What To Eat On An Intermittent Fasting Plan
Now that you know how to do intermittent fasting, its time to talk about what you should eat on your fasting days. Whats important is that you keep your calorie intake low but still eat healthily.
Calorie restriction is going to be part of any weight loss plan that actually works. Even on your nonfasting days, you still need to maintain a balanced diet.
Some good options include:
lean protein such as fish, chicken, or tofu
fruits and vegetables
whole grains such as quinoa or brown rice
low-fat dairy products
nuts and seeds
Best Intermittent Fasting Apps To Track Fasting
Sometimes technology can really be our best friend and help us stick to our commitments.
If you need extra support or simply want to make your life easier, there are a number of intermittent fasting apps available on the market to help you out.
We have reviewed several apps and made our list of the best intermittent fasting apps. Heres our top 2:
- Life Fasting Tracker
You can find a comprehensive review of all 6 intermittent fasting apps here, to get more information on the pros and cons of each fasting app, costs, and other features.
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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What Is The : 4 Method
Often referred to as the Warrior Diet, the 20:4 fast was created by health and fitness writer, Ori Hofmekler, in 2001. This is one of the more extreme intermittent fasting methods and is based on Hofmeklers observations and experience keeping fit while in the Israeli Special Forces.
The 20:4 fast is designed to reflect the eating patterns of ancient warriors and timing is the key. Its based on the idea that in primitive times, people spent their days actively hunting and gathering before an evening feast. Those who follow the Warrior Diet claim that by eating in the evening, the body utilises the nutrients in line with its natural circadian rhythm.
During the eating window, fasters are encouraged to consume up to 90% of their daily caloric intake or until they are completely full. There arent any guidelines around the types of food you can consume during the 4-hour period, however, it is encouraged you consume nutrient-dense whole foods where possible.
Is Intermittent Fasting Right For You
Intermittent fasting is safe for many people, but it’s not for everyone. Skipping meals is not recommended for people under 18, those with a history of disordered eating, or those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Athletes may find it difficult to fuel and refuel appropriately for an active lifestyle. If you have diabetes or other medical issues, talk with your health care team before starting intermittent fasting.
Also, note that the key to weight loss with intermittent fasting is not to overeat during your eating windows. Eating fewer calories than you expend remains the basis for losing weight.
Shortening the eating window may make it difficult to get the vitamins and minerals you need. While on this diet, it is important to eat meals made from quality, healthy ingredients, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean protein.
Intermittent fasting can be dangerous if taken too far. A technique called dry fasting restricts food and fluid intake, resulting in severe dehydration and posing serious health concerns. Malnutrition can occur if the caloric restriction is too severe, such as averaging fewer than 1,200 calories a day long term.
Romi Londre is a dietitian in Nutrition in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
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Is It Good For Certain Conditions
Some research shows that this type of diet may curb symptoms of asthma. Also, some studies, but not all, show improvement in the bodyâs use of insulin.
If you have medical conditions, talk with your doctor before you try intermittent fasting.
This diet is not recommended for children, pregnant women, people with eating disorders, and some people with diabetes.
Intermittent Fasting : 2 Aka The Fast Diet
How: 2 days per week restrict calories to 500-600, 5 days per week eat normally
5:2 Intermittent Fasting lets you eat normally 5 days per week and restricts your calorie intake to 500-600 per day during the other 2 days. When choosing your fasting days, keep in mind that there should be at least one regular eating day in between.
Please note, that your results really depends on what you eat during the 5 days of non-fasting, thus stick to the nutritious and whole diet throughout for max results.
For more on the 5:2 diet, check out A Full Guide On 5:2 Intermittent Fasting.
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Science Of Intermittent Fasting For Weight Loss
To understand the science of intermittent fasting, we need to look into the basics of nutrition.
And it is quite straight-forward: the food we eat gets broken down to molecules and ends up in our blood, which feeds the cells in our bodies.
Part of those molecules are net carbohydrates and our body turns them into sugar so our cells could use it for energy.
