How Long Do You Have To Fast To See Benefits
Usually, people go into ketosis after the first week of restricted eating. For others, it occurs after about 3-4 days. It really depends on your eating and fasting patterns prior to intentionally fasting. After 12 hours, the body begins to burn fat, and it increases from there. There are many benefits of intermittent fasting. Figuring out which windows work for you will determine the level of benefits you reap.
How To Optimise Intermittent Fasting For Fat Burning
Intermittent fasting has gotten so much hype in recent years that I think people are now becoming skeptical. One of the many benefits of intermittent fasting is weight loss, but it isnt some fad diet with sketchy science. Actually, it isnt a diet at all! Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that breaks the three-meal-a-day status quo and frees our bodies from the burden of non-stop digestion so that they can focus on other tasks, one of which is to burn fat in between meals.
When we say weight loss, what were really aiming for is fat loss. Generally, we care more about toning and slimming down our waistlines than seeing a smaller number on the scale. Thats why intermittent fasting has become so popular studieshave found that intermittent fasting for 24 weeks can reduce stubborn belly fat and shrink waist circumference by as much as 4-7%. Without further ado, here are some tricks to optimize an intermittent fast to burn body fat.
Diet And Workout Tips
New research shows that intermittent fasting may be a viable option for the less active, the very active individuals and some athletes during lower volume training.
For example, a study from Italy found that experienced bodybuilders were able to reduce body fat by 16.4 percent, losing 1.6 kg of fat, while improving strength and physical performance after 8 weeks of what is known as an 8:16 fasting protocol .
There are lots of examples of professional athletes who fast regularly.
Whether you are the one or the other, based on current research, here are seven tips for success with intermittent fasting.
Dont Slash Calories. Intermittent fasting is not about getting less food, but about limiting the time of the day where you eat food.
Stick With A Consistent Eating Schedule. Some people like intermittent fasting because it allows them to eat only when convenient. This is not an ideal approach for athletes who need to optimize their circadian rhythms if they want to reach their potential. Another benefit of a steady eating schedule is balanced cortisol levels, which is essential for long-term success with fasting.
Protein is a Godsend for helping you manage hunger pangs as you transition to longer periods of fasting because it increases gut hormones that keep you satiated. Additionally, the amino acids in protein can improve focus and motivation so that you stay on point with your feeding / fasting schedule.
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What Happens To Your Body While Fasting
Unlike other diet plans that focus on what you eat, intermittent fasting focuses on when you eat. When you start fasting, your body moves through a series of stages. Fasting brings changes in your metabolism that also influence your hormone levels. It also provides your body with essential health benefits. Here are the crucial stages of fasting
You Keep Breaking Your Fast
If you are used to snacking in between meals, staying without food for an extended fasting period could be difficult and affect your intermittent fasting results.
Consistently breaking your fast before your fasting window is up could be responsible for your lack of progress with intermittent fasting.
Your fasting period might be too long and switching your eating schedule a bit might be helpful. Consider reducing your fasting period to about 10-12 hours and begin to increase it as time goes on.
Moving up slowly allows your body to get used to going extended periods without food, therefore, you are less likely to break your fast prematurely.
When you can tolerate going longer without food, you could move up to the 16:8 intermittent fast. Here, you will have eight hours for feeding.
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Fasting And The Keto Diet
You can also combine fasting with a ketogenic diet.
Several of the benefits of intermittent fasting come from your body being in ketosis a state in which you burn fat as your main energy source.
By eating a ketogenic diet, you can get your body into ketosis before you start fasting. A keto diet suppresses hunger and improves your health on its own. Pairing it with fasting provides even more health benefits.
You can start a keto diet today with a quick trip to the grocery store.
Intermittent Fasting Schedules: Time
Time-restricted eating, 12/12
This intermittent fasting plan involves eating as you like for 12 hours and then fasting for the next 12 each day. This is usually done as overnight fasting. For example, finish dinner by 7pm and have breakfast at 7am the next morning. Dont take in any calories after dinner until breakfast. This is a great way to ease into intermittent fasting. Finishing your meals a few hours before bedtime is especially important as it gives your gut a chance to rest.
Time-restricted eating, 14/10
This intermittent fasting plan involves eating as you like for 10 hours and then fasting for the next 14 each day. All thats required in this plan is to delay breakfast a bit. For example, finish dinner at 7pm and have breakfast at 9am. Youll have to endure a couple of hours of hunger pangs every morning until breakfast, but its pretty easy to do and you will get used to it over time. This schedule is the logical next step after mastering 12/12 fasting.
Time-restricted eating, 16/8
This intermittent fasting plan involves eating as you like for 8 hours and then fasting for the next 16 each day. This is a fantastic long-term intermittent fasting goal for most people. Its done most easily by having an early dinner and a late breakfast . Yes, youll have to learn to ignore your stomach growling a bit in the mornings, but even that fades over time. If youre not overweight or perhaps mildly so, this plan will help you gradually shed a few extra pounds.
