Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting: How To Lose Weight And Feel Great
You dont only have to look far back in history to uncover the health benefits of intermittent fasting. The practice has found a resurgence in recent years, becoming a modern trend, accompanied by a rich body of research. Research has shown that benefits of intermittent fasting include a host of other benefits.
Benefits Of Practicing Intermittent Fasting
Faster and healthier weight loss is not the only benefit of intermittent fasting. There are many more, including
- Flushing toxins from your cells. Body cells tend to accumulate a lot of waste from food remains and junk foods, and this prevents them from functioning optimally. Intermittent fasting helps to clear out cellular waste making your body organs perform optimally
- Giving you better clarity and concentration studies show that intermittent fasting can help one become more alert.
- May reduce risk of getting chronic diseases. Studies show that fasting appears to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer
- Making life easier. We can all agree that fasting is easier than dieting. Studies prove that people adapt quickly to an intermittent fasting routine than dieting. Diet looks easy on paper but difficult to execute, especially over long periods. However, with intermittent fasting, you can easily follow a routine that works for you- say fasting from night to midday.
Other benefits include
- Reduce insulin resistance, which can help protect against type 2 diabetes
- Can prolong your lifespan
Lets now conclude our guide by answering the frequently asked questions.
Can intermittent fasting put me into starvation mode?
No. This is a common myth thats not true. Contrary, intermittent fasting can boost your metabolic rate, especially at the start.
What side effects can I expect?Will intermittent fasting reduce my lean muscles?
Understanding Eating Patterns And Habits
As well as objective knowledge about what foods are good for you, having self-awareness around your personal eating patterns and habits is crucial. This gives you the best insight into how your natural rhythms work, when youre more likely to snack, when you lose your appetite. For example, some people snack when they feel anxious, others crave carbohydrates when sad, others forget to eat when stressed.
Intermittent fasting is an opportunity to better understand these habits and patterns. And, because it involves spells without eating, its worthwhile understanding the difference between hunger, appetite, and cravings.
Hunger is physiological. Its your bodys way of sending you a signal that you need to eat for energy. Appetite is the desire to eat, that is largely influenced by emotional state. And cravings are the desire to eat a specific food, whether hungry or not.
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Drawbacks Of 16/8 Intermittent Fasting
16/8 intermittent fasting may be associated with many health benefits, but it does come with some drawbacks and may not be right for everyone.
Restricting your intake to just eight hours per day can cause some people to eat more than usual during eating periods in an attempt to make up for hours spent fasting.
This may lead to weight gain, digestive problems and the development of unhealthy eating habits.
16/8 intermittent fasting may also cause short-term negative side effects when youre first getting started, such as hunger, weakness and fatigue though these often subside once you get into a routine.
Additionally, some research suggests that intermittent fasting may affect men and women differently, with animal studies reporting that it could interfere with fertility and reproduction in females .
However, more human studies are needed to evaluate the effects that intermittent fasting may have on reproductive health.
In any case, be sure to start gradually and consider stopping or consulting your doctor if you have any concerns or experience negative symptoms.
Summary
Restricting daily food intake may cause weakness, hunger, increased food consumption and weight gain. Animal studies show that intermittent fasting may impact men and women differently and may even interfere with fertility.
It May Be Difficult For Some People To Stick To
One of the most obvious limitations of the Warrior Diet is that it restricts the time during which you may eat substantial meals to a four-hour period.
This can be difficult to stick to, especially when participating in normal social activities like going out to breakfast or lunch.
While some people may feel great when consuming very small amounts of calories over a 20-hour period, others may find that this way of eating is not ideal for their lifestyle.
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How To Intermittent Fast
If when you hear fasting your stomach starts rumbling, we hear you So why are there so many, well, rumblings about intermittent fasting, and how can it help with weight loss ? As with any diet trend, itâs important to go beyond the headlines and understand how it intermittent fasting can impact your health, and if itâs right for you based on your medical history.
Freshlyâs director of nutrition, Brooke Scheller, Doctor of Clinical Nutrition, gave us some insight into why limiting mealtimes or cutting out food altogether on certain days is becoming so popular. She also gave us a few pointers on where to start if you want to reap the potential health benefits of fasting, like weight loss or increased energy.
Is Intermittent Fasting Right For You
Intermittent fasting isnt for everyone. However, if you do decide to try it, Dr. Viana notes that consistency is key. Intermittent fasting is a powerful tool to help change lifestyle, but before doing it, one should consider if they will be able to maintain it in the long run, he says.
His overall view on eating is that it needs to be something natural and uncomplicatednoting that intermittent fasting can be too restrictive for many people. I like the philosophy of mindful eating very much, which is essentially to get rid of the diet mentality. In my opinion, we tend to overcomplicate eating and that leads to failure.
Also, keep in mind that what you eat should be your first priority over when you eat. What is most important is to eat a healthy diet that contains little or no processed food and is rich in lean protein, whole grains and vegetables , says Dr. Viana.
