It May Reduce Adverse Health Condition Risks
Obesity is one of the critical factors in different types of adverse health conditions. Intermittent fasting, however, helps with weight management and insulin control. Therefore, by losing more excess weight, people will reduce the risk of heart diseases and diabetes. Besides, other benefits include lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol levels. However, it is important to remember that using intermittent fasting might be unsuitable for people having certain health conditions. That is why, before diving into fasting routine, consult your doctor about how safe and useful it might be for you.
Ways To Use This Information For Better Health
What Is 16/8 Intermittent Fasting
The practice of 16/8 intermittent fasting involves limiting your intake of foods and calorie-containing beverages to a set window of 8 hours per day. You abstain from food for the remaining 16 hours, though youre still allowed to drink water and other no-calorie beverages, like plain coffee or tea.
You can repeat this cycle as frequently as youd like from just once or twice per week to every day, depending on your preference.
The popularity of this fasting method has grown widely among those looking to lose weight and burn fat. 16/8 intermittent fasting is also believed to improve blood sugar control and enhance longevity.
While other diets often set strict rules, 16/8 intermittent fasting is easy to follow and may provide measurable results with minimal disruption to your diet. Its generally considered less restrictive and more flexible than many other diets and works with most lifestyles.
Summary
With 16/8 intermittent fasting, you restrict your food intake to an 8-hour window and fast for the remaining 16 hours. This practice may support weight loss, improve blood sugar, and increase longevity.
It is simple, safe, and sustainable to do 16/8 intermittent fasting.
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Wondering What To Eat During Intermittent Fasting
There is no fixed intermittent diet plan as such when it comes to what foods to avoid or eat. Intermittent fasting doesnt encourage any form of calorie restriction either.
Most people choose to eat any food of their choice and focus more on following the fasting window efficiently.
However, to make the most of the health benefits associated with IF, it is recommended to eat a diet rich in whole foods.
It wouldnt be right to load up on junk food every eight hours and expect to see perfect results from your fasting.
Create your own intermittent fasting weight loss plan that works best for you based on your health.
The most common diets done in tangent with IF especially to resolve health issues are Keto, Paleo, Auto-Immune Protocol, Elimination Diet, etc.
Should I Try Intermittent Fasting
Now that were through a lot of the science stuff, lets get into the reality of the situation: why should you consider Intermittent Fasting?
#1) Because it can work for your goals. Although we know that not all calories are created equal, caloric restriction plays a central role in weight loss.
When you fast, you are also making it easier to restrict your total caloric intake over the course of the week, which can lead to consistent weight loss and maintenance.
#2) Because it simplifies your day. Rather than having to prepare, pack, eat, and time your meals every 2-3 hours, you simply skip a meal or two and only worry about eating food in your eating window.
Its one less decision you have to make every day.
It could allow you to enjoy bigger portioned meals and STILL eat fewer calories on average.
Its a point that Coach Matt makes in this video on intermittent fasting:
#3) It requires less time . Rather than having to prepare or purchase three to six meals a day, you only need to prepare two meals.
Instead of stopping what youre doing six times a day to eat, you simply only have to stop to eat twice. Rather than having to do the dishes six times, you only have to do them twice.
Rather than having to purchase six meals a day, you only need to purchase two.
#5) It can level up your brain, including positively counteracting conditions like Parkinsons, Alzheimers, and dementia.
#6) Plus, Wolverine does it:
#7) Boy George is a fasting fan :
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What Is Intermittent Fasting Schedule
There are numerous intermittent fasting schedules compatible with the different demands of different people.
16:8
16:8 intermittent fasting schedule requires 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating. Basically, one meal is abandoned when 16:8 is selected as an intermittent fasting schedule and which meal to abandon depends on the specific situation or individual demands. 16:8 is the most popular intermittent fasting schedule and is the start of the majority of fasters.
5:2
As you conform to 5:2 intermittent fasting plan, youll have five days of normal diet and two with 20% of the ordinary calorie intake. A research by International Journal of Obesity indicates that 5:2 intermittent fasting helps reduces more weight and fat compared with other intermittent fasting plans.
Warrior Diet
Warrior Diet is an intermittent fasting protocol developed by health and fitness author Ori Hofmekler. The warrior diet requires eating to be done in the evening. Fasters are allowed to eat only a few fresh fruit and vegetables and eat a big meal during the 4-hour window in the evening. Compared with other intermittent fasting plans, the warrior diet is stricter.
OMAD
One meal a day, also called OMAD, is a fasting plan requiring one meal a day. It doesnt specify what to eat or when to eat but youre required to eat one meal only in a single day. OMAD is the highest fasting plan that is approximately 23:1 fasting. OMAD isnt suggested for intermittent fasting beginners since its too hard.