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Other Ways To Know That Intermittent Fasting Is Working
If the weight scale isnât being friendly, look elsewhere. Focus on non-scalevictories. These are noticeable, small changes that have nothing to do with the uncooperative metal box on the bathroom floor and are often present before the weight scale moves. These victories can keep you motivated along your journey.
- Getting up off the floor more easily.
- Running around chasing kids without tiring.
- Taking longer walks with the dog.
- Medical markers improve .
- Sleeping better.
- Other people notice your positive changes.
Your Fasting Window Is Too Short
If you want to notice a difference in your body weight, your eating window during your intermittent fasting diet should be significantly less than normal.
If the difference between your eating window before and during intermittent fasting is only an hour or two, you might barely notice significant weight loss.
A 14-hour fasting window with a 10-hour eating window seems like a great place to start. However, if you find the 14 hours to be too long, you could start with a shorter fasting duration and work your way up.
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The Link Between Heart Rate And Fat Loss
During a workout or ride, your body requires more energy. Thus, your heart pumps faster and harder to send oxygen to your muscle cells to break down more glycogen and fat to fuel your muscles.
While 1 gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories of energy, 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories. This makes glycogen a less dense form of energy storage that is readily broken down into glucose, as compared to fats.
As such, glycogen is your bodys first source of energy during exercise. Since high-intensity workouts require more energy quickly, you tap on glycogen rather than fat in your body for fuel. Your body only taps on to the next fuel, fat, when you start to run out of glycogen.
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Does Intermittent Fasting Burn Belly Fat
Lets give you the good news: Intermittent fasting does burn belly fat! People who fast indicate that their waist circumference reduced by 47% by the time they had fully adopted this eating pattern in their lives.
The most important thing to be cautious about is that although fasting can help you to a certain extent, burning the fat in specific areas of your body requires a bit more effort.
Doing cardio exercises regularly and building healthy eating habits are essential for losing belly fat.
Here are the top things you can do to burn belly fat:
1. Exercise
Whether its at-home cardio, swimming, cycling, or bodyweight workouts, your muscles need to work to burn fat. You can get the Fitness Kompanion to get hundreds of bodyweight workouts suitable for all levels.
2. Build healthy eating habits
Eat more protein and fiber-rich foods to feed your muscles with good nutrients and to support your digestion. Eat less refined carbs and avoid too.
3. Hydrate
You should consume about 2 liters of water a day. This equates to approximately 8 glasses of water. This amount should be increased still further on your workout days. Here are some tips to increase your water intake.
4. Sleep adequately
A healthy adult needs at least 7 hours of sleep per day. Even if you think youre satisfied with less sleep, your brain needs at least 7 hours of sleep to perform all its functions. If youre suffering from insomnia, you may be able to combat it with a few lifestyle changes.
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Are Fasting Workouts Effective
While some fitness industry professionals follow the fasted cardio method and note that it has some fat-burning benefits, scientific research has not fully supported the theory’s effectiveness.
A 2017 scientific review by researchers in Australia looked into five separate studies and a total of 96 participants to measure the effectiveness of exercising after an overnight fast. In their research, the review authors determined that working out post-fast had very littleif anyeffect on body mass.
Fasting may make it challenging to complete a workout, whereas eating could help you complete your exercise plan. A 2018 review from the University of Limerick in Ireland looked into 46 previously published studies and found that when study participants ate before a cardio session, they were able to work out for longer periods of time. Working out after eating led to longer aerobic workouts, showing that while fasted cardio may have other benefits, it does not typically lead to longer workouts.
It’s important to remember that exercise offers benefits whether it is done in a fasted state or after eating. The fasted cardio theory argues that if you can exercise on an empty stomach, you may be able to leverage greater fat-burning effects. Overall, weight loss and reduction of body mass is likely a result of an overall calorie deficit, whether exercise is completed on an empty stomach or not.
Breaks The Weight Loss Plateau
Most dieters have hit a weight loss plateau before, and understand how frustrating it is. And for many people, though they stick to a rigid diet, weight loss can stagnate and come to a halt, no matter how closely they follow the plan.
However, because a fat fast essentially does the work of the keto diet in a fraction of the time, it shocks your body into attacking fat stores instead of sugar levels and pushes your metabolism entirely into the state of ketosis.
This can successfully get you out of a rut and if you hit a weight loss plateau that youve been struggling with, putting you back on track for your goals.
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What Is Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a type of diet where you limit your food intake to a particular period. One of the most popular IF diets, known as the 16:8 intermittent diet, includes eating in an eight-hour window and fasting for the remaining 16 hours. You could learn about the different types of intermittent fasting here.
