Fasting For Weight Loss 2 Days Per Week
Despite the increased availability of healthy foods, exercise facilities, low-carb and low-fat foods, diet sodas, diet plans, literally thousands of weight loss supplements and even prescription weight loss medication today, more and more people are overweight. Its estimated that by 2020 approximately 2.5 billion adults will be overweight and more than 800 million will be obese. The old dietary rules of eating low fat foods, exercising more, and not skipping meals have not made a dent in this problem. In fact, not only are there more obese people in every country in the world, they also weigh more. In the last decade, the average woman has gained 20 lbs. and the average man more than 30 lbs.
Over the last 10 years, hidden from view, has been the development of a new system to lose weight intermittent fasting for weight loss. Intermittent fasting does not mean stopping eating entirely it means reducing the amount you eat. For two days a week, you eat 25% of your normal caloric intake . On the remaining 5 days, you eat normally. There are many different versions of the intermittent fasting system. An alternative system is the increasing popular 16:8 intermittent fast where the dieter eats breakfast and lunch, snack and dinner and finishes all eating and caloric intake at 7 PM and except coffee with creamer does not eat until the next day at lunch. This leaves at least 16 hours for fasting.
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Since everyone is different, its hard to get an exact answer, but this article will cover the average weight loss rate for most keto dieters, tips for successfully losing weight on keto, and how to avoid common weight loss mistakes.
What Is The Average Weight Loss During A 30 Day Water Fast
There is no correct or incorrect average weight loss after a water fast. It varies from person to person. On average we lose between 1 and 2 pounds each day during the fast.
When we drink only water for 30 days, we may lose around 30-45 pounds in that period. Thus the 30 day water fast average weight loss is beneficial.
Also Check: What Is Better Keto Diet Or Intermittent Fasting
How I Started Water Fasting
Firstly, I prepared myself mentally.
When you do something that drastic for the first time, youve gotta get prepared in your mind otherwise you could quit before you even get started.
I needed to be super conscious of the fact that I wont be eating any food for a whole week
This was a huge step for me, for my health, for my weight loss progress and I was ready to take that big step.
On my very first day of fasting, I woke up, took a cup of tea, and then I started my routine for the day.
Fortunately, I work at home.
So, even though I felt a bit weak during the day, I could just take a rest and get back to work after.
I had 3 bottles of water ready to attack my very first day of water fasting. Basically, each time I felt hungry, I just had one or two glasses of water.
And then it was noon, time for lunch but I had to drink water only and I was proud that I didnt even think about having lunch.
I started fasting on a Monday and the next day, I was down by 2.8kgs. And it went like this for the next days until I lost 10kgs.
I went from 67kgs to 57kgs in just seven 7 days. You can see the results in my cheeks HA!
Four Pounds In Two Weeks
While you can lose more than 2 pounds in a week, it’s not recommended unless suggested by your doctor. Losing weight too quickly usually results in loss of more muscle than fat. Loss of muscle causes a dip in your energy levels and may make it harder for you to keep the weight off.
One pound of fat has 3,500 calories, so to lose 2 pounds in a week you need to create a 1,000-calorie daily deficit. So you’re not starving, you might want to split the calorie deficit between diet and exercise, decreasing your daily intake by 500 calories and working out to burn another 500 calories. Use an online calorie counter to help you determine how many calories you need to maintain your weight, then subtract 500 from that number to determine your weight-loss calories. For example, a 35-year-old women who is 5 feet 5 inches tall, doesn’t work out and weighs 150 pounds needs 2,300 calories to maintain her weight. To lose 2 pounds a week, she would need to reduce her intake to 1,800 calories a day.
Also Check: Will Fasting Get Rid Of Belly Fat
How Much Weight Can You Lose With Intermittent Fasting
The amount of weight you can lose through intermittent fasting depends on your starting weight, medical conditions, type of food you eat on your non-fasting days, and other factors like your lifestyle, age, and activity level.
For example, if you choose to eat sugary desserts, drinks, and refined, ultra-processed carbs during your non-fasting days, a fast may not help you lose body fat.