What Type Of Intermittent Fasting Is Best
The type of intermittent fasting that is best for both men and women, preservation of muscle mass along with fat burning, diabetes prevention, and heart health is the 16:8 method. The 5:2 method seems best at reducing inflammation, while alternate day fasting is the most studied for longevity. This is not to say the 16:8 method cant provide similar benefits!
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When Should I Fast And When Should I Eat
If youre doing the 16:8 method of intermittent fasting , you will be sleeping through about half of your 16-hour fast. The remainder of your fast will either fall in the hours leading up to bedtime or in the morning/early afternoon hours after you wake. Plan your 8-hour feeding window during a time that works best for your training and social schedule.
For example, if you train at 7am each day, perhaps a 9am-5pm feeding window works best for you, or you can train in the middle of your feeding window, as I do. If eating dinner with the family is a priority, try fitting your meals in between 1pm-9pm.
Intermittent fasting is extremely flexible, so you dont have to fast the same timeframe each day, so long as youre fasting for 16 hours in a 24-hour period .
Common Complaints With If And How To Resolve Them:
a) Fasting gives me a headache. Help!
It could be a sign that you are low on electrolytes. Just add pink or regular salt to your drinking water. If the headache persists, there could be an underlying cause not related to fasting and will need to be checked by a doctor.
b) I am struggling with the 16-hour fasting window?
It helps to start small for some people. Start with 10 hours fasting window, gradually move up to 12-hour fast and then the 16:8 diet.
c) I am constantly hungry
Most people are unaware of their sugar and carb addiction. In an IF diet schedule you might experience sugar/carb withdrawal in the start. Do not confuse the withdrawal with hunger if youve eaten well during the eating window. As you body adapts to fasting, the addiction and withdrawal symptoms should stabilize.
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/6start Slow And Plan
If you are new to fasting then it is recommended to start slow. First, try to evaluate which pattern suits your lifestyle and fitness goal. For some people fasting for 16 hours might not be possible due to different reasons. It is better not to be in haste and start slow. Your chances of sticking to any diet depends on how well you plan it.
I Would Move Away From Intermittent Fasting For Fat Loss And If You Want To Adopt It Think About The Health Benefits Rachel Clarkson
Someone who has a high-carb diet might never move beyond the catabolic state as they will always have a reserve supply of glycogen. However, someone with a low-carb diet and who regularly exercises might move through it very quickly . I would move away from intermittent fasting for fat loss, and if you want to adopt it think about the health benefits, says Clarkson.
How to fast
To fast you have to downregulate the feeling of hunger, says Clarkson. Hunger is felt when ghrelin, a hormone released from our stomach, triggers the production of two other hormones, called NPY and AgRP, in the hypothalamus.
While these three hormones generate feelings of hunger, there are a multitude more that suppress it. Sometimes called the satiety hormones, one of the key ones is leptin which is released from fat cells to suppress the production of ghrelin basically telling the body “there is fat here that you can burn”.
Ghrelin is sometimes called the short-term hunger response because it is released when the stomach is empty and there is less pressure on the stomach wall. It can be overridden to a certain extent by drinking water. Leptin meanwhile works over the long term.
William Park is a senior journalist at BBC Future and is on Twitter.
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Should I Eat 6 Small Meals A Day
There are a few main reasons why diet books recommend six small meals:
1) When you eat a meal, your body does have to burn extra calories just to process that meal. So, the theory is that if you eat all day long with small meals, your body is constantly burning extra calories and your metabolism is firing at optimal capacity, right? Well, thats not true.
Whether you eat 2000 calories spread out throughout the day, or 2000 calories in a small window, your body will burn the same number of calories processing the food .
So, the whole keep your metabolism firing at optimum capacity by always eating sounds good in principle, but reality tells a different story.
2) When you eat smaller meals, you might be less likely to overeat during your regular meals. I can definitely see some truth here, especially for people who struggle with portion control or dont know how much food they should be eating.
However, once you educate yourself and take control of your eating, some might find that eating six times a day is very prohibitive and requires a lot of effort. I know I do.
Also, because youre eating six small meals, Id argue that you probably never feel full, and you might be MORE likely to eat extra calories during each snack.
Although grounded in seemingly logical principles, the six meals a day doesnt work for the reason you think it would , and generally only works for people who struggle with portion control .
Thats why we made this:
What Are The Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting
Greater Fat Burning: Research has shown that fasting for relatively long periods may result in greater fat burning and accelerated fat loss, even when total daily calorie intake remains the same. Most people find that they’re able to have a few more of their favorite “cheat” foods during the feeding window and still see results. This is why IF is such an appealing diet for many people.
Adherence: Other reasons why so many individuals love IF are that it’s relatively easy to get used to and stick with, and it’s a diet you don’t have to discontinueâever. You can do intermittent fasting long term with no adverse health effects. Instead, you’ll actually see health benefits from IF.
