How Long Should You Do Intermittent Fasting For

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.

Dont Compare Yourself To What Others Are Doing

Kayla G., a 33-year-old registered dietitian, has been doing intermittent fasting for more than a year and says shes a huge fan of the eating plan. Intermittent fasting has allowed me to lose that stubborn last five pounds and, more importantly, maintain it, she says.

She usually stops her fast between 12 and 1 p.m. and finishes her last meal between 6 and 8 p.m. My best advice would be, Dont compare yourself to what others are doing, she says. Find a regimen that works best for you.

Everyone has a different metabolism and goals, Kayla points out, adding, Don’t be afraid to use trial and error to see what works best for you and your body.

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.

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Intermittent Fasting May Benefit The Heart

According to the Intermountain Medical Center, intermittent fasting plays a role in keeping the heart healthy.

This is great news considering heart disease is a leading cause of death around the world.

Intermittent fasting helps to lower blood pressure, which is good for the heart.

LDL and total cholesterol levels will also be improved.

Blood sugar levels will benefit from intermittent fasting as well.

Keeping the heart healthy will help to prevent heart disease.

If you have a history of heart disease in your family, intermittent fasting is something you may want to consider.

What Is Intermittent Fasting

Many diets focus on what to eat, but intermittent fasting is all about when you eat.

With intermittent fasting, you only eat during a specific time. Fasting for a certain number of hours each day or eating just one meal a couple days a week, can help your body burn fat. And scientific evidence points to some health benefits, as well.

Johns Hopkins neuroscientist , has studied intermittent fasting for 25 years. He says that our bodies have evolved to be able to go without food for many hours, or even several days or longer. In prehistoric times, before humans learned to farm, they were hunters and gatherers who evolved to survive and thrive for long periods without eating. They had to: It took a lot of time and energy to hunt game and gather nuts and berries.

Even 50 years ago, it was easier to maintain a healthy weight. Johns Hopkins dietitian Christie Williams, M.S., R.D.N., explains: There were no computers, and TV shows turned off at 11 p.m. people stopped eating because they went to bed. Portions were much smaller. More people worked and played outside and, in general, got more exercise.

Nowadays, TV, the internet and other entertainment are available 24/7. We stay awake for longer hours to catch our favorite shows, play games and chat online. Were sitting and snacking all day and most of the night.

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How Long Should It Be Done

Any diet takes some time to show results and the same is with Intermittent fasting. Following the diet properly for this period of time will help you shed about 3-5 kilos depending on your body and it might take longer than that as everyones metabolism works differently.

The body takes time about 2-4 weeks to become adjusted to Intermittent fasting hence 10 weeks is an ideal time to shed a minimum of 3kg when following the pattern dedicatedly. Weight loss is a time taking process and hence it takes time to show results as it may differ from person to person depending on their metabolism.

Losing weight rapidly when following any kind of diet can mean you are doing something wrong. The diet does not necessarily have any side effects, hence you can follow it for a long time. How long you can do the fasting depends on your objectives.

For instance, you may start intermittent fasting because you want to lose some weight, let say 11 lbs. Choose a plan and go with it until you hit that target of 11 lbs. Or you may want to lose a certain percentage of body fat. Get yourself an electronic fat estimator and stock to a plan that will be suitable for it.

You can start to see results in 2 weeks if you fast for 3 days a week. You will get better weight loss results in Intermittent fasting if you add a bit of workout.

The intermittent fasting program can last for a month,2 months, a year or you can have a fasting program that lasts forever as part of your ongoing eating plan.

The : 2 Intermittent Fasting Diet

Thee 5:2 intermittent fasting diet is one type of popular fasting diets, introduced in Dr. Jason Fungs best-selling book “The Obesity Code” in 2016. The 5:2 diet involves five days of eating the recommended daily caloric intake and two non-consecutive days of eating a reduced-calorie diet. On fasting days, food is not eliminated altogether, rather, the number of calories is reduced.