If you do decide to incorporate intermittent fasting into your dietary plan, consult with your physician firstespecially if you have any preexisting health conditions or are on certain medications.
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What Is The Best Intermittent Fasting Schedule What Is The Ideal Time You Should Be Fasting How Long Should You Fast
I keep getting these questions and I get it. You want to know what the best intermittent fasting schedule is. You want to make sure if you are fasting youre going about it right. We all have different reasons for fasting. Some fast for the incredible health benefits it offers, others are in it for the fat loss or both. When it comes to dropping fat intermittent fasting is a great tool to add to your arsenal.
One thing I usually recommend to those new to the intermittent fasting lifestyle is NOT announcing it to everyone. There is always that one person who is gonna tell you its unhealthy, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and starving yourself is not the answer to weight loss. The fact that youre reading this tells me already know this and there is a high probability youve started intermittent fasting already.
May Lead To More Fat Loss
Combining the diet and the fast may help you burn more fat than the diet alone.
Because intermittent fasting boosts metabolism by promoting thermogenesis, or heat production, your body may start utilizing stubborn fat stores .
Several studies reveal that intermittent fasting can powerfully and safely drop excess body fat.
In an eight-week study in 34 resistance-trained men, those who practiced the 16/8 method of intermittent fasting lost nearly 14% more body fat than those following a normal eating pattern .
Similarly, a review of 28 studies noted that people who used intermittent fasting lost an average of 7.3 pounds more fat mass than those following very low-calorie diets .
Plus, intermittent fasting may preserve muscle mass during weight loss and improve energy levels, which may be helpful for keto dieters looking to improve athletic performance and drop body fat .
Additionally, studies underscore that intermittent fasting can reduce hunger and promote feelings of fullness, which may aid weight loss .
Summary
Combining intermittent fasting with a keto diet may help you reach ketosis faster and drop more body fat than a keto diet alone.
Combining the ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting is likely safe for most people.
However, pregnant or breastfeeding women and those with a history of disordered eating should avoid intermittent fasting.
Though some people may find merging the practices helpful, its important to note that it may not work for everyone.
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Getting Started With Intermittent Fasting: Next Steps
Intermittent fasting can potentially have some very positive benefits for somebody trying to lose weight or gain lean body mass.
Men and women will tend to have different results, just like each individual person will have different results. The ONLY way to find out is through a conversation with your doctor and self-experimentation.
There are multiple ways to do an Intermittent Fasting Plan:
- Fast and feast regularly: Fast for a certain number of hours, then consume all calories within a certain number of hours.
- Eat normally, then fast 1-2x a week: Consume your normal meals every day, then pick one or two days a week where you fast for 24 hours. Eat your last meal Sunday night, and then dont eat again until dinner the following day.
- Fast occasionally: probably the easiest method for the person who wants to do the least amount of work. Simply skip a meal whenever its convenient. On the road? Skip breakfast. Busy day at work? Skip lunch. Eat poorly all day Saturday? Make your first meal of the day dinner on Sunday.
After that, get started! Take photos, step on the scale, and track your progress for the next month.
See how your body responds.
See how your physique changes. See how your workouts change.
And then decide if its something you want to keep doing!
4 years later, I have no plans on going back to eating breakfast. Sorry General Mills and Dr. Kellogg!
If youre worried about all of this stuff, or arent sure when to eat and stop eating, try out our new app!
-Steve
Examples Of Different Intermittent Fasting Schedules
If youre considering giving fasting a shot, there are a few different options for working it into your lifestyle.
Daily Intermittent Fasting
Most of the time, I follow the Leangains model of intermittent fasting, which uses a 16hour fast followed by an 8hour eating period. This model of daily intermittent fasting was popularized by Martin Berkhan of Leangains.com, which is where the name originated.
It doesn’t matter when you start your 8hour eating period. You can start at 8am and stop at 4pm. Or you start at 2pm and stop at 10pm. Do whatever works for you. I tend to find that eating around 1pm and 8pm works well because those times allow me to eat lunch and dinner with friends and family. Breakfast is typically a meal that I eat on my own, so skipping it isn’t a big deal.
Because daily intermittent fasting is done every day it becomes very easy to get into the habit of eating on this schedule. Right now, you’re probably eating around the same time every day without thinking about it. Well, with daily intermittent fasting it’s the same thing, you just learn to not eat at certain times, which is remarkably easy.
Weekly Intermittent Fasting
One of the best ways to get started with intermittent fasting is to do it once per week or once per month. The occasional fast has been shown to lead to many of the benefits of fasting we’ve already talked about, so even if you don’t use it to cut down on calories consistently there are still many other health benefits of fasting.
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What Is Intermittent Fasting And Why Would You Do It
Intermittent fasting is not a diet, it’s a pattern of eating. It’s a way of scheduling your meals so that you get the most out of them. Intermittent fasting doesnt change what you eat, it changes when you eat.
Why is it worthwhile to change when youre eating?
