The Backstory On Intermittent Fasting
IF as a weight loss approach has been around in various forms for ages, but was highly popularized in 2012 by BBC broadcast journalist Dr. Michael Mosleys TV documentary Eat Fast, Live Longer and book The Fast Diet, followed by journalist Kate Harrisons book The 5:2 Diet based on her own experience, and subsequently by Dr. Jason Fungs 2016 bestseller The Obesity Code. IF generated a steady positive buzz as anecdotes of its effectiveness proliferated.
As a lifestyle-leaning research doctor, I needed to understand the science. The Obesity Code seemed the most evidence-based summary resource, and I loved it. Fung successfully combines plenty of research, his clinical experience, and sensible nutrition advice, and also addresses the socioeconomic forces conspiring to make us fat. He is very clear that we should eat more fruits and veggies, fiber, healthy protein, and fats, and avoid sugar, refined grains, processed foods, and for Gods sake, stop snacking. Check, check, check, I agree. The only part that was still questionable in my mind was the intermittent fasting part.
How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight
There are many different ways to lose weight.
One strategy that has become popular in recent years is called intermittent fasting .
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that involves regular, short-term fasts or periods of minimal or no food consumption.
Most people understand intermittent fasting as a weight loss intervention. Fasting for short periods of time helps people eat fewer calories, which may result in weight loss over time .
However, intermittent fasting may also help modify risk factors for health conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, such as lowering cholesterol and blood sugar levels 30002-0/fulltext” rel=”nofollow”> 2,
There are several different intermittent fasting methods. The most popular ones include:
- the 16:8 method
- Eat Stop Eat
- alternate-day fasting
All methods can be effective, but figuring out which one works best depends on the individual.
To help you choose the method that fits your lifestyle, heres a breakdown of the pros and cons of each.
Diet Plan: What Can You Eat And What Are The Benefits
The 16:8 diet has been one of the most popular diet plans weve seen in years and with good reason.
The 16:8 plan also called the 8-hour diet is an easier and more consistent way of fasting that avoids heavily calorie restricted days found in other popular intermittent fasting plans like the 5:2 diet or Fast 800 calorie diet.
Studies have shown that intermittent fasting can have benefits on both your body and mental health, as well as being one of the diets that work fast for weight loss.
A famous fan of the 16:8 intermittent fasting plan is Hollywood icon Jennifer Aniston. In an interview with the Radio Times, Jennifer revealed that shes a big fan of intermittent fasting in general but specifically this plan. I do intermittent fasting, so no food in the morning. She said, I noticed a big difference in going without solid food for 16 hours.
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What To Eat When Following An 1: 6 Intermittent Fasting
People often ask, What can I have while intermittent fasting 18:6?. Obviously, you are not allowed to eat anything during your 18-hour fasting period. And for the rest of the day, you need to stick to a healthy well-balanced diet, if you want to improve your wellness and slim down a couple of sizes. Try to avoid sugary foods and drinks, junk food, and other products filled with unhealthy components such as trans and saturated fats and refined carbohydrates.
Your diet should consist of fruits, vegetables , lean meats, poultry, fish and seafood, eggs, dairy, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, and others. Make sure that you consume enough essential nutrients, such as:
So Is Intermittent Fasting As Good As It Sounds
I was very curious about this, so I asked the opinion of metabolic expert Dr. Deborah Wexler, Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Here is what she told me. “There is evidence to suggest that the circadian rhythm fasting approach, where meals are restricted to an eight to 10-hour period of the daytime, is effective,” she confirmed, though generally she recommends that people “use an eating approach that works for them and is sustainable to them.”
So, heres the deal. There is some good scientific evidence suggesting that circadian rhythm fasting, when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle, can be a particularly effective approach to weight loss, especially for people at risk for diabetes.
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What Is Intermittent Fasting 1: 10
14:10 is a type of intermittent fasting.
Unlike the popular 16:8 method, it has a new ratio of fasting and feeding periods. Intermittent fasting 14:10 has an eating window of 10 hours and fasting window of 14 hours.
One common approach to doing this is to eat normally in the hours between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. The period between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m. the next day is the fasting window.
During the feeding period, you can eat your usual meals and snacks. Likewise, during the fasting window, you are not allowed to eat any calories. However, you can drink water and unsweetened coffee or green tea.
How Much Weight Can You Lose Doing Intermittent Fasting
Are you ready for some numbers?
First, lets look at what the research says about intermittent fasting weight loss results.
