What Are The Dos And Donts Of Intermittent Fasting
When it comes to the dos and donts of intermittent fasting, the rules are fairly flexible. But achieving your goal does require you to do certain things that will improve your chances of getting to the promised land.
Use these dos and donts as tips for intermittent fasting as well.
Okay here are some of the dos of intermittent fasting:
1. Do your exercise or workout close to your feeding time. This has been shown to be very effective producing really good results especially for people who want to build muscle. Some people use BCAAs or Bang energy drinks to break their fast.
2. The follow up to that is that you should have your main meal after your workout or exercise routine. You may have another meal afterwards. But must be within the eating window of the intermittent fasting plan.
3. You can take bcaa supplement just before your exercise. Its not going to hurt your results. If anything, it is actually a good thing as bcaas contain essential amino acids. BCAAs help with muscle building and muscle bulk maintenance. See article on the advantages of using BCAAs.
4. On fast days, one way of coping is to have warm beverages. But absolutely calorie-free sweeteners only are allowed in your beverage. This is particularly important in the evenings. The time you will be most tempted to cheat.
6. Having proteins on fast days can also be a good idea. White meat like Turkey, Chicken, Goose or Broad beans for vegetarians can let you hold up the fast more effectively.
Maybe Youre Not Using The Most Suitable If Method For You
Theres a handful of ways you can do intermittent fasting and all of them are effective ways to lose weight.
However, not all of them are probably going to fit your specific lifestyle. And, to me, forcing it will only stall your weight loss, if not lead to even more unhealthy habits.
For example, lets say you try a more extreme method of IF with an eating window of just 4 hours per day. If youre new to fasting, youre probably going to be famished by the time you get to your eating window.
This leads us to
How Safe Is Intermittent Fasting
The 12 hour intermittent fasting Keto or Ketogenic diet and other carbohydrate-restricted diets aim to achieve ketosis, which is an accumulation of acidic ketones in the blood. As much as the outcomes are great, ketosis can cause liver, brain, and kidney damage. It is unsafe for individuals with chronic disorders such as diabetes and heart disease. Your blood sugar should also be stable for you to follow this diet plan. Therefore, it is important to discuss with your doctor and seek guidance from a licensed dietitian before beginning 12 hour intermittent fasting.
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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.
What Intermittent Fasting For Teens Ultimately Comes Down To
With no definitive research to back up the claims on intermittent fasting for teenagers, take my advice with a grain of salt.
As far as I can see, there are no mechanisms in which intermittent fasting will stunt your growth or cause any harmful health effects growing up.
In fact, one could even argue that intermittent fasting could help with growing taller because of the increase of human growth hormone during the fasting period.
Who knows, this could lead to increased growth height as long as you are supplying your body with the nutrients it needs, along with the other awesome benefits from intermittent fasting.
My final thoughts on this matter are that intermittent fasting for teenagers ultimately comes down to locking in your nutrition based on your goals and supplying your body with the nutrients it needs to grow and develop.
Well, thought out diet plans for teens should not take intermittent fasting to the extreme by fasting for hours on end.
Finally, remember that you dont need to get down to 6 or 7 percent body fat. If I were a teenager, I would simply stay around 10 to 15% and focus on getting stronger in the gym.
Your Kino Question For The Day: Have any of my teenage followers been using intermittent fasting? What has been your experience? What are your biggest concerns with fasting?Let me know in the comments below.
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How You Feel: Hungry
This stage is when your body transitions into fasting mode and, for many people, its the most challenging part of their fast. This stage is where you start to feel the hunger pangs as you skip your regular mealtime routine. Most first time fasters start to feel a reduction in their energy levels. These effects can induce a negative mood or irritability for most fasters. Its wise to prepare yourself for the possibility of being short on patience during this stage.
Simple Rules Of Fasting
There are a few rules you need to follow if you want intermittent fasting for men to work out for you.
First, get plenty of sleep.
Sleep is good for you anyway, but getting more sleep while doing intermittent fasting increases the likelihood you’ll stick with it because you are awake fewer hours during the day.
