Best Intermittent Fasting Method For Weight Loss
When it comes to weight loss, there are some factors you should consider when deciding which intermittent fasting method is best:
Most likely, you will have to try different methods before you find one that works for you.
Proteins To Eat When Intermittent Fasting
When it comes to proteins, you need to know your goals:
- Weight loss and anti-aging: Increased fat burning and health benefits of autophagy through restricted protein consumption
- Atheltic performance and muscle gain: Better performance and growth through individual adaptation of protein intake to training intensity
Also, age plays a role in protein intake.
While individuals over 65 years need increased protein intake to maintain muscle mass, restricted protein intake can help younger individuals increase life expectancy .
Nevertheless, protein should never be missing from your diet when doing intermittent fasting. For this reason, here are great natural sources of protein:
- Organic chicken
- Goat cheese
- Sour cream
Although they do not fit into this category due to their predominant carbohydrate content, vegetarians will have to resort to legumes such as lentils and beans.
When eating legumes, ensure to neutralize plant toxins by steaming in a pressure cooker.
Popular Ways To Do Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting has recently become a health trend. Devotees claim it can cause weight loss, improve metabolic health, and maybe even extend life span.
Every method can be effective, but figuring out which one works best depends on the individual.
Several methods of this eating pattern exist. But before embarking on an intermittent fast or deciding how often to fast, you should speak with a healthcare professional.
Here are 6 popular ways to do intermittent fasting.
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Eating Junk While Intermittent Fasting
Since highly processed foods not only raise blood sugar and insulin levels but also have a severe pro-inflammatory effect, you should avoid them during intermittent fasting .
Therefore, this one also applies to intermittent fasting:
Eat real food, such as on the previous list!
Correspondingly inadequate nutrition during the eating periods can destroy the health benefits of intermittent fasting.
Thus, do not trust any food in colorful packaging and read the labels thoroughly before you seriously consider eating these garbage foods:
- Ready Meals
- Dressings
- Fast food
If you have one of these foods on your meal plan, you wont get any results, even with intermittent fasting.
Break Your Meals Down
While following Time Restricted Feeding, it is more sensible to break down meals into three or four small meals, instead of eating one massive meal, unless you’re following the alternate fasting method or the whole-day fast. Eating more often, will help your metabolism stay up and hence, may help you burn more fat.
Intermittent Fasting for weight loss: It is more sensible to break down meals into three or four small meals.
It is recommended to get a dietitian or a clinical nutritionist to draw up a healthy meal plan for you. Do not attempt any diet without consulting a qualified person first. Try and stick to the meal plan as much as possible, to ensure maximum results.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
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But Is Intermittent Fasting Good For You
While some researchhas shown the benefits of IF, such as weight loss, lowerblood pressure and improved metabolic health, more investigation isstill needed, especially regarding long-term outcomes of IF. There is also theaspect of sustainability. Severely restricting calories or not eating for longperiods at a time isnt for everyone. Some researcheven shows that those who do intermittent fasting dont usually stick with itas compared with those trying to lose weight on more traditional diets.
Still, IF has been shown to be an effective form of weight loss but so have other options like eating a well-balanced diet paired withexercise. One studysuggests that IF is not more effective at supporting weight loss or improvingblood sugars than other well-balanced approaches.
Weight loss is never a one-size-fits-all approach, saysTaylor. IF may be sustainable for some people, while others find that this approachjust isnt for them.
If you want to try IF, youll first need to figure out how you are going to incorporate this style of eating into your life, especially when it comes to things like social events and staying active, she advises.
Ready to explore your options? Here Taylor explains some of the most popular IF methods.
Foods To Avoid On 16/8 Intermittent Fasting
During your eating window on any method of intermittent fasting, you should stick to the foods presented above. Foods that you need to exclude from the IF food list are:
- Candy
- Baked goods
- Fried foods
- Low-quality snacks
All processed foods, junk food, refined grains, trans-fat, processed meat, candy bars should be excluded from your list of foods for the 16/8 intermittent fasting method or any other IF protocol.
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Optimal Intermittent Fasting Windows
This so-called time-restricted eating is a form of intermittent fasting. Instead of fasting on alternate days or several 24-hour periods per week, time-restricted eating encourages dieters to limit their meals to certain windows of time.
Eating and drinking during a 10-hour window allows your body to rest and restore for 14 hours while drinking water, coffee or tea. According to study co-author Satchin Panda, PhD, Your body can also anticipate when you will eat, so it can prepare the body to optimize metabolism.
