up for my workout, I would have visions of chicken with broccoli from a nearby Chinese restaurant in my head. But once I got into my workout, a funny thing would happen. I would completely forget about being hungry. My body would stabilize and water would be enough to keep me moving.
But by the time I got home from the gym, I was starving. Early on, I decided that was going to be my biggest meal of the day. Sometimes it was a lean shoulder steak with a sweet potato. Other times, I would eat an entire chicken along with two cups of broccoli, and the sweetest bottle of Gatorade I ever had. Or occasionally, I would make a taco bowl out of seasoned ground turkey, cheddar cheese, and tomatoes, or a stir-fry with beef and a variety of peppers. It turned out that my calorie intake and lunch would be anywhere from 800 to 1,000 calories, though this part was not an exact science.
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Intermittent Fasting Results After 1 Month
Interested to see the results of Intermittent Fasting after just one month?
Intermittent Fasting is one of the biggest weight loss and fat loss trends over the past few years. Its as simple as it gets when it comes to dieting to lose weight.
You simply dont eat anything for a period of time then follow that up with a shorter feeding window. Youll not only be automatically cutting out how many calories you eat during this fasting period but youll also be improving weight loss hormones.
Your body will improve insulin sensitivity as well as blood sugar control . Both of these are an underlying cause of weight gain in the first place . Plus your body will naturally release other fat-burning hormones such as human growth hormone and norepinephrine .
Losing weight can be hard especially if youre not already used to dieting. But using a simple strategy such as Intermittent Fasting for weight loss can give you added benefits than typical diets .
Here youll discover the results you can get from using Intermittent Fasting for 1 month when youre doing it right.
Will I Lose Weight If I Fast One Day A Week
Going a day without eating is generally safe and can be beneficial in several ways, including as a weight-loss tool. Fasting does not help weight loss any more than other conventional approaches and can be harder to stick with over the long term.
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Intermittent Fasting: Surprising Update
- By Monique Tello, MD, MPH, Contributor
Theres a ton of incredibly promising intermittent fasting research done on fat rats. They lose weight, their blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugars improve but theyre rats. Studies in humans, almost across the board, have shown that IF is safe and effective, but really no more effective than any other diet. In addition, many people find it difficult to fast.
But a growing body of research suggests that the timing of the fast is key, and can make IF a more realistic, sustainable, and effective approach for weight loss, as well as for diabetes prevention.
Female Intermittent Fasting Results After 1 Month
First off Ive noticed in my years as a personal trainer and nutrition coach that women tend to lose a little less weight than men with Intermittent Fasting. Im not sure the physiological reasons for this but women just tend to lose a little less than men. But that doesnt make it any less effective for them.
Women tend to lose about 10-15 pounds in their first month using Intermittent Fasting.
If youre a woman then youll also notice a slimmer midsection with less belly fat and a tighter tummy. You can also expect to drop a few pant sizes in one month as your body loses weight and burns off more fat. Plus youll notice your arms and legs will appear more toned than before.
But if you have a lot of weight to lose then women can easily lose more weight than this. 20 pounds can be achieved with Intermittent Fasting in your first month if youre already carrying 40+ pounds of excess weight on your body.
Many postpartum women can lose a good chunk of baby weight they gained during the pregnancy. Lots of women can get back to their pre-baby weight after a few months of Intermittent Fasting.
Make sure you also take a before and after picture to see visual changes in your bodys appearance after the first month of Intermittent Fasting. Measuring your inches as well will help to give you an overall picture of how much weight and fat you lost over the first month of fasting.
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All Kinds Of Vegetables
A diet rich in vegetables and fruits can help lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancer, lower the risk of eye and digestive problems, and positively affect blood sugar levels, which can help keep appetite in check .
There are starchy and non-starchy vegetables:
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May Improve Blood Sugar Levels
Intermittent fasting is generally associated with improving blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity . A pilot study done in 2017 showed that fasting for 18 to 20 hours a day could lead to weight loss and post-meal blood sugar control . This shows that fasting could be extremely beneficial to patients with type 2 diabetes. However, if you are suffering from this disease, please talk to your doctor before trying the 20-hour fast, or any other form of intermittent fasting.
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Intermittent Fasting For Healthy Weight Loss
As weve said, not all weight loss is the same. Its essential to make sure youre losing weight in a healthy way. Can intermittent fasting help with healthy weight loss?
Here, the data are conflicting.
On one hand, intermittent fasting can help improve metabolic health by reducing blood sugar and blood pressure while also improving blood lipid levels.4
On the other hand, two trials suggested that intermittent fasting may not lead to greater weight loss than usual care, or even worse may lead to greater loss of lean muscle mass than usual care or continuous calorie restriction.5
A healthy weight loss intervention also should be relatively easy to comply with and maintain long-term. Fortunately, intermittent fasting may fit that criteria.