That translates into less willpower needed to stick to the fast.
For example, if you go to bed at midnight and get up at 6 a.m to go to work, you have to fight late-night cravings.
If you go to bed at 10 p.m., it shaves 2 hours off your day, and you’re less likely to have a midnight snack if you’re already in bed and sleeping.
Most people choose to fast for 14 to 16 hours.
This means you effectively either skip breakfast or dinner. Most people choose to skip breakfast and eat lunch and dinner as normal.
Drink coffee to hold you over.
While some versions of intermittent fasting allow one shot of cream in your coffee, the choice is entirely up to you.
The important thing is to not go crazy with it. For example, don’t add 2 or 3 shots of cream and a tablespoon of sugar.
Finally, eat everything you’re going to eat for the day inside of 8 hours.
This can be tricky if you’re not used to it.
If you get up at 6 a.m. and eat by 7 a.m., you can eat a big breakfast and a moderately-large lunch, as long as you stop eating by 3 p.m.
Alternatively, you can skip breakfast and eat lunch at noon, and dinner sometime before 8 p.m.
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You Are Not Eating Enough Food
Though it might sound counterproductive, you need to eat well during your eating window.
Intermittent fasting does not mean starvation and you can continue with your normal diet.
When you are not getting enough calories during your eating window, chances are that you will eat a whole lot more during your next window. That is because of the uncontrollable hunger that you will feel.
Also, starving yourself might cause your body to store more fat long-term. Your body notices that you are going for extended periods with little or no food and to ensure that you have a reliable energy source during such periods, your body stores the extra food you eat as fat.
So, instead of burning energy from your meals, your body begins to conserve energy.
Calorie counting could help you ensure you are getting sufficient fuel for your days activities.
Wont Intermittent Fasting Burn Muscle
That depends on the person and the duration of the fast. During fasting, the body first breaks down glycogen into glucose for energy. After that, the body increases body fat breakdown to provide energy.
Excess amino acids are also used for energy, but the body does not burn its own muscle for fuel unless it has to.49
Some studies, however, suggest that leaner individuals are at higher risk of lean body mass loss, and even reduced metabolic rate. Yet it appears this is less of a concern with overweight subjects.50
In my experience with over 1,000 patients on various intermittent fasting regimens, I have not yet seen a single case of significant muscle loss.51Learn more
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Isnt Fasting The Same As Reducing Calories
No, not necessarily. Fasting can reduce the time you spend eating and primarily addresses the question of when to eat.62 Calorie reduction addresses the question of what and how much to eat. They are separate issues and should not be confused with each other.
Fasting may reduce calories but its benefits extend far beyond that.63Learn more
Three Methods Of Intermittent Fasting
Research does suggest that the timing of the fast is key. There are three kinds of intermittent fasting, all of which involve splitting the day or week into eating and fasting periods. The 16/8 method or time splitting method, involves skipping breakfast and restricting daily eating period to 8 hours, . Then there is then a 16 hour fast in between. The Eat-Stop-Eat or alternate day method involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week. The 5:2 method allows 20-25 percent of estimated caloric needs on fasting days and unrestricted intake on non-fasting days.
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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.
How To Do Intermittent Fasting
If you are just getting started with intermittent fasting, we recommend slowly working up to your target fasting schedule over the course of several weeks or months. Start by reflecting on your eating habits. Do you snack in between meals or after dinner? If so, try a 12-hour fast overnight. This means you finish dinner by 7 pm, for example, and dont eat anything else until 7 am the next day. If you usually dont feel the need to eat after dinner or between meals, try a 14-16 hour fast . If youd like to fast longer, add 1-hour increments every 5 days or so. Drink water to keep you both hydrated and distracted from hunger. If you need caffeine, drink unsweetened black coffee and tea.