In a 2015 review pooling 40 different studies, participants who did intermittent fasting shed on average 10 pounds in a 10-week period. Another study found that obese adults following an alternate day intermittent fasting schedule lost up to 13 pounds over 8 weeks.
Intermittent fasting also succeeds where many weight-loss regimes fail: by targeting and reducing visceral fat. Visceral fat is the stubborn, internal fat packed deep around your abdominal organs. During a period of six months, people on an intermittent fasting diet were able to shed 4-7% of their visceral fat.
Sounds great, doesnt it? But what about the real-life experiences?
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Choose Your Best Protocol
Krystal began her intermittent fasting journey about a year ago, and she experimented with various protocols until she found the right protocol.
I alternate what kind of fasting I do. Sometimes I stick with a traditional 16:8 fasting period, other times I will do a longer time frame, she says. My longest fast was five days.
Though five days might seem a bit overwhelming to a beginner, Krystal urges readers to find whats best for them. For her journey, Krystal admits, I read a lot about the health benefits of fasting, plus with following a ketogenic diet fasting came naturally as my hunger levels decreased.
/8gain Some Inspiration With His Weight Loss Experience
19-year-old Sahil Khanna believes that his hunger was nothing short of a catalyst that drove him to change. From being once body-shamed to not being able to play cricket and football well, following a well-structured Intermittent Fasting diet helped him drop a whopping 15 kilos in 2.5 months! He truly believes that strong willpower is what you need to make the changes happen.
Name Sahil Raj Khanna
Height 5 feet 7 inches
City Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Highest Weight recorded 86 Kilos
Weight lost 15 Kilos
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Bharti Singh Lost 16 Kg With Intermittent Fasting Know Its Pros And Cons From Expert
- If you are aiming to lose weight like Bharti Singh, is it advisable to follow her diet? Senior Dietician Shruti Bharadwaj talks about its pros and cons.
Television personality and comedienne Bharti Singh is in news for her massive 16 kg weight loss in ten months thanks to intermittent fasting. The 37-year-old reveals in an interview that she has her first meal at 12 pm and doesn’t eat anything after 7 pm. The Kapil Sharma Show star admits that she enjoys all her favourite food including paratha and butter in the limited window of 7-8 hours while not eating anything at all for the remaining 16 hours. Bharti in an interview to a web portal said that she has been able to control her midnight cravings now and her body has adjusted to the new diet.
While intermittent fasting has been trending ever since Bharti revealed her secret formula to weight loss, we spoke to Senior Clinical Dietitican, Narayana Hrudalayala Multi Speciality Hospital Ahmedabad to understand how effective it is, and the pros and cons of the diet. If you are aiming to lose weight like Bharti Singh, is it advisable to follow her diet? Scroll down to know all about intermittent fasting.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting or intermittent energy restriction is an eating pattern where you dont eat for a period of time each day or week. Fasting is an ancient tradition but thanks to intermittent fasting, it has become a fitness trend. Fasting and intermittent fasting are different.
Alternate fasting
Week 3 Intermittent Fasting Weight Loss Plan
I am really enjoying this new way of life and will continue more of the same for week three.
Ill still do 16:8 and will continue a little resistance training and some cardio. Though as I write this Im a few days into the week and havent been bothered to exercise AT ALL. Well see lol
We dont plan on eating out this coming week, but if we wind up doing so I want to continue testing my theory that it may just be carby or salty foods, rather than dining out, period.
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Overall Health And Wellbeing
Some people fast simply to reap all the benefits and to feel healthier and more energized. Fasting, in general, is a great detoxifier of the body and just leaves you looking better and feeling better. Some of the first benefits you will notice is improved complexion, healthier hair and nails, and calmer and more balanced digestion.
In this case, you can be more flexible with what you eat as long as you are focusing on good nutrition. You can also engage in a light outdoor exercise like walking or cycling or incorporate some other healthy exercise program into your lifestyle.
Are You Eating Too Much When Youre Not Fasting What Are You Eating
Could you be over-eating on your non-fast days ? If you have lost a fair amount of weight already, you will need less food to sustain your body and so you need to reduce how much you eat on the non-fast days in line with your new energy requirements . Fasting tends to reduce our appetites on the non-fast days, but some days we are hungrier than others. Perhaps the hungry days are coming too often? Some people find that adding an extra fast day or extending the length of the fasting period can be enough to bring appetite back under control.