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The Concept Of Fasting Isn’t New
While the idea of having set eating windows isn’t necessarily fresh, science on the potential health and weight-loss benefits mostly is-and it’s pretty inconclusive.
“Fasting has been a part of human culture and religious practices for centuries,” says Harbstreet. “Only recently, however, has research turned a focus to the potential health effects of fasting.”
One study on mice linked intermittent fasting to lower insulin levels. Another rodent study suggested that IF could protect the heart from further injury after a heart attack. And rats who ate every other day for eight weeks lost weight over the course of another study.
But studies on humans are limited, as are studies that follow IF subjects for a long period of time. In 2016, researchers reviewed data from studies about intermittent fasting conducted on people and basically found that the effects were unclear or inconclusive. Not super helpful, and it leaves you wondering whether IF for weight loss works in the long run.
What You Need To Know Before Trying Intermittent Fasting
As you might already know, especially if youre someone who follows healthy eating and weight loss trends, intermittent fasting is a diet that calls for cycling between periods of eating and periods of fasting. The idea is that by restricting when you eat, you control the number of calories youre consuming and, hopefully, benefit from the hormonal and cellular benefits fasting may bring about, like lowering your cholesterol, improving heart health, and ultimately helping you live longer. These claims are based on studies that have looked at the effects of IF on different markers, but they dont tell the whole story. As an epidemiologist who studies the effects of fasting on longevity and health, Ive spent much of my career trying to determine just how much IF can affect our health.
Fasting for religious, social, cultural, or political reasons is a practice thats been observed for many thousands of years in a variety of societies and civilizations. Intermittent fasting, however, is a specific kind of caloric restriction that, at its core, really just means eating for a period and then not eating for another period of time. Theres no one way to practice IF, but typically it comes down to restricting food intake through one of two wayscyclical day-long fasting or time-restricted eating.
Additional reporting by K. Aleisha Fetters
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The Intermittent Fasting Guide For Beginners
Let me tell you a little bit about me.
I never believed in any diets and I never tried any of them. But when I was looking to lose some weight, I looked on the internet for an efficient and non-restrictive technique that could have helped me in my quest of the summer body. This is when I found out about fasting, and let me tell you that I’ve been in love with it since. I’ve been implementing this lifestyle for 6 months and I have never felt so good and healthy in my life!I lost weight, I don’t have stomach issues anymore, I don’t feel heavy all day because of the food I ate, and I save money in the long run!
This diet really changed my life, and I hope that it can change yours too! This article is a complete intermittent fasting guide for beginners! Keep reading if you want to know how it works and the incredible benefits it has.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work
There are several different ways to do intermittent fasting, but they are all based on choosing regular time periods to eat and fast. For instance, you might try eating only during an eight-hour period each day and fast for the remainder. Or you might choose to eat only one meal a day two days a week. There are many different intermittent fasting schedules.
Mattson says that after hours without food, the body exhausts its sugar stores and starts burning fat. He refers to this as metabolic switching.
Intermittent fasting contrasts with the normal eating pattern for most Americans, who eat throughout their waking hours, Mattson says. If someone is eating three meals a day, plus snacks, and theyre not exercising, then every time they eat, theyre running on those calories and not burning their fat stores.
Intermittent fasting works by prolonging the period when your body has burned through the calories consumed during your last meal and begins burning fat.
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How To Start Fasting: 3 Steps For First Time Fasters
So youre ready to start, the question now becomes, how do you begin fasting?
STEP 1: CREATE A FASTING WINDOW
I recommend beginner fasters start with intermittent fasting. Remember, ideally this means 13-15 hours of no food. Take a look at how long you are fasting currently, and try extending your fasting window by two hours by pushing your breakfast time back an hour and moving your dinner time up an hour earlier.
- Get a blood reader like the Keto Mojo for this step, and learn how to measure your blood sugar and ketones. Youll take a reading right after you wake up and a second reading right before you eat your first meal. What you want to see is that blood sugar is decreasing and ketones are increasing. If this isnt happening, youll want to try increasing your fasting window and also taking a closer look at your macros.
- Drinking water and maybe coffee during this fast is okay.
- Start counting your macro. I recommend using an app called the Carb Manager to do this. In this beginning phase as youre getting used to fasting, start by decreasing carbs, like bread, pasta, fruit, cookies, etc, and stay under 50 net carbs. At the same time, work on increasing your intake of healthy fats.
STEP 2: INCREASE YOUR FASTING WINDOW TO 13-15 HOURS
STEP 3: INCREASE YOUR FASTING WINDOW TO over 17+ HOURS
After mastering autophagy fasting, you may want to move into the more advanced fasts like dinner-to-dinner, 36-48 hour or even 3-day water fast.