Other studies on time-restricted eating have found similar results. Researchers from the University of Alabama split obese men with prediabetes into two groups: One group ate all of its meals within an 8-hour window between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. and the other spread its meals out over 12 hours between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The study showed both groups maintained their weight but those who restricted their eating to an 8-hour window had lower insulin levels, reduced insulin sensitivity and lower blood pressure their appetites decreased, too.
Should I Eat Morning Or Night
It doesnt matter whether you eat in the morning or at night when intermittent fasting. However, in my experience, it is much easier to skip breakfast for the following reasons:
- Morning hunger is learned and can be unlearned
- The hormone release in the morning gives you power for the day
- Without breakfast, your focus at work will increase noticeably
- Dinner is usually the most crucial social pivot of a family
- You save time and can sleep longer
Over the decades, we have learned to be hungry in the morning. But this is not natural.
The body increases adrenaline, glucagon, growth hormone, and cortisol in the morning. For this reason, we wake up. Furthermore, this potent hormonal cocktail nourishes us with enough energy for the upcoming day.
Hence, the morning hunger disappears in just one or two weeks with the forced breakfast in my experience.
Nevertheless, you can also successfully do intermittent fasting if you skip dinner.
For example, if you sleep earlier, work longer, or cannot have dinner with your loved ones because of your daily working routine.
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Start Your Fast After Dinner
Where youre doing daily or weekly fasts, one of the best tips I can give you is to start your fast after dinner. Doing this means youll spend a big chunk of your fasting period asleep. Particularly when using a daily fasting setup like 16:8 if you start fasting after dinner and then
- Spend 1 3 hours watching tv or other evening activities
- Spend 6 9 hours asleep
Youve already fasted for anywhere from 7 to 12 hours, making a 16 hour much more manageable. This means
- Increased dietary adherence
Related: Is Skipping Breakfast Bad For You?
How To Find The Best Fasting Diet For You
Always consult with your healthcare practitioner before you try a fasting diet. Fasting is not ideal for people with a history of eating disorders or disordered eating.
Fasting may feel difficult at first . With the right fasting diet, you can take control of your eating habits and reap major benefits. Like any style of eating, youll want to experiment to find what works for you. Start with a larger eating window, like 16:8. Its easier to gradually work your way into longer fasting windows.
Read next: Learn more about how intermittent fasting can help with weight management.
Also Check: How To Speed Up Weight Loss On Intermittent Fasting
Common Obstacles To Eating A Healthier Diet
Varady dabbles with intermittent fasting herself, typically for a few weeks after the holidays to lose a few pounds. The 16:8 plan is less intense than the other plans, but if she wants a more rapid weight loss, shell opt for alternate day fasting.
The first five fast days are pretty tricky, but once your body gets adjusted to that kind of up-down pattern of eating, it actually gets really easy, Varady told TODAY.
So how do you boost your chances of intermittent fasting success?
Top 6 Intermittent Fasting Supplements And How To Use Them
Quick Navigation
multivitamin | electrolytes | probiotics | BCAA | MCT OIL | Supplements for fasting window
Ensuring your diet is balanced and contains all the necessary nutrients can be hard work. After all dietitians and nutritionists study for years to navigate our diets and nutrition.
Adding intermittent fasting to the mix makes for an additional challenge. With a restricted eating window, youre bound to lose some essential nutrients and minerals.
This is where intermittent fasting supplements can come into the picture. While some supplements can prevent dietary deficiencies, others can help to take your intermittent fasting to another level.
Here are 6 intermittent fasting supplements to consider for anyone doing fasting:
Lets take a closer look at why they are essential and how to incorporate these intermittent fasting supplements into your fasting schedule.
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There Are Certain Foods You Should Avoid
Miami-based dietician Monica Moreno agreed. “Food quality and quantity must indeed be honored!” she told INSIDER. Moreno recommends also adding fermented foods, omega 3 fatty acids, other anti-inflammatory fatty acids, herbs and spices in non-supplement form, and dairy or dairy substitutes to your meal list as well.
“You only have a 6-12 hour window so its a matter of timing,” she explained. One thing is definitely a must, though. “Avoiding refined starches, added sugars, trans fats, and processed meats still hold true!” Moreno stressed.
What Is An Intermittent Fasting Diet
Is fasting healthy and is it an effective and safe way to lose weight? We discuss the benefits of fasting and the difference between the 5:2 and 16:8 fasting diets.
