Simple Intermittent Fasting Plans For Beginners
When you start intermittent fasting, you will surely think about how it will affect your body, metabolism, and mood.
Thats why the following two plans for beginners have proven to bring minimal changes to your everyday life through intermittent fasting.
Moreover, their rules are so simple that beginners can easily follow them.
What Is Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that alternates periods of eating with periods of either not eating or taking in minimal calories. It emphasizes when you eat rather than what you eat.
Even though it has recently gained mainstream attention, intermittent fasting isnt new. People have practiced periods of fasting throughout history, such as for spiritual, health, or survival reasons .
The intent of intermittent fasting isnt necessarily only to restrict calories, but also to allow your body to focus on maintenance and recovery, rather than digesting.
Many fasting patterns incorporate regular 12- to 16-hour periods of fasting into each day, while others include fasting for 24 or 48 hours once or twice per week.
When you fast, your body undergoes a number of metabolic changes. After some time, fasting causes your body to enter ketosis, a state in which fat is used for energy when carbohydrates are unavailable (
Summary
Intermittent fasting rotates periods of fasting and periods of eating. Its often used for health purposes like weight loss and chronic disease prevention, though its been used historically for other reasons.
Skip These Drinks When Fasting
Merotto gives a thumbs down to these beverages during fasting windows:
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Sweetened tea or coffee Once you add sugar, flavored syrup, milk or cream, these drinksdecaf or caffeinatedwill officially break your fast.
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Alcohol Beer, wine, cocktails, and spirits are a hard no for Merotto. These all contain calories and should be consumed only in moderation, if at all, during the non-fast portion. If youre following a calorie-limited fast, note that alcohol will replace some of your food calories.
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Diet soda or soda While most diet sodas are technically calorie free, we dont have enough evidence as to whether they should be consumed during a fast, says Merotto. There is some evidence that artificial sweeteners such as sucralose and aspartame often contained in diet sodas may cause a rise in insulin response due to a chemical reaction in the brain similar to when actually sugar is consumed. More research is needed, but neither diet sodas nor their sugar-laden regular soda counterparts have been shown to be supportive of weight loss goals, she says.
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Protein shakes or smoothies Protein supplements and powders contain calories and will trigger an insulin response, breaking a fast, Merotto says. They can, however, be a good way to break a fast as protein is very satiating, and can act as a quick and convenient recovery drink for those who work out in the mornings before ending their fast.
Should You Try Intermittent Fasting?
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Intermittent Fasting Diet Plan 16/8
With standard 16/8 intermittent fasting, its really up to you which 16 out of 24 hours you decide not to eat.
The only crucial aspect, in my experience, is to fit the 8 hours of sleep into the fasting period. Because this way, you shorten the fast to 8 hours a day. And thats only half the effort.
For this reason, it makes little sense to skip lunch. Nevertheless, some people have successfully managed to do this because of their particular daily routine.
However, if you follow a regular 9-to-5 schedule at work, you will probably have more success skipping breakfast or dinner.
Since most people like to eat in the evening in the company of their loved ones, skipping breakfast has largely proven to be the best approach.
Moreover, according to countless experiences, this approach is the most sustainable and easiest way for beginners to start intermittent fasting.
Best Beverages You Can Drink While Fasting
- 4 minute read
What can you drink while fasting?
Intermittent fasting is all the rage these days. And with its purported health benefits, its certainly one to try!
Theres definitely something appealing about a plan that only contains one essential rule. And that rule is: eat for these hours but dont eat for the others.
For people who follow a keto diet, its not hard to overlap intermittent fasting with it.
But when it comes time to actually do it, questions may pop up. And one of those questions is, what can I drink?
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Can I Have Diet Coke While Intermittent Fasting
Sometimes intermittent fasting can get confusing even though its a very simple and straight-forward concept. As an exercise scientist, experienced healthcare worker, and long-time intermittent faster, I recommend drinking water, sparkling water, straight black coffee , and herbal tea . Thats it. I dont recommend anything else. So, yes, that also means no Diet Coke. Keep it simple and dont think too hard about all of this. Apparently this is a common question. I believe that people think they can possibly drink diet coke during their fasting phase because it has zero calories, fat, carbs, sugar, protein, and cholesterol. However, because of the ingredients, it can ruin a fast. Its fine to drink diet coke during your eating phase, have at it .
