Calories And Macros Still Matter Most
Now, its important to note that for true long-term fat loss to occur you must still pay attention to proper nutrition. If youre eating a poor diet fasting will do very little for you.
For one, its possible to overeat on calories when fasting, which means that you can still store unwanted body fat even when youre using intermittent fasting. Secondly, its also possible for you to eat too little protein to maximize muscle growth.
With this said though, intermittent fasting makes it muchharderto screw these things up. And there are a few reasons why:
So, understand that as far as fat loss and muscle growth is concerned, calories and macros still matter most. Fasting simply makes everything regarding the diet more enjoyable while also promoting some of the incredible physiological benefits mentioned earlier.
Fasting Aligns Yourself With Your Natural Instincts
For long weve been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that we should eat small at night if we want to be lean and healthy. This is a big myth!
The truth is that humans have evolved to eat smaller during the day and feast at night. In fact, breakfast is a relatively recent event. The idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day has largely been pushed by cereal and other breakfast food companies to increase the sales of their products.
If you look at the ancient Greeks, whore arguably the finest people to ever live, both physically and mentally, they ate just around two meals per day, those meals being lunch and dinner. They were obsessed with digestion and to eat very often was considered a form of gluttony.
Most people function best when using an intermittent fasting protocol where they fast during the first part of the day and feast during the second part of the day. This is true because of the sympathetic and para-sympathetic shifts I talked about earlier.
Drink A Tea Or Coffee
Fill the gap of food with a freshly brewed, black tea or coffee. Similarly like drinking water, a hot beverage will give you a sense of fullness, but will also occupy the âhand to mouthâ action, making you feel like you have eaten.
If youâre really struggling with hunger and intermittent fasting, consider drinking bulletproof coffeeâââcoffee with added fats like butter, coconut oil, MCT oil and ghee. The fat will keep you full, whilst maintaining ketosis and autophagyâââtwo key processes that underpin fasting and its benefits. For the fasting purist, consuming a single calorie will break a fast, however, if adding fat to your coffee means that you stick with a fast, or find it easier, then I would say itâs 100% worth it.
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Why Does Fasting Work For Weight Loss
Intermittent fasting naturally makes you cut your daily energy intake without the work of counting calories or measuring what you eat. Those who practice alternate-day fasting, the 5:2 diet, or time-restricted eating reduce their daily calorie intake by 10-30%. Intermittent fasting also induces a metabolic switch around 12 hours into a fast: Your body switches from burning sugar to burning fat to generate energy, which leads to weight loss.
What Does The Research Say
In terms of weight loss, there have been several studies showing the benefits of IF.
A small showed that people who ate only between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. had lower appetites and increased fat burning after practicing IF for 4 days.
A small showed that alternate-day fasting resulted in bodyweight loss of about 2.5 percent after 22 days.
IF may have the potential to manage blood sugar and insulin levels, according to a 2018 study.
A few rodent-based studies suggest fasting can extend the average life span and improve the aging of the brain.
A indicated that IF may offer protection from:
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Tapping Into Ancestral Hunger Part : Top Hacks For The 24 Hour Fast
Believe me when I say that the first time I heard of purposefully foregoing food for an entire day, I was more than apprehensive. After actually fasting for 24 hours, I was pleasantly surprised by both the results of the fast as well as by myself. In part 2 of this blog series on intermittent fasting , we will present the basics of the 24 hour fast, hacks to help you successfully fast, and the top pros and cons of this IF method.
Calorie restriction = Weight loss
Brad Pilon, author of Eat Stop Eat, points out that, Prolonged calorie restriction is the only proven nutritional method of weight loss . While much confusion surrounds diet trends and recommendations, if such a thing as an irrefutable truth exists in the nutrition world, this fact would be it. In order to lose weight, negative energy balance is required . In other words, you must expend more calories than you consume so you can eat less, exercise more, or better yet, combine the two in order to achieve weight loss.
What the 24 hour fast looks like: Once a week, fast for 24 hours. Once the fasting period passes, proceed with eating as if you had not fasted at all. While Eat Stop Eat suggests fasting 1-2 times per week, Im not sure how sustainable two days of fasting in a week is for the average person. When I tried fasting for two whole days, I did not find the same success.
But wait, I have some concerns!
No foods are off the table
Seven Ways To Do Intermittent Fasting
There are many different ways of intermittent fasting. The methods vary in the number of fast days and the calorie allowances.
Intermittent fasting involves entirely or partially abstaining from eating for a set amount of time, before eating regularly again.
Some studies suggest that this way of eating may offer benefits such as fat loss, better health, and increased longevity. Proponents claim that an intermittent fasting program is easier to maintain than traditional, calorie-controlled diets.
Each persons experience of intermittent fasting is individual, and different styles will suit different people.
In this article, we discuss the research behind the most popular types of intermittent fasting and provide tips on how to maintain this type of diet.
There are various methods of intermittent fasting, and people will prefer different styles. Read on to find out about seven different ways to do intermittent fasting.