One study reported that working adults found time-restricted eating with an eight-hour eating window easy to comply with and maintain for three months.6
That fits with frequent clinical experience suggesting many people easily adapt to time-restricted eating, especially when they follow a low-carb or high-protein diet that helps improve satiety and reduce appetite.7
So, in terms of convenience and ease in your approach to healthy weight loss, intermittent fasting seems to be a winner.
How Much Weight Can You Lose
Your weight loss during water fasting will depend mostly on your gender and your weight.
Luckily, science can already offer us with a pretty good estimate of how much weight you can expect to lose on a typical water fast.
According to research that compared the average weight loss results between men and women, men can expect to lose more weight than women during water fasting.
I’ve compiled the data from the study into this pretty long table:
| Water fast duration |
|---|
Ok, so, like I said, you don’t need to do ANY manual calculations.
But just so you understand how the calculator works, here are two example calculations:
Example 1 :You’re a 150-lbs woman who plans on doing a 7-day water fast.
You can estimate your weight loss results by taking the value from the second column in the table for a 7-day water fast and multiply it by your current weight.
Your estimated 7-day water fasting results: 150 lbs * 4.5 / 100 = -6.8 lbs
Example 2 :You’re a 180-lbs man who plans on doing a 14-day water fast.
You can estimate your weight loss results by taking the value from the third column in the table for a 14-day water fast and multiply it by your current weight.
Your estimated 14-day water fasting results: 180 lbs * 7.9 / 100 = -14.2 lbs
Easy, right?
Ok, now that you have a good idea about how much weight you can expect to lose, let’s take a closer look at what really goes on under the hood.
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More About Intermittent Fasting
Ive been a dietitian now for a long time , and if theres one thing I know for sure, its that fad diets are best avoided. This is why Im so pleased that whole food diets are being talked about more and more.
Rather than a diet, I prefer to think of a whole food diet as a way of life. Eating this way is balanced, and it is a great way to support your all-around body health and longevity. Plus, its delicious andin my opinionnot limiting either, which is a massive bonus.
A well-balanced diet follows some fairly basic principles and, in essence, consists of plenty of the following:
- Fruit
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Thai Prawns With Pineapple & Green Beans
Filled to the brim with proteins, these Thai prawns with pineapple and green beans are a gastronomic masterpiece. They are quite easy to make and take not that much time
Ingredients for 2 servings:
- 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
Directions:
Nutritional value of 1 serving:
Calories: 228, carbs: 20g, fats: 7g, protein: 22g
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Why You Dont Need A Detox Diet
It sounds logical that fasting could cleanse your body of harmful substances that could cause a host of ailments like obesity, fatigue, and headaches. But there is no scientific evidence that you need to fast to “cleanse” your body or remove toxins.
Your body – specifically, the kidneys, liver, lungs, colon, and skin — is perfectly capable of removing toxins itself.
Establish Your Own Rules
It was mentioned above that people tend to have some variation of water fasting. They allow themselves herbal teas and some other drinks that dont harm the digestive system during the diet. It means that you can slightly change your fasting rules to make everything more suitable for you.
If you want to lose weight and get long-term results without damage to your health, it is better to choose more gentle types of fasting. Intermittent fasting will be perfect for this purpose.
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How Much Weight Can You Lose In A Week Fasting
According to a 2014 review, intermittent fasting reduced body weight by 38% over a period of 324 weeks . When examining the rate of weight loss, intermittent fasting may produce weight loss at a rate of approximately 0.55 to 1.65 pounds per week .
How much weight can you lose in a week fasting?
- When examining the rate of weight loss, people lost about 0.55 pounds per week with intermittent fasting, but 1.65 pounds per week with alternate-day fasting . People also lost 4-7% of their waist circumference, indicating that they lost belly fat.
What Are The Benefits
The benefits of intermittent fasting seem to affect many aspects of health. These effects could theoretically result from the flipping of a metabolic switch.
âFasting leads to lower levels of glucose . In response, the body uses fat instead of glucose as a source of energy, after turning the fat into ketones,â explains registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Womenâs Hospital. This shift from glucose to ketones as a source of energy also changes body chemistry in healthy ways.
Regular fasting in animals is associated not only with weight loss but also with lower blood pressure and heart rate, reduced insulin resistance, lower âbadâ LDL cholesterol levels, higher âgoodâ HDL cholesterol levels, and less inflammation. Some studies also have found improved memory.
Intermittent fasting is also associated with a longer life span, at least in animals. Why? Recent Harvard research suggests that intermittent fasting may allow the energy-producing engines of each cell to produce energy more efficiently and remain in a more youthful state.
âBy eating in the day, youâre not challenging the mitochondria at night, when theyâre supposed to be doing other things,â explains Dr. William Mair, a researcher and associate professor of genetics and complex diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. âBut we have many unanswered questions.â
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