Make sure youre not binge eating during your eating phase and ruining all of that fasting in which you put effort. Also, remember to stay hydrated while you fast! See my article titled WATER!!!And Other Helpful Advice For Intermittent Fasters.
A few benefits that you can gain from intermittent fasting includes:
- Burn fat
Consider The Intermittent Fasting Plan Right For You:
Some of the popular regimens include:
The 16:8 diet, or time-restricted feeding, where you fast for 16 hours a day, but are free to eat whatever you want in the other eight hours. Experts advise picking an eating window that lets you finish your meals fairly early, such as 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or earlier, because your body is less efficient at putting sugar away as the day goes by.
Alternate day fasting, which means limiting yourself to 500 calories one day, then eating whatever you want the next, and then repeating that process.
The 5:2 plan, which means incorporating two non-consecutive fast days into your week, then eating normally during the other days.
Here are four tips to keep your plan on track:
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Preparing For The Fast
The normal fast involves abstaining from all forms of food, but not from water, and commonly lasts 24 hours, from sunrise to sunrise. If you are fasting for the first time, you might begin by missing a meal or two. Over time, you can build up to a full day or more.
Begin by refraining from solid food, but drink liquids. Water is the best, since soft drinks are not good for the digestive system, and coffee and tea stimulate the nervous system. Before beginning a fast, it is best to eat lightly and cut back on caffeinated drinks. During the first few days of a multi-day fast, it is common to experience headaches as the body withdraws from caffeine.
If you are planning for an extended fast , you should prepare mentally and physically by cutting down on food intake one week before the actual fast, taking on a vegetarian diet to control cravings for food. Reduce your intake of beverages like coffee, tea and soft drinks as well.
Drink plenty of water.
Questions About Exercise And Intermittent Fasting
A lot of people have questions about how to exercise and train while fasting. Here are some good questions that should push you in the right direction with your training.
I wanted to thank you both for writing such a fantastic, motivating blog and for introducing me to intermittent fasting. I am enjoying watching my weight go down by basically doing something that involves no effort skipping breakfast! I was hoping you could elaborate more on your exercise routine. I have waded through the Leangains site and the other links you mentioned in the beginner’s guide, and while very interesting, they are WAY too complex for me at this stage.Paul S.
Readers like Paul are what make our community great. He read about an idea that interested him and even though some of the details were overwhelming, he didn’t let that prevent him from taking action. In other words, he started before he felt ready.
I try to make my writing as easy as possible to use, but it’s always up to you to experiment and see if it makes sense for your circumstances. Keep up the good work, Paul!
Back to the question
Intermittent fasting works great with most strength training programs.
I believe in strength training and compound movements. I think 99% of the population could get in the best shape of their life with only eight exercises: snatch, clean and jerk, squat, bench press, deadlift, pushups, pullups, and sprints. If you did those exercises and did them well, then that’s all you would ever need.
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What If You Fail At Fasting
Bill Bright put it this way: It takes time to build your spiritual fasting muscles. If you fail to make it through your first fast, do not be discouraged. You may have tried to fast too long the first time, or you may need to strengthen your understanding and resolve. Keep trying until you do succeed. God will honor you for your faithfulness.
Hydration For Your Fasting Window
If youre new to intermittent fasting with Fastic, you might be wondering what type of schedule works for you, what health benefits can be gained, and what side-effects to expect. Still, a topic thats on a lot of peoples lips is drinks during the fasting phase:
What kind of beverages can I consume during my fasting period?
To answer your question, weve compiled a short guide on what you need to know about the most popular drinks for your fasting phase. Since you might want to sip on them while fasting, it could be useful to find out whether or not theyll have an impact on your fasted state.
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What Kind Of Coffee Breaks A Fast
Water is naturally the only drink that is free of any amount of calorie. However, if you feel like brewing a cup of coffee in the morning, you will not be breaking your fast if you stick to black coffee and natural tea without adding sugar, sweeteners, dietary products like milk whether skimmed or whole. Adding any of these could end your fast .
Although most coffees are naturally calorie-free, make sure you dont go overboard so that you wont tease your appetite. The reason for this increase in appetite is attributed to the caffeine content of the coffee.
If you feel the need to add some taste and flavour to your coffee when you are fasting, then certain flavoured spices will give you results because they have zero energy content. You can spice your coffee with powdered cinnamon and sweeteners.
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How To Break A Long Fast
Take note of the following points before breaking a prolonged fast:
Intermittent fasting is not as challenging as its cracked up to be. The basic principle is not consuming any food or drink that could be a source of energy for the body during this period. Make sure you deliberate on why you want to give it a try and before you jump right into it, contact your doctor or dietitian so he or she could give you the green light.