Well, most notably, its a great way to get lean without going on a crazy diet or cutting your calories down to nothing. In fact, most of the time you’ll try to keep your calories the same when you start intermittent fasting. Additionally, intermittent fasting is a good way to keep muscle mass on while getting lean.
With all that said, the main reason people try intermittent fasting is to lose fat. We’ll talk about how intermittent fasting leads to fat loss in a moment.
Perhaps most importantly, intermittent fasting is one of the simplest strategies we have for taking bad weight off while keeping good weight on because it requires very little behavior change. This is a very good thing because it means intermittent fasting falls into the category of simple enough that you’ll actually do it, but meaningful enough that it will actually make a difference.
A Note On Your Overall Diet
That leads us to a very important caveat to all of the above. Before starting an intermittent fasting plan, its essential to build nutritional knowledge. I personally wouldnt recommend jumping into intermittent fasting if your current eating habits are poor. Fasting alone wont do much if youre used to eating junk food, takeaways, and little in the way of fruit and vegetables.
Rather than look for quick fixes, its best to focus on your overall lifestyle. Be honest with yourself in terms of your knowledge of nutrition. Are there things you need to learn before embarking on a fasting journey? All of the above plans emphasize eating in moderation, with high-protein consumption and a diet that is mostly whole, unprocessed foods.
Some basic pointers are to understand how to balance carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Understanding your basic caloric needs, and what foods to eat for a balanced diet. Along with what foods to avoid, such as processed sugars, dairy, or wheat. Again, this is a subjective experience, and all of this is part of an exploration into your body, one which is best achieved through compassion and curiosity.
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Cardio And Intermittent Fasting
The hormonal benefits you get from exercising in a fasted state are related to the depleted muscle and liver glycogen stores that occur when you fast. Doing cardio while intermittent fasting is fine, but your performance will hinge on how fat-adapted your body is . If youre new to fasting and exercise, you can expect your performance to drop a little it can take up to six months for some athletes to fully adapt their endurance to this new fuel source. For example, if youre a competing athlete, and your race performance is your primary goal, dont switch to fasted training a couple of weeks before a competition.
If you are doing cardio in a fasted state, avoid extending the fast post-workout, and opt to refuel after you finish.
A Complete Guide To Intermittent Fasting 20/4
In life, it takes time to build on skills. Classical pianists once poked at the black and white keysmuch like you and I woulduntil they improved and perfected their craft. Although intermittent fasting isnt going to send you straight to Carnegie Hall, it will make you feel better and improve your overall health. However, just like anything, you have to start somewhere, and although 20/4 intermittent fasting isnt quite for beginners, it is a worthy goal for the road ahead.
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Can You Still Build Muscle While Intermittent Fasting
If you are looking for building muscle mass, exercise and workouts are the best ways to attain the desired result. While you lift weights or do cardio, you may sustain muscle injury and damage. However, certain hormones play a crucial role in muscle gain and repair.
Intermittent fasting can be a more dynamic way to gain muscle while losing weight than conventional methods. According to a study, a time-restricted diet can offer better acquiring lean mass than a calorie-restricted diet.
With intermittent fasting, it was observed that people were able to shed fat more effectively than by cutting calories. Intermittent fasting greatly helps enhance your body’s muscle growth and endurancemore than breaking down the muscle mass, intermittent fasting help in preserving it.
A healthy lifestyle and workout session can help you build muscles you have been waiting for all these years while also losing some fat. Since intermittent fasting has innumerable health benefits, you can promptly implement it to reach your fitness goals, lose fat and boost your athletic performance.
With a 25-40 min workout three times a week, you can achieve the desired weight loss and maintain your lean muscles. So what kind of exercises can you include in your fitness schedule?
- Walking
Calorie intake value: 49 g Fats, 53 g Proteins, 6 g Carbs
Benefits Of Working Out While Fasted
Now that we know that we can work out in a fasted state, the big question is why would you? Heres why you should consider combining working out with intermittent fasting:
Fat burning: We start depleting glycogen levels when we fast, which means when we exercise fasted we are already closer to or already to tapping into fat as an energy source which is why research shows exercising in a fasted state can increase fat oxidation making it a great weight loss strategy.
Benefit #1: Increased ketone production:
Since ketones are created from fat, we can expect intermittent fasting and exercise to lead to higher ketone levels. This is a great strategy for those looking to reap the energy and mental clarity benefits of ketosis.
Benefit #2: Autophagy
Autophagy is the natural process of breaking down damaged and unneeded cells. This bodily function exists to prevent cells that we dont want replicating from replicating, like cancer cells. Fasting has been shown to promote autophagy and while there have not been any studies looking at fasting and working out on autophagy, we assume that the deeper degree of ketosis and lower blood sugar levels would be conducive to more autophagy.
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Benefit #3: Muscle gain
Benefit #4: Endurance performance
Research has found that exercising in a fasted state can lead to better VOx-max performance or in other words, better endurance performance .
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