If you have diabetes and want to try the 5:2 diet, speak to your healthcare provider or diabetic team and get a recommendation for a daily caloric intake guideline for fasting and non-fasting days.

Studies on the 5:2 Diet

Studies have shown that the 5:2 diet may help reduce insulin resistance and promote weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.

The first long-term study of the 5:2 diet, published in 2018, by the Journal of the American Medical Association , discovered that intermittent fasting could be effective for those with diabetes who have trouble sticking to a long-term, daily diet regime. The study observed 137 people with type 2 diabetes half of the study participants followed the 5:2 diet and the other half adhered to a daily calorie-restricted diet . The group that fasted for two non-consecutive days per weekconsumed 500 to 600 calories on the fasting days and ate normally on the other five days of the week.

Safety of the 5:2 Diet for People With Diabetes

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What Makes Intermittent Fasting Work

Some people believe that IF has worked for them simply because the limited eating window naturally helps them reduce the number of calories they consume. For instance, instead of eating 3 meals and 2 snacks, they might find that they only have time for 2 meals and one snack. They become more mindful about the kinds of food they consume and tend to stay away from processed carbs, unhealthy fat, and empty calories.

Of course, you can also choose the kinds of healthy food that you enjoy. While some people opt to reduce their overall calorie intake, others combine IF with a keto, vegan, or other kinds of diets.

How Much Weight Loss Can You Expect In A Month On Intermittent Fasting

Many factors go into how much weight you actually lose on intermittent fasting. Weight loss will depend on your current weight, metabolism, what you eat, and your activity levels. Obviously, if you follow a healthy eating pattern and exercise every day or a few times a week, it will help you shed weight faster.

Intermittent fasting may enable you to lose between 0.51.5 pounds a week. In 4 weeks, you could lose anything between 26 pounds.

Also Check: How Do I Lower My Fasting Blood Sugar

Intermittent Fasting Aids In Weight Loss

The best and most obvious benefit of intermittent fasting for men is that it aids in weight loss.

During the hours you are eating, it’s important that you don’t pack in as much food as possible.

You want to eat the normal amount of meals you would for the time period.

Intermittent fasting will help you to eat fewer meals and snacks in a 24-hour period.

Intermittent fasting also helps to improve the function of the weight loss hormone.

As long as we dont snack, our insulin levels will go down, and our fat cells can release their stored sugar to be used as energy.

Studies have shown that alternate day fasting blood sugar levels, which can be beneficial for both diabetics and weight loss promotion.

How To Do Intermittent Fasting: 4 Fasting Schedules To Try

• Calories and Nutrition

Whether youre new to keto or have been doing it for a while, you may be wondering how to do intermittent fasting. At one point, the health and wellness industry advised eating 5-6 small meals per day for optimal metabolism. The claim was that smaller meals lead to weight loss, while a fasted state puts the body into starvation mode, causing it to hold on to calories.

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History Of Diabetes And Intermittent Fasting

Fasting has been around for some time, particularly if you consider the historical role of fasting as part of many types of spiritual rituals. More recently, intermittent fasting has been used as part of a healthy diet for weight loss, as part of “detoxifying” the body, and more. But there has been much controversy surrounding the topic of fasting for those with diabetes.

Today, there is a growing body of evidence indicating that specific types of intermittent fasting diets may be beneficial for people with diabetes. In addition, scientists are beginning to speculate that when a person fasts may be just as important as the diet itself.

Is It Bad That I Skip/miss A Day Of Intermittent Fasting

I get asked this often, because people are concerned that they are going to lose their progress/results if they skip a fast or break their fast early. Not following your normal 16:8 intermittent fasting protocol for one day will not hurt your progress or hinder any of the intermittent fasting benefits. Most intermittent fasting protocols such as the alternate day fasting, eat-stop-eat, and 24 hour fast consist of days where you are not fasting.

The nice thing about intermittent fasting is the flexibility!

Like I said before it is a natural way of eating that dates back to our ancestral days. Do you think our ancestors sat around and thought about how many days of the week they have fasted thus far? No. They went with the flow and ate when they could. So that is how our bodies are designed and we thrive off this way of eating.