If youve ever considered following a diet, make sure you have all the facts first. BBC Good Food and nutritionist Kerry Torrens take a closer look at intermittent fasting what it is, the claims behind the headlines, and whether or not its healthy
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The 10 Best Intermittent Fasting Tips And Tricks
Intermittent fasting has been sweeping through the fitness industry with increasing ferocity over recent years, with its growing popularity more and more people are becoming exposed to a new way of setting up their diet and managing their nutrition.
As Ive said before Im a big fan of IF and use the 16:8 style of intermittent fasting most of the time. However, Ill also be the first person to tell you that its not for everyone.
With that said, if you do choose to use IF, it does have huge benefits when it comes to dieting, particularly if youre trying to lose fat, which is when I find it most useful as a dieting strategy.
When done properly it can help you
- Manage feelings of hunger by allowing you to eat bigger meals when you do eat
- Increase diet adherence by giving you more dietary flexibility
Managing hunger and sticking to your diet is vital when it comes to your overall success and ability to reach your goals. Intermittent fasting can help you do this, however, whilst some people can fast for prolonged periods with very little problem, others can find it a bit more difficult particularly when first starting out.
To help you out here is a selection of tips that you can use to get the most out fast and make your journey a little easier.
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That being said, exercise before you eat because people get hungry about half an hour after they finish working out and may find it too hard to stick to their plan if they cant eat anything at all afterwards, Varady noted.
If youre on the 16:8 plan, exercise before or during your eating window. If youre doing alternate day fasting and are exercising on your 500-calorie day, save food for after your exercise session.
Also Check: How Many Calories During Intermittent Fasting
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.
Carbs On 16/8 Intermittent Fasting
Carbs are the major source of energy for your body. There are three different types of carbohydrates: starches, fiber, and sugars.
For instance, fiber is a carbohydrate that aids in digestion, helps you feel full, and keeps blood cholesterol levels in check.
Carbs often get a bad reputation for causing weight gain. Not all carbs are created equal and they are not inherently fattening. You should choose foods that are high in fiber and starch but low in sugars.
Healthy carbohydrate-rich foods include:
- Herbal tea
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What To Eat When Intermittent Fasting
With intermittent fasting, there is only one basic approach that works for better health and weight loss:
Do not eat during fasting periods!
Otherwise, there are situations where at least small amounts of certain foods may be acceptable.
If you are not yet used to a new, more extended fasting period and find it challenging to maintain the duration, you might benefit from fasting aids.
For example, if you are hungry and irritable after 12 hours but can last for 16 hours with a Bulletproof Coffee, this is probably acceptable.
Since the added fat limits autophagys health benefits, it hardly stimulates insulin secretion at all, and you can continue to burn fat.
After your body has gotten used to intermittent fasting, however, you should be able to go without training wheels.
So How Many Hours Should You Fast
When you explore the beginners guide to intermittent fasting, you may find these schedules very restrictive and difficult to follow. Its a good idea to start slow and fast for 12 hours and eat for 12, or fast for 14 hours and eat for 10.
For women, the 14:10 schedule is easier to follow. For men, this can vary as some men find alternate-day fasting easier to follow.
Working your way slowly will make it easier for you to adjust to a certain intermittent fasting type. You can eventually increase the fasting periods and decrease the eating windows.
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What Is Intermittent Fasting
During intermittent fasting , you eat during a specific period and fast the rest of the day .
There are various intermittent fasting schedules, but the most popular is fasting within a 16 hours time frame.
For example, you only eat between noon and 8 PM. Therefore, your bodys digestive tract can rest outside the 8-hour eating period.
In addition to the 8 hours of sleep, the body gets another 8 hours of fasting.
In short, to start the 16/8 intermittent fasting, you only need to skip breakfast and do not snack during the 16 hours.
Besides the 16/8 intermittent fasting program, other popular schedules have evolved:
- One-Day Fasting you do not eat anything on a full day a week
- Two-Day Fasting you do not eat anything on two full days a week
- Alternate Day Fasting Eat one day, fast one day
- One Meal A Day 23/1 intermittent fasting, where you eat once a day
When Should I Exercise
When Varady and her colleagues conducted a study that combined alternate day fasting and exercise, they allowed the participants to pick whether they wanted to exercise on a feasting or fasting day, and found there was no strong preference one way or the other. But the researchers were surprised the dieters actually reported feeling more energetic on fasting days.
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