To be able to use sugar for the energy we need insulin, which is produced in our pancreas and spikes each time we throw in some food with carbohydrates.
Any excess sugars that we dont utilize get stored in the form of fat with the idea that we will use that fat for energy later, once we have no sugar left.
The best way to NOT end up having huge fat reserves is to spend the same amount of energy you get from food.
However, life is not perfect and many of us have lifestyles that limit our chances to move throughout the day. In fact, office workers tend to spend 75% of their waking hours sitting.
So, what can we do to lose or not gain weight?
One way to do it is to focus on increasing your energy expenditure through increased physical activity or in laymans terms exercising and doing sports. But you knew this one already, didnt you?
Another way though is to focus on consuming less food than you need for the energy that day and as a result, creating a caloric deficit.
And thats where intermittent fasting comes in.
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Side Effects Of Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting can have unpleasant side effects. They could include hunger, fatigue, insomnia, irritability, decreased concentration, nausea, constipation and headaches. Most side effects go away within a month.
Sticking with an intermittent fasting routine can be easier for some people rather than trying to watch calories every day. Other people, especially those with busy or variable schedules, have more difficulty maintaining an intermittent fasting routine.
Intermittent Fasting Plan: 21
To help you kick-off your Intermittent Fasting journey in an easy, fun and sustainable way, we prepared a 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Plan that gives you an action for each day, with a detailed description and more learnings.
Scroll down and see a preview of the first 7 Intermittent Fasting days. If you feel like its time to take matters in your own hands and make Intermittent Fasting a sustainable lifestyle, join our 21-day Intermittent Fasting Challenge. It gives you access to the full 21-day Intermittent Fasting plan, daily emails and further tips and tricks for Intermittent Fasting Beginners .
Day 1
TODAYS TASK: 12 h Fast | 12 h Eat
TODAYS MISSION: Pick your Intermittent Fasting schedule
During the first week, you want to slowly ease into your intermittent fasting. This is why we suggest starting with 12 hours of fasting on your first day, and steady go up to 16 hours on Day 5, by adding 1 additional hour of fasting each day. That way it is easier for your body and brain to get used to the new way of eating, also you give yourself more time to get used to Intermittent Fasting.
On your first day, we also want you to choose the Intermittent Fasting schedule that fits your lifestyle best, and that you will stick to during the entire 21-day Intermittent Fasting Challenge. Consistency has proven to be one of the most contributing factors to success, see more in our talk with clinical researcher Megan J. Ramos.
Day 2
TODAYS TASK: 13 h Fast | 11 h Eat
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
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Tips To Start Your : 4 Fast
As this is one of the more extreme methods of intermittent fasting, it is recommended you do your research before you start and even consult with a dietitian or a nutritionist to ensure it is right for you.
The best resource for the original Warrior Diet is Hofmeklers own book The Warrior Diet: Switch on Your Biological Powerhouse for High Energy, Explosive Strength and a Leaner, Harder Body.
To help you start your first 20:4 fast and successfully stick to it for the desired period of time, follow these tips.
Does Fasting Benefit People Who Don’t Need To Lose Weight Or Who Have Reached Their Goal Weight
Yes, Varady said, citing one of her studies that found fasting helps maintain a healthy body weight lowers triglycerides, which is important for heart health helps decrease blood pressure and improves blood sugar regulation.
A review of research in humans and animals, published in 2019 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found intermittent fasting has “broad-spectrum benefits” for health problems including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and neurologic disorders.
The powerful health effects appear to come from the body flipping a “metabolic switch” during fasting or shifting away from using sugar as its main source of energy and instead converting fat for fuel when a person’s stomach is empty.
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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.
When Can I Eat On The 1: 8 Diet
If you’re following the 16:8 diet, you can pick any 8-hour window to suit your day.
“The most common hours adopted for the eating period is 12pm to 8pm,” explains Tom Jenane, nutrition and fitness expert at Nature’s Health Box . “The reason for this is because people aren’t normally that hungry in the morning and you don’t want to be consuming too many calories in the evening. This window allows for lunch and dinner as well as healthy snacks .”
