Ways Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight Say Dietitians
There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of ways to lose weight. There’s the Mediterranean diet, a low-carb diet, the keto diet, the Paleo diet, Whole30, the list goes on. One of the increasingly popular weight-loss diets is intermittent fasting , where you eat all your meals within a small eating window and fast for the remainder of the day. And that’s it. You technically don’t have to give up any of your favorite foods and you don’t have to force yourself to eat any health foods that you dislike. So how can that be? How is it that you have free reign to eat whatever you want and all you have to do is limit when you eat it?
We talked to registered dietitians and looked at the science behind exactly how fasting helps you lose weight, and why it’s a diet worth considering if you want to lose weight safely. So if you’ve been thinking about trying an intermittent fasting diet for weight loss, read on, and for more on how to eat healthy, don’t miss 15 Underrated Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work.
Following The Inner Cleanse Diet
Typical Fasting Weight Loss Plans
Fasting regimens vary, but the basic premise usually starts with a strict regimen allowing only water, juice and/or some kind of laxative concoction. Some plans allow a few solid foods, but are still called fasts because they provide so few calories.
Not all fasts are created equal. Some can be perfectly safe, such as medical fasts supervised by a physician. Religious and cultural fasts are typically undertaken as an act of devotion, last from 24-48 hours, and are not intended to promote weight loss.
Fasts lasting a day or two are unlikely to be dangerous for most healthy adults. But high-risk people, the elderly, anyone with a chronic disease, pregnant women, and children are advised against any type of fasting.
The real danger lies in staying on the fast for prolonged periods, anywhere from three days to a month.
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How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way
We put on weight when the amount of calories we eat exceeds the amount of calories we burn through normal everyday activities and exercise. Most adults need to eat less and get more active.
The only way to lose weight healthily and keep it off is to make permanent changes to the way you eat and exercise.
A few small alterations, such as eating less and choosing drinks that are lower in fat, sugar and alcohol, can help you lose weight.
There are also plenty of ways to make physical activity part of your life.
If you’re overweight, aim to lose about 5 to 10% of your starting weight by losing 0.5 to 1kg a week.
You should be able to lose this amount if you eat about 500 to 600 fewer calories than you normally consume each day.
An average man needs about 2,500 calories a day and an average woman about 2,000 calories to stay the same weight.
Add More Fiber To Your Diet
1,114 adults lost 3.7% of their belly fat over 5 years by ingesting soluble fiber by 10 grams daily .
When fiber moves slowly through your digestive tract, it can absorb water. As a result, you feel fuller longer. Therefore, high-fiber foods could help with weight management .
Increased fiber intake has been shown to reduce hunger and promote feelings of fullness in another review. Research shows that adding 14 grams of fiber to your daily diet could lower caloric intake by 10% and weight by 2kg over four months .
Soluble fibers go straight to your gut, where a series of enzymatic reactions release short-chain fatty acidsthese regulate fat metabolism, enhancing the rate of fat burn, fat storage, ultimately reducing body weight and belly fat .
Vegetables like quinoa, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds are some of the best sources of fiber to increase satiety.
If you want to take your weight loss and fat loss regime to the next level, add these foods to your diet. Adding them to your diet is a winning formula.
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Reduce Portion Size To Lose More Weight In A Month
Reducing portion size is essential if you want to reach your target of losing 30 pounds of body fat in a few weeks.
To help you lose weight and keep it off, try to get into the habit of eating smaller meal portions at lunchtime and in the evening. Although this will take some self-discipline at the start, it will help to gradually reduce your overall calorie consumption in a day and the pounds should start to fall off.
According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, individuals who ate smaller portions at lunchtime were able to reduce their daily energy intake by up to 30%. The study also highlighted that people dining in restaurants should consider not finishing their plate if they want to lose weight. This is because portion sizes are increasing and this has been linked to more people becoming overweight.9
So, eating smaller portions can help you lose a lot of weight and is an effective diet method to help treat and prevent obesity.
The International Journal of Obesity reported that to help lose a lot of pounds of body weight quickly, its important to eat portions of food that contain more low-density energy foods. This means increasing the amount of vegetables in your meal and eating lean protein.10
One helpful way to speed up weight loss by using portion control is to use a portion control plate. This will help you lose a lot of weight gradually and boost your overall health as you see your waistline decrease in size.