However, if you pair intermittent fasting with healthy eating, you can experience healthy weight loss. A systematic review of 40 studies published in Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology found intermittent fasting was effective for weight loss, with a typical loss of seven to eleven pounds over ten weeks. If you weigh roughly 200 pounds, that equals a five percent loss of your total body weight in just ten weeks.
You might want a quick weight loss fix, but experts recommend you dont try to speed up the process. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the UKs National Health Service recommend you shoot for a safe rate of one to two pounds per week.
According to the CDC, if you lose weight gradually and safely, youll be more successful at keeping it off. So, the average weight loss per week with intermittent fasting is safe, effective, and long-term.
Can You Lose Weight With Intermittent Fasting
There is growing research that intermittent fasting is at least as effective for weight loss as other diet plans.
The primary way that intermittent fasting helps you lose weight is by creating a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit occurs when you burn more calories in a day than you eat.
All of the intermittent fasting approaches involve skipping meals and snacks to some degree, which results in fewer calories consumed over time.
Additionally, your body also adjusts hormone levels during a fast to burn more fat.
As previously mentioned, when your body is cut off from the calories in food, it will start to burn body fat to meet energy needs, ultimately helping you lose weight.
One 2014 review article found that intermittent fasting resulted in a 3 to 8% reduction in weight over 3 to 24 weeks .
A different review study from 2011 showed that intermittent fasting resulted in a weight loss of 4 to 8% from baseline after three weeks .
Furthermore, the researchers noted that fasting caused less fat-free tissue loss compared to a daily calorie restriction.
This means that participants who fasted lost less muscle mass than those on the traditional diet .
A more recent systematic review from 2020, which consisted of 27 separate studies and 944 participants, found that intermittent fasting resulted in a weight loss ranging from 0.8% to 13% of baseline weight .
Plus, the researchers noted that much of the weight loss from intermittent fasting was from fat loss .
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Side Effects Of Intermittent Fasting
It can take 2 to 4 weeks for your body to adjust to your new way of eating. During this time, you might experience headaches, said Hatcher.
Other possible side effects include digestive issues, such as nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and bloating. Low blood sugar caused by intermittent fasting might make you tired and weak. You might notice sleep disruptions, resulting in fatigue during the day, she said.
Experts say there are some groups of people who should not participate in intermittent fasting:
- children and teens under 18 years old
- people who are pregnant or chestfeeding
- people with diabetes or blood sugar concerns
- people with a history of eating disorders
As helpful as intermittent fasting is, its not for everyone, said Kara. If you have a history of eating disorders or are taking medication that cannot be taken on an empty stomach, be sure to talk with your doctor or nutritionist before starting. The type of food you eat is equally, if not more important, than the time of day or hours you consume the food.
Why Does Intermittent Fasting Work
Experts believe that intermittent fasting is effective because it keeps us more in tune with the way that our bodies evolved. Traditional hunter-gatherer methods, which existed for minimally tens of thousands of years before the advent of farming, frequently involved extended periods between meals.
In contrast, the average American diet includes consistent eating across a 14-hour time frame each day. People usually include three meals a day with snacking in between. This allows your body to survive off of the calories that you put into your stomach each day. Its only when you run out of these calories that your body starts burning fat.
The theory behind IF is that it gives your body a longer time between meals than the average American diet. Youll need to use the energy in your stored fat when you run out of recently eaten calories.
Also Check: How To Do Proper Intermittent Fasting
Benefits Of Strength Training
Strength training burns about 220 calories for a 155-pound person and 260 calories for a 185-pound person during a 30-minute vigorous training session. In addition to the calories burned during your workout, building muscle tones your body so you’re burning more calories while at rest. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so losing fat and gaining muscle keeps your metabolism running at a good pace, helping you lose those unwanted pounds. Plus, toning up might help you feel thinner even though you’ve only lost 4 pounds because muscle is more compact than fat.
To make those muscle gains, include strength-training exercises twice a week. Free weights, weight machines and resistance bands make good tools for building muscle, as well as body resistance exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, lunges and squats.