So in other words, breaking a fast early or skipping a day of fasting will not hinder your results. Simply hop back on schedule the next day.

Read Also: What Is Intermittent Fasting And How To Do 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.

Is Fasting Every Day Healthy

I often hear from people that they prefer not to fast every day because theyve heard that it isnt healthy to do daily. Let me start by saying the current scientific research completely disagrees. Daily fasting has been linked to numerous health benefits.

Health Benefits of Fasting Daily:

• Lower the risk for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers disease
• Promotes autophagy
• Improves memory
• Strengthens cellular Mitochondria
• Reduces insulin resistance

The health benefits of intermittent fasting goes on and on. Besides just the benefits listed above, many people will see a reduction in body fat, while still maintaining lean muscle mass while doing intermittent fasting. Currently, there is no negative or harmful associations between your health and intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is healthy to do every day!

Also Check: How Can I Lower My Fasting Blood Sugar Without Medication

Final Thoughts On Intermittent Fasting For Women

Intermittent fasting may work amazingly well for some people, and terribly for others. Most importantly, if you do decide to give intermittent fasting a try, be sure to listen to your bodys feedback. Easing into intermittent fasting by starting with shorter fasting windows can help with initial symptoms of hunger and discomfort. But if it becomes too uncomfortable, be honest with yourself, accept it, and move on.

At the end of the day, nothing can have a greater impact on your health than a diet consisting of real, whole foods, and a lifestyle that prioritizes your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

You Are Not Eating Enough Protein

If you find that your meals cannot carry you across your fasting period to your next eating window, then you might need to adjust your diet.

Consider including more lean protein in your diet. It does not matter the type of protein, vegan or animal protein, all are fine.

Proteins can help keep you full till your next meal. Furthermore, if you are exercising during this period, proteins are important for building your muscles and protecting your bone health.

Your meals should have healthy fats, carbs, leafy greens, and proteins.

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What Is The Most Effective Fasting Method For Weight Loss

Theres 7 popular methods to do intermittent fasting. Some of them will have you fast for a certain number of hours while some will have you fast on certain days. We talk in more detail about them in another article but heres the gist of it:

• 12:12

• You fast for 12 hours and eat for the other 12.
• This way, you have plenty of time to get all 3 of your main meals but you probably wont be able to snack before breakfast and after dinner.
• This is also probably one of the most beginner-friendly IF methods.

• 16:8

• 16 hour fast with an 8-hour eating window.
• Whats typically recommended here is that you skip breakfast. You do get to eat your lunch and dinner though.
• This is more challenging but still fairly easy for beginners.

• 20:4

• You fast for 20 hours then youre allowed to eat for the other 4 hours.
• In my eyes, its definitely one of the most challenging ways to do intermittent fasting.

• 5:2

• You eat like you normally would for 5 days but for the other 2, youre only allowed to eat a quarter of your usual calories.
• Its harder than 12:12 and 16:8 but some people find it easier than 20:4. So, I say its right around intermediate difficulty.

• Eat-Stop-Eat

• Similar to 5:2 but instead of a 2-day fast, you get the equivalent of that in hours . However, you should also split the 48 hours in half with at least 2 feeding days.
• This is generally more difficult than 5:2 but if you time your 24-hour fasting splits right, it shouldnt be that much harder.

• Meal skipping

• Alternate-day fasting

You Have Digestion Issues

As if digestion issues weren’t cumbersome enough to deal with on their own, adding a wonky eating schedule into the mix can only cause more gastrointestinal distress. “If you already have problems with digestion , intermittent fasting may worsen your symptoms,” Calder says.

IF can even spur digestive issues due to the prolonged fasting bouts. “Periods of fasting can disrupt the normal activities of the digestive system, causing constipation, indigestion, and bloating,” she says.

Bannan also says that eating large mealswhich is often required for the types of IF that call for a long fastcan cause gastrointestinal stress. “This is particularly concerning for people with IBS, who already have a more sensitive gut,” she explains.

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