If you have insulin resistance you may be particularly sensitive to carbohydrates in your diet, particularly sugar and refined carbohydrates, such as white flour, white pasta and white rice. Carbohydrates stimulate our bodies to release insulin which prevents us from burning our fat stores. Many of our FastDay forum members have found that reducing their carbohydrate intake has helped with weight loss. It is not necessary to go on an extreme low carbohydrate diet, but avoiding carbohydrates on fast days and reducing carbohydrate intake on non-fast days can make a difference.
FastDay says: attention to your Way of Eating when not fasting may be enough to break the plateau.
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Intermittent Fasting Can Reduce Inflammation In Your Body And Help Reduce Symptoms Related To Inflammatory Diseases
Inflammation is one of the leading causes of disease in our bodies, yet we continue to pump ourselves full of anti-inflammatory drugs to try to combat what would otherwise be solved by a change in diet.
Foods such as citrus, broccoli, and anything containing trans fat is going to cause inflammation in our bodies.
Greasy burgers, red meat in general, and sugar all cause inflammation.
When we remove these things from our diet, or eat them far less frequently than we are eating them now, we see a reduction in the amount of inflammation in our bodies.
Not only do people feel better, but they move better, feel less stiff, and have more energy.
Some studies show that intermittent fasting may enhance the bodys resistance to oxidative stress and fight inflammation.
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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How This One Buddhist Teaching Turned My Life Around
My lowest ebb was around 6 years ago.
I was a guy in my mid-20s who was lifting boxes all day in a warehouse. I had few satisfying relationships with friends or women and a monkey mind that wouldnt shut itself off.
During that time, I lived with anxiety, insomnia and way too much useless thinking going on in my head.
My life seemed to be going nowhere. I was a ridiculously average guy and deeply unhappy to boot.
The turning point for me was when I discovered Buddhism.
In many ways, Buddhism is all about letting things go. Letting go helps us break away from negative thoughts and behaviors that do not serve us, as well as loosening the grip on all our attachments.
Fast forward 6 years and Im now the founder of Hack Spirit, one of the leading self improvement blogs on the internet.
Just to be clear: Im not a Buddhist. I have no spiritual inclinations at all. Im just a regular guy who turned his life around by adopting some amazing teachings from eastern philosophy.
How Fast Can You Lose Weight On Intermittent Fasting 1: 6
A persons weight loss pace depends on lots of factors and varies individually. Technically, the more calories you reduce, the faster you shed pounds. However, that is not always the case. Drastic calorie restriction may cause your body to enter the surviving mode, where you may stop burning fat and start burning muscles instead while packing on energy in the form of fat. Experts recommend losing 1-2 pounds a week . Such a weight loss pace is the safest and the most sustainable.
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Health Benefits Of Fasting
The big benefit of picking intermittent fasting for your nutrition plan is its so sustainable. With other diets youre either constantly counting calories, can only eat certain foods, or always cutting macronutrients. For example, the keto diet is quite effective for weight loss but the fact that you have to cut out your carbs forever isnt a sustainable diet for the majority of people . I mean imagine never being able to eat pizza, pasta, cookies, cereal, beer, wine, etc. ever again.
With intermittent fasting the big thing you have to be mindful of is to not eat during your fast. This is so simple anybody can follow it long term. But that doesnt always mean its easy. There are times when youre going to get hungry and tempted to eat. And then there are other times when social situations put you in a sticky position that practically force you to eat.
But lets say you go out with friends for dinner and end up eating and drinking until midnight. The good part with intermittent fasting is you just restart your fasting clock and wait a little longer to eat the next day. Its not like every other diet where you mess up by eating the wrong kind of food and then all your results go out the window.
So with intermittent fasting, you can keep your motivation going even if you have a little slip-up. If you ever have trouble with the hunger pangs during your fast then you could drink some of my approved fasting drinks:
- zero cal sparkling water
- water
1 day: 0.5 2 pounds
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work For Weight Loss
Intermittent fasting was working perfectly for me, and it was easy to follow. I began to think more deeply about why it was working. Was my body changing because I was fasting for those 16 hours each day, or was it simply a trick I was playing on my mind to eat fewer calories? And if it was a trick, would my mind eventually figure it out?
In general, I think intermittent fasting helps people get more in touch with their needs, Varady says. Weve become accustomed to eating or drinking something every couple of hours. Wed never even noticed when were actually hungry or full. So when you go for longer stretches of time without eating, all of a sudden, your body becomes more attuned to it.
In my case, intermittent fasting made me more aware of my tendency to emotionally eat. Getting up early to get my young son to school, it wasnt as if I wanted to have that bagel and soda. I felt I needed that sugar rush to wake me up and get me going. Exercise replaced that without my needing to ride a sugar roller coaster every day.
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