What Is Long Term Water Fasting
We know that avoiding food and drinking only water for a limited time is water fasting. Depending upon the number of days, we classify it into three categories short, medium, and long-term fasting. Best to be aware of the other two types of fasting before understanding its long term version. Below is a brief introduction of all three types:
1. Short Term Water Fasting
This category is also known as water fasting for beginners and maybe of 12, 24 or 48 hours. It means we do not eat food and only drink water. Short term fasts help us instantly lose weight and give our digestive system a break. Sometimes we practice it to prepare for medium or long term water fasting.
These fasts are also known as:
- 12 hour water fast
Recommended Reading: What Is Intermittent Fasting And How Does It Work
Which Is The Fastest Way To Lose Water Weight
The fastest way to lose water weight is to adjust ones diet. Avoid foods and drinks that cause water retention, such as sodium-rich and processed foods. Instead, consume foods rich in potassium, magnesium, and fiber, as well as fruits rich in Vitamin A and C. Three mineral water brands that have a good ratio balance between higher magnesium and lower sodium content are Contrex from France and ORO Luxury Water from North Macedonia.
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Magnesium |
Improving Insulin Resistance By Giving Up Snacking
Having high levels of sugar consistently in your blood damages your arteries and nerves. Sugar in high concentrations is toxic to the cells.
Insulins job is to regulate your blood sugar levels after you have eaten food. In a state of health, it pushes the sugar from your food into muscle cells to be burnt as fuel. If you are insulin resistant, your muscles find it hard to absorb this energy. Instead, it gets stored in your fat cells.
The trouble is, your body still craves fuel, so you continue to feel hungry and reaching for snacks. When you are insulin resistant, many of the calories you absorb get diverted into your fat cells. You put on weight and stay hungry.
Also Check: What To Eat When You Are Fasting
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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Read Also: What Can You Eat While On Intermittent Fasting
Lower Your Calorie Intake To Drop Pounds Fast
One of the best ways to lose weight quickly in 2 or 3 weeks is to lower your daily calorie intake.
Lowering your calorie intake helps to speed up weight loss as you will burn more energy than you consume. To lower your calorie intake in order to lose 20 pounds fast, you can swap foods for healthier options, limit your intake of saturated fats, and eat smaller portions.
Consuming fewer calories every day will help you lose 20 or even 30 pounds at a steady, healthy pace and boost your general health at the same time. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, you should reduce your daily calorie intake by 500 to 750 calories per day to lose significant weight in a couple of weeks.1
Doctors from the National Health Service recommend some healthy food swaps to help lower calorie intake and lose weight faster.29 Here are some examples to help you lose as much as 30 pounds in a month:
- Swap white breads for healthier wholegrain varieties.
- Choose leaner cuts of meat like turkey cutlets, chicken breast, and choice sirloin beef.
- Instead of creamy cheesy sauces on pasta or fish dishes, choose tomato or vegetable-based sauces.
- Drop sugar-laden sodas for green tea .
- Choose lower-fat alternatives when it comes to dairy products.
For more information on how to tweak your diet to speed up the effectiveness of your weight loss plan, please read my article on the best hacks for speedy weight loss.
Hiit Exercising For Rapid Weight Loss
High-intensity interval training is an excellent way to quickly lose weight and see results within a short space of time.
HIIT training involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by short recovery periods. For example, it could be 30-40 seconds of hard sprinting followed by 30-40 seconds of light jogging.
According to the Journal of Obesity, high-intensity intermittent exercise or training has been shown to significantly increase aerobic and anaerobic fitness. It also helps the body get rid of excess fat quicker. HIIT exercises can also help to boost cardiac health and reduce the symptoms of type-1 and type-2 diabetes.14
For more information on how you can use interval training to speed up weight loss, please read my article on using interval training to lose fat quicker.
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Diet Weight Loss Pills
Diet pills will not help you lose 20 pounds in two weeks. Because diet pills and supplements are generally expensive, they could help you lose hundreds of dollars in a month rather than pounds of body fat. According to Dr. Gary Vogin on WebMD, there is only scant evidence that weight-loss pills have a minimal effect when it comes to dieting. Some natural products may help to boost metabolism or stimulate fat burning, but they wont in themselves help you lose weight quickly.20