Tips For Weight Loss With Intermittent Fasting
1. Increase your fiber intake for gut health and satiety between meals.
2. Increase your lean protein intake if needed to improve satiety and muscle mass. One exploratory study found that individuals who successfully lost weight during a randomized controlled trial of 12 months of alternate day fasting report greater protein intake, increased fullness and decreased hunger than individuals who didnt lose weight.
3. Stick to your fast-day calorie goals.
4. Avoid energy-dense meals and snacks on feast days.
5. Eat early in the day. A recent study found that snacking or eating dinner late at night prevents you from burning fat as you sleep. Our internal clock regulates when our bodies switch from primarily using carbs to primarily using fat to create energy, but this cycle goes out of whack when we reach for that midnight snack. According to this study, If you eat late, when you go to bed you will be preferentially burning carbs, delaying the time in which your body flips into fat- burning mode.
6. Eat in a narrow window on calorie restriction days. For example, if you follow a modified alternate day fasting protocol where you eat up to 500 calories on fasting days, eating all of those calories in one meal may give you the added metabolic benefits of time-restricted eating.
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Get 6 To 8 Hours Of Sleep Per Night
“I tell all of my celebrity and professional-athlete clients to get between 6 and 8 hours of sleep per night. Everyone is overly focused on food, water and exercise, all of which are extremely imperative to weight loss and optimal health. However, without proper sleep, all of these the other factors are null and void. When you don’t get enough sleep, levels of the hormone leptin drop, which increases appetite. This surge in appetite makes comfort food more appealing, which can derail weight loss efforts.” Jay Cardiello, celebrity fitness and nutrition expert
Make your time between the sheets work double duty with the help of these surprising ways to lose weight in your sleep.
Find Out What Drives You To Eat
At the most basic level, food is fuel. It gives you energy to do things. But very few people eat just for that reason. Its at every social gathering. And its where a lot of us turn when we have a rough day.
Youll need to know what makes you want to eat when youre not hungry, and have a plan for those moments.
The first step is finding out what your triggers are. Is it stress, anger, anxiety, or depression in a certain part of your life? Or is food your main reward when something good happens?
Next, try to notice when those feelings come up, and have a plan ready to do something else instead of eating. Could you take a walk? Text a friend?
Lastly, reward yourself for making a different choice. Just dont use food as the reward.
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Start Your Morning With A Cold Shower
Cooling down from a hot summer day isnt the only thing a cold shower is good for. It can also help boost your metabolism to the next level .
Heres how:
See, exposure to cold temperatures helps activate brown fats , which regulate body temperature .
So when our body temperature decreases, our brown fat breaks down fat and sugar molecules to help us warm up, as well as other metabolic changes in our bodies .
This process increases your metabolic rate and energy levels while burning additional calories. Additionally, physical exercise is believed to activate our brown adipose tissue .
Now, although cold showers have many benefits, they arent enough to lose weight by themselves.
Thats why men should take them in conjunction with a proper diet plan and physical workout routine, to give you that extra push you were looking for.
Add More Healthy Fats To Your Diet
I know, I know. This article is on how to lose weight fast yet this type is encouraging you to consume healthy fats.
Sounds counterproductive and but bear with me. Healthy fats are not the same as fats found in junk food. Eating them will make you feel sated while helping you lose weight.
Healthy fats usually take longer to digest, which leads to reduced appetite and hunger. In fact, a study found that a Mediterranean diet rich in healthy fats like olive oil ultimately reduced the risk of weight gain compared to a low-fat diet .
When you consume unhealthy fats, you are at risk of gaining body and abdominal weight, as well as growing your waist circumference .
As always, you should consume healthy fats in moderation, as you would with any other calorie-containing food. Consuming too much can actually be harmful.
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How To Lose Weight Fast In 3 Simple Steps
One way to lose weight quickly is to cut back on sugars and starches, or carbohydrates. This could be with a low carb eating plan or by reducing refined carbs and replacing them with whole grains.
When you do that, your hunger levels go down, and you generally end up eating fewer calories .
With a low carb eating plan, youll utilize burning stored fat for energy instead of carbs.
If you choose to eat more complex carbs like whole grains along with a calorie deficit, youll benefit from higher fiber and digest them more slowly. This makes them more filling to keep you satisfied.
A 2020 study confirmed that a very low carbohydrate diet was beneficial for losing weight in older populations .
Research also suggests that a low carb diet can reduce appetite, which may lead to eating fewer calories without thinking about it or feeling hungry .