But while the choice is yours, research has identified the best time to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner for weight loss. According to a study by the University of Murcia , it’s best to stick to a breakfast in the morning, as skipping the meal is linked to a higher rate of obesity. Meanwhile, a late lunch can hinder weight loss in those trying to reduce fat mass, and a late dinner decreases glucose tolerance, making it easier to gain weight.
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Hour Fast For Improved Body Composition
Many people who begin a 20 hour intermittent fasting protocol find that excess fat melt away. More often than not, this usually happens without the hunger pangs or lethargy associated with more conventional weight loss methods.
What makes such painless weight loss possible?
It all has to do with something called increased beta-oxidation a.k.a. fat-burning. After several hours in the fasted state, your body begins metabolizing its own fat reserves for energy. In this state insulin is low and norephedrine is high, setting the stage for your body to identify and select any excess fat stores for fuel.
20 hours of fasting is also sufficient to trigger your liver to produce energy molecules called ketones. When levels of ketones in your blood become elevated, youre in full fat-burning mode called ketosis.
Cycling in and out of a ketogenic state each day is an ideal way to maximize your bodys insulin sensitivity. With greater insulin sensitivity, when you do eat, the calories you consume will be directed towards muscle cells.
Other Benefits Of Fasting
What is novel about the explosion in interest in intermittent fasting is the small but growing clinical research base behind it. Several studies have found improvements in various health markers.
These include:
- improving blood cholesterol and lipid levels
- lowering resting heart rate.
However, it is not clear whether changes to these health markers are due to the fasting pattern itself or the overall energy deficit.
Chronic inflammation occurs alongside the development of many chronic conditions. This includes heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and even depression.
Several studies have found intermittent fasting can decrease blood markers of inflammation. This means in the future it may be found useful in treating inflammatory conditions.
Outside of weight loss, intermittent fasting may have an extra advantage on insulin sensitivity and abdominal obesity compared to a traditional kilojoule-reduced diet.
There have been claims that fasting helps you to live longer. But these are harder to prove with most of the evidence coming from animal studies.
While some of the benefits of intermittent fasting are flow-on effects from any weight loss, there could be some extra beneficial changes happening. And that introduces the term ‘autophagy’.
Autophagy seems to decline as we age, so the benefits of fasting could be greater in older people. That makes sense because there has been a lot more time for cellular waste by-products to build up.
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Advanced: The Modified 2
For this plan, eat clean for five days of the week . On the other two days, restrict your calories to no more than 700 each day.
Calorie restriction unlocks many of the same benefits as fasting for an entire day.
On your non-fasting days, you’ll need to make sure you’re getting in healthy fats, clean meats, vegetables, and some fruits, and you can structure your meals however best works for you.
On restricted days, you can have smaller meals or snacks throughout the day or have a moderate-size lunch and dinner and fast in the morning and after dinner.
Again, focus on healthy fats, clean meats, and produce. Apps can help you log your food and keep track of your calorie intake so you don’t go over 700.
Fasting For 2 Days A Week
People following the 5:2 diet eat standard amounts of healthful food for 5 days and reduce calorie intake on the other 2 days.
During the 2 fasting days, men generally consume 600 calories and women 500 calories.
Typically, people separate their fasting days in the week. For example, they may fast on a Monday and Thursday and eat normally on the other days. There should be at least 1 non-fasting day between fasting days.
There is limited research on the 5:2 diet, which is also known as the Fast diet. A involving 107 overweight or obese women found that restricting calories twice weekly and continuous calorie restriction both led to similar weight loss.
The study also found that this diet reduced insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity among participants.
A small-scale study looked at the effects of this fasting style in 23 overweight women. Over the course of one menstrual cycle, the women lost 4.8 percent of their body weight and 8.0 percent of their total body fat. However, these measurements returned to normal for most of the women after 5 days of normal eating.
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