Intermittent fasting is not only beneficial for weight loss and fat burning but it can also be good for your overall health and brain function. It has been shown to help with diabetes, epilepsy, Alzheimers disease, autism, Parkinsons disease, and more. One study found that people who practice intermittent fasting lost about six percent body fat after six months, which was 10 times greater than those who dieted without engaging in any form of fasting. The participants in this study were required to go at least 18 hours between eating, meaning they could have breakfast at 8:00 AM one day and then again around the same time the next day. In other words, they would skip lunch and dinner daily. When it comes to fat burning, research shows that fat molecules build up in our cells during fasting.
After 18 hours of fasting, fat cells start breaking down their own fat molecules to be used as a source of energy. Hence the decrease in body fat percentage and appetite suppression from skipping meals.
So Is Intermittent Fasting As Good As It Sounds
According to metabolic expert Dr. Deborah Wexler, Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, says “there is evidence to suggest that the circadian rhythm fasting approach, where meals are restricted to an eight to 10-hour period of the daytime, is effective.” But still she recommends that people “use an eating approach that works for them and is sustainable to them.”
So, heres the deal. There is some good scientific evidence suggesting that circadian rhythm fasting, when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle, can be a particularly effective approach to weight loss, especially for people at risk for diabetes.
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Safety And Side Effects
Hunger is the main side effect of intermittent fasting.
You may also feel weak and your brain may not perform as well as youre used to.
This may only be temporary, as it can take some time for your body to adapt to the new meal schedule.
If you have a medical condition, you should consult with your doctor before trying intermittent fasting.
This is particularly important if you:
- Have a history of eating disorders.
- Are a woman who is trying to conceive.
- Are a woman with a history of amenorrhea.
- Are pregnant or breastfeeding.
All that being said, intermittent fasting has an outstanding safety profile. There is nothing dangerous about not eating for a while if youre healthy and well-nourished overall.
SUMMARY
The most common side effect of intermittent fasting is hunger. People with certain medical conditions should not fast without consulting with a doctor first.
Here are answers to the most common questions about intermittent fasting.
Does It Make A Difference What You Eat
Yes, it matters what you eat when it comes to triggering weight loss through fat metabolism.
If you eat a lot of calorie-dense food, like saturated fat, and particularly processed carbs, then your blood glucose will spike, and youll gain more weight .
Not only that, but it will increase your blood pressure and significantly increase your risk of heart disease.
To help with weight loss efforts, aim for a low-carb diet with more healthy fats and lean proteins. These take longer to digest, break down and transform into glucose and ketone bodies.
And dont forget to count calories in a food journaling app like Noom. Youll be surprised how much all those small snacks add up to over 24 hours.
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Caution For Intermittent Fasting For Prolonged Periods
Prolonged fasting can have negative effects on the body. If youre going to be fasting for more than three days, you should consult your physician first. Your body needs a certain amount of food and drink each day to function properly and without interruption.
If you dont fuel your body properly while on a fast, you could experience:
- Dry mouth or throat
- Dizziness, Insomnia, or difficulty sleeping
It also may cause problems with digestion or anemia. So please dont fast for longer than three days without consulting your physician.
A Brief Guide To Fasting
Fasting is fairly simple. You just have to follow three rules:
- Choose a fasting window. As you read, the stages of intermittent fasting each come with different benefits. Pick a window of time fast and stick to it. for example, if youre doing an 18-hour fast, maybe you stop eating at 8 PM today and dont break your fast until 2 PM tomorrow.
- No calories. A true fast includes zero calories during the fasting period. Water, coffee, tea, and other zero-calorie beverages are fine during water fasting, but anything with calories will break your fast.
- Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water during your fast. make sure you also get your electrolytes by adding sea salt to the water and/or taking an electrolyte supplement.
For more details about different fasting schedules and how to use fasting as part of a healthy lifestyle, you may want to take a more in-depth look at fasting.
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Intermittent Fasting Schedules: Alternate
Another way of looking at ADF is as three 36-hour fasts per week. Heres an example schedule eat normally on Monday until 6pm. Dont eat at all until breakfast on Wednesday morning. Finish dinner by around 6pm Wednesday night. Now dont eat again until breakfast on Friday. Eat normally the rest of the day and finish dinner by 6pm or so Friday night. Now dont eat again until breakfast on Sunday.
With this intermittent fasting plan, you may allow yourself up to 500 or so calories on fast days, though many people prefer to not consume any calories. If you take the former approach, its important to get most of those calories from good fats like olive oil and to avoid carbohydrates. Carbs will kick you out of ketosis and diminish the benefits of ADF. One example of a low-carb meal that is below 500 calories is some leafy greens with a tablespoon of olive oil and a handful of almonds.