31 daily challenges to get started with intermittent fasting
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The Difference Between Short And Long Fasts
Every night when we stop eating and then go to bed, we go through a short-term fast until our first meal of the next day. Depending on when you ate dinner and when you consume your first meal after you wake up, you can easily go through a 12 to 16-hour fast with no physiologic change to digestive functions.
Although there is no clear consensus or accepted definition about what the cut off is between a short and a long-term fast, Diet Doctor defines anything less than 24 hours as time-restricted eating, fasts between 24 and 36 hours as a short-term fast, and anything longer than 36 hours a long-term fast.
Time-restricted eating and short-term fasts dont require specific precautions when breaking the fast. Just remember it is a good idea not to binge on highly-processed, sugary, or high-carb foods because you will undo the advantages of the fast. Plan to eat a wholesome, low-carb, high-fat meal, such as any of the meals featured in the Diet Doctor recipes, and you will be just fine.
Intermittent Fasting: Is It Right For You
U-M dietitian Sue Ryskamp weighs in on intermittent fasting benefits, who it works best for and how to get started
Weight loss can be difficult, but could intermittent fasting help? This eating pattern, which features cycles of fasting and eating, is making headlines as research confirms its not only what you eat, but when you eat, that matters in the struggle to lose weight.
During intermittent fasting, individuals use specific periods of eating typically within an eight-to-10 hour window to lose weight, says Michigan Medicine dietitian Sue Ryskamp, who sees patients at U-Ms Frankel Cardiovascular Center.
The premise behind intermittent fasting is relatively simple, she says: When our insulin levels go down far enough and for long enough, as they do during a fasting period, were able burn off fat.
Insulin levels drop when a person is not consuming food. During a period of fasting, decreasing insulin levels cause cells to release stored glucose as energy. Repeating this process regularly, as with intermittent fasting, leads to weight loss. In addition, this type of fasting often results in the consumption of fewer calories overall, which contributes to weight loss, Ryskamp says.
A Harvard research study also reveals how intermittent fasting may slow the aging process through weight loss, lower blood pressure and reduced cholesterol.
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It Could Lead To Negative Side Effects
The Warrior Diet may lead to side effects, some of which could be severe.
Potential side effects include (
- Hormonal imbalance
- Weight gain
In addition, many health professionals argue that dieters will not get enough nutrients when following an intermittent fasting plan like the Warrior Diet.
However, as long as healthy, nutrient-dense foods are chosen and calorie needs are met, nutrient needs can be covered by carefully planning your food choices when following the Warrior Diet.
Summary
The Warrior Diet is inappropriate for many people, can be hard to stick to and may lead to negative side effects such as fatigue, insomnia and hormonal imbalance.
Hofmekler suggests that anyone starting the Warrior Diet should follow an initial three-week, three-phase plan to improve the bodys ability to utilize fat for energy.
How Long Does It Take To See Results With Intermittent Fasting
Ah, intermittent fasting. In my opinion, its one of the most effective and easiest ways to get lean. Ive been on intermittent fasting sporadically for nearly a decade now and every time I go on this diet, I always see results.
So, how long does it take to see results with intermittent fasting, you ask?
That depends on a lot of things, actually. But if were talking about even the smallest decrease in the number you see on the weighing scale, IF can work its magic in as little as a week. Generally though, you and other people will start noticing weight loss after 8-10 weeks in the diet.
But like any other diet, theres more detail to intermittent fasting that I believe you should know about if you want to maximize your weight loss potential. These include how exactly the diet works, hurdles that may prevent you from losing weight, and many more.
Lets talk about them, shall we? Starting with a question that you may well be wondering:
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Mushroom Spinach & Potato Pie
This super easy and delicious mushroom, spinach and potato pie is perfect for meal prep or a family dinner. It is also meat-free and vegetarian-friendly.
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 400g baby spinach
- 500g mushroom
- 300g cooked new potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 300g each green beans and broccoli, steamed
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 heaped tbsp light crème fraîche
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 3 sheets filo pastry
Directions:
Nutritional value of 1 serving:
Calories: 215, carbs: 29g, fats: 8g, protein: 9g