Supplement your diet with some exercise to double your results. Check out this 20-min Full Body Workout at Home.
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Blood Sugar And Other Tests During Fasting
When I fast on just chicken broth my blood glucose drops to 65 and then on the 5th day to 55 mg/dl.Have you observed a drop like this in your fasting patients?
We often see this drop during fasting.
Should i worry if my blood sugar while fasting goes up to in the 140s ?
This is quite common, and due to the breakdown of glycogen or the production of new glucose in response to some of the hormonal changes of fasting. It is neither good nor bad.
Think of it this way. Your body is simply moving sugar from its stores and pushing it into the blood. Here your body has a chance to burn it off.
I purchased a glucose and ketone meter last week. Measured my glucose on Friday after fasting for about 21 hours and the reading was 3.6 mmol with the ketones at 1.9 mmol. It worried me a bit that the glucose was this low, should I be worried? On Saturday I went for a 6 km trail run at a high tempo and my glucose reading afterward were 2,4 mmol. I would like to stay in ketosis, but my fluctuating glucose readings are making me nervous. I do not experience any of the low glucose symptoms, but I tend to become paranoid when the numbers dont look right!
Listen to your body. If you feel unwell, then stop. Otherwise, if you are worried, reduce the fasting duration.
Who Can Use Intermittent Fasting
Is fasting an option for children who need to lose weight?
Fasting is not an option for children. My advice is to severely restrict added sugars and snacking. Reducing down to 2 meals per day is also possible, but not longer duration fasting.
My daughter who is 31 and a healthy weight exercises four times a week. She wants to know if she can fast or is this not recommended for people who exercise?
Not only is it safe, but training in the fasted state has several theoretical benefits that many elite level athletes are using. So, yes, it is highly recommended.
Can women fast during pregnancy and after birth during breast feeding?
I dont advise fasting during pregnancy or breast feeding. There is a concern of nutrient deficiency which I think far outweighs any potential benefit.
How should intermittent fasting be used in conjunction with resistance training to maximize muscle growth and fat burning?
Should there be any differences between intermittent fasting on training days and non-training days? And during the fasting periods or days is it advisable to take supplements such as BCAAs to prevent muscle loss?
There are many different schedules. Most people fast for 24 hrs and then do their training this is called training in the fasted state. Since growth hormone is high, you theoretically will recover and build muscle faster in this state.
How appropriate is intermittent fasting for teenagers?
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What Can I Drink During Intermittent Fasting
When you choose a drink during your fasting window, be aware of calories. Drinks with calories higher than single digits can break your fast and undo your effort. Even some non-caloric drinks, such as diet sodas, flavored waters, or anything containing artificial sweeteners, can provoke the insulin response and interfere with your fast. So what can you drink?
It’s Also Probably Better To Wait To Consume Any Supplements Or Vitamins Until Your Eating Window Too
This is slightly tricky. Vitamins and minerals have no calories in themit’s the stuff companies put with the vitamins that have calories, Keatley says. Usually salt, potassium, and various sugars are used to bind with the vitamins and minerals as a delivery system, he says, adding that reviewing the ingredient list on your multivitamin is the only way to know for sure. In general, most vitamins have between seven to 10 calories each, although gummies have more due to their sugar content, Keatley says.
Theres also this to consider: If youre taking a fat soluble vitamin like vitamin D, youll really want to have it with food, because its absorbed better in your body with fat, Cording points out.
Overall, Cording says its better to try to take supplements during your non-fasting state, just to be safe.
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How Does Intermittent Fasting Enhance Fat
The Yale/Copenhagen group published several papers showing that one of the key mechanisms in fasting-induced fat loss has to do with an increase in the activity of genes that increase the number of calories the body uses and the amount of fat it burns.
When you fast, your body turns on genes that encode for certain uncoupling proteins and enzymes that increase fat oxidationâwhich is to say it turns on the fat-burning mechanisms of the body.
The uncoupling proteins basically “poke holes” in the mitochondria inside muscle cells. The mitochondria are where most of your energy is derived from, especially at rest. By poking holes in them, your mitochondria produce less energy and thus have to burn far more calories to produce the same amount of energy in the form of ATP.
In other words, you may use more calories as a fuel source during the fasted state, which can aid your weight-loss efforts.