Note that the long-term effects of a low carb diet are still being researched. It can also be difficult to adhere to a low carb diet, which may lead to yo-yo dieting and less success in maintaining a healthy weight.
There are potential downsides to a low carb diet that may lead you to a different method. Reduced calorie diets can also lead to weight loss and be easier to maintain for longer periods of time.
If you opt for a diet focusing instead on whole grains over refined carbs, a 2019 study correlated high whole grain with lower body mass index (
15 ).
Both cardio and weightlifting can help with weight loss.
Experiment With Eating Smaller Frequent Meals To Lose A Lot Of Weight Faster
You could consider eating smaller meals frequently throughout the day to lose 30 pounds faster in a few weeks.
Eating smaller portion sizes during the day can help you lose weight at a steady pace. The benefit of frequent small meals to your 30-day diet plan is that it helps prevent snacking. This can often happen when people try to skip meals when they have the goal of quick weight loss.
There is, however, some controversy if eating 3 meals or 6 small meals in the day is the best option. For example, a study into dieting in 2015 said that eating smaller frequent meals throughout the day could help some people lose extra pounds and reduce body weight.7 But, according to the journal Obesity, it is the overall daily calorie intake that is the determining factor if a person can lose weight quickly.8
If you have the goal of losing a lot of weight in a 3 or 4-week diet program, you should experiment with these methods to see what works best for you.
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Reset What And When You Eat
You dont have to go vegan, gluten-free, or quit any particular food group to lose weight. In fact, youre more likely to keep the pounds off for good if its something you can live with for the long term.
But it does make sense to cut way down on, or totally cut out, empty calories.
Limit added sugars. These are the sugars in cookies, cakes, sugar-sweetened drinks, and other items — not the sugars that are naturally in fruits, for instance. Sugary foods often have a lot of calories but few nutrients. Aim to spend less than 10% of your daily calories on added sugars.
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Be choosy about carbs. You can decide which ones you eat, and how much. Look for those that are low on the glycemic index or lower in carbs per serving than others. Whole grains are better choices than processed items, because processing removes key nutrients such as fiber, iron, and B vitamins. They may be added back, such as in enriched bread.
Include protein. Its satisfying and will help keep up your muscles. There are vegetarian and vegan sources , as well as lean meat, poultry, fish, and dairy.
Most Americans get enough protein but could choose to get it from leaner sources, so you may already have plenty in your diet. Your exact protein needs depend on your age, gender, and how active you are.
What About Meal Replacements? These products will control your calories. Theyre convenient and take the guesswork out of dieting.
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How Can I Suppress Hunger During Intermittent Fasting
Eat high-fiber foods, such as nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables, and high protein foods, including meat, fish, tofu, or nuts, during your eating window, Varady advised. Chewing high-fiber gummies can also help.
Drink lots of water. People tend to think they’re hungry, when they are really just thirsty, she said.
Go for black coffee or tea, or cinnamon or licorice herbal teas. These beverages may have appetite-suppressing effects, Varady noted.
Watch less TV: I know this sounds strange, but while you are watching TV, you are bombarded with dozens of ads for food. This can make you feel hungry, when in actuality, you are not hungry at all, she said.
Remember, being “a little hungry” is the best thing that can happen to you, wrote Madelyn Fernstrom, health and nutrition editor at NBC News, calling it a “true mind-body connection” that helps you recognize fullness.
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Understand The Mindset For Weight
Before we jump in, it is crucial to help you get into the right mindset first. This is because effective weight loss primarily stems from the state of your mind. Most people are influenced by external factors like celebrities looks, wanting to fit into their wedding dress, getting in shape for summer, or wanting to shed some weight before their high school or university reunion.
While all these reasons are somewhat valid, the reality is that theyre fleeting at best. This is why youll find people losing some weight and gaining it back very quickly. True and lasting change comes from the inside therefore, you must have a why. For example, parents who choose to lose weight to live longer and be around for their children tend to succeed and keep it that way for a long time.
The same goes for people who have a near-death experience like a heart attack or stroke directly or indirectly caused by obesity. In case you dont know, obesity is linked to metabolic syndrome a condition that causes life-threatening ailments like heart disease, arteriosclerosis, stroke, and hypertension.
So, before you start the weight loss process, heres a crucial question to ask yourself: Why do I want to lose weight?. Figure that out first, and youll find that youll be able to sustain the process, develop a healthy expectation, and experience gradual, sustainable weight loss.
With that out of the way, lets get started.