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Is Intermittent Fasting Right For You
Fasting, like eating a low carb-high fat diet, is another tool for weight loss and improving your health. But the effectiveness of these tools rely on whether you can do them consistently over the long run.
Here are some pros and cons to help you decide:
- Its simple and easier to stick to because you simply skip a meal when youre not hungry or too busy to eat.
- You can fit it into your lifestyle, i.e. schedule around special occasions, Holidays.
- However, theres the hunger . You need to develop the skill to ride the ebb and flow of hunger by being more mindful about why you eat. But because its a skill, you can learn it.
What if you achieved the health benefits you want from intermittent fasting?
How will that change you?
âYou donât have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.â
â Martin Luther King Jr.
If youâre looking for a simple, doable way to practice fasting, I get it. It shouldnât have to be hard. Get my FREE email course below that shows you the easier way.
Ways To Make Intermittent Fasting Easier
Intermittent fasting is a great way to lose weight and stay healthy, but it isnt always easy to stick to it. You might find it hard to stick to your fast, especially in the first few weeks while your body adjusts. Maybe youre constantly thinking about food, or you cant seem to fit your workouts properly in your new eating schedule. Does this sound familiar? Then this article will certainly help you. Here are 10 ways to make intermittent fasting easier.
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Start Reducing Your Eating Window
Your eating window is the time within which youre permitting yourself to eat. So, if youve managed to balance your blood sugar and remove snacking it should be pretty easy to get to 16 hours. That said, you can start with just 12 hours of abstinence and work up from there if you prefer. You can also, go beyond 16 hrs, all the way to OMAD territory one meal a day. But, lets not get distracted, 16 is the goal!
- The hands-down easiest way of reaching 16 hours with minimum fuss and zero pain is this, have an early supper.
- Skipping breakfast can be replaced with more sleep and/or some exercise. Because were no good at digesting and working out at the same time the minute you start huffing and puffing your hunger will vanish into thin air and youll be nearer your goal!
- If you feel hungry before your fast is up try drinking a large glass of water if that doesnt cut it try a black coffee and get busy with something. Last resort is watching TV.
The earlier your evening meal the quicker the 16 hours will seem to go. Bear in mind, you should be asleep for about 8 hours, thats halfway there already! Lets look at what 16 hours actually looks like on the clock, infographic below.
The most frequent mistake I see people making is this: they only do Monday to Friday.
its not all about weight loss.
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Getting Started With Intermittent Fasting
Following this diet plan is super simple. All you have to do is choose a period of time during the day that you will fast. This should be between 16-20 hours.
The longer you fast each day, the better. Dont worry about calorie restriction or measuring carbohydrates. Just focus on going about your day until its time to eat.
Its best to choose a set period of time to conduct your fast. I like to fast from 8 PM to 4 PM the following afternoon. Ill then have my first meal of the day and a snack or two a few hours later. Once 8 oclock rolls around, its back to fasting.
My experience with intermittent fasting is that its best to start with a 16 hour fast for the first 1-2 weeks. Once you are comfortable with this schedule, you can increase the amount of time you spend fasting. Do this by adding 30 minutes to each fast until you get to where you are fasting for 20 hours at a time.
You dont have to fast every day in the beginning either. You may be more comfortable breaking in slowly with 2 or 3 days per week, or trying alternate day fasting. Add additional days of intermittent fasting as you become more comfortable with this style of eating.
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What Else Might Make Your Journey Easier
What matters most is getting started. From there, there are lots of other things you can do to adjust with ease. Here are just a few more:
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Plan your meals AND your snacks youll better manage cravings if you know what food youll be eating during your window. And shop accordingly, of course, so the right foods are on hand.
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Eat enough to satiate during your eating windows, but dont binge .
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Manage your urges instead of giving into them. Ride out the waves and youll notice them becoming less frequent.
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Drink lots of water all day and REALLY during fasting hours .
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Start taking your coffee and tea black .
As a final note: Intermittent fasting is not a healthy choice for everyone. Those with a history of eating disorders, diabetics, and/or women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not self-experiment. Please talk to a health care specialist for support and guidance as you discern if Intermittent Fasting is for you.
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Intermittent Fasting Made My Life Easier And Happier
I could eat the foods I enjoyed and most of my regular meals, but it had to be within a short time frame of eight to 10 hours.
At the urging of doctor friends and a few popular books, I embarked on a diet plan earlier this year called intermittent fasting. The basics are that I could eat the foods I enjoyed and most of my regular meals, but it had to be within a short time frame of eight to 10 hours. Outside of that, I would stick to water, tea and black coffee.
Proponents of the plan, also known as time-restricted eating, say that intermittent fasting could help me lose weight, always a worthwhile goal. It would also give my gut a much-needed break from processing food, improve focus and lessen daily inflammation. In the long-term, it might even help me live longer.
Ill admit, the words intermittent fasting sounded a little daunting. But Dr. Jason Fung, author of The Obesity Code, assured me that it could easily be incorporated into my daily routine.
Anytime youre not eating is a fast anything above four hours is fasting, he said. A lot of times people eat because they have to, versus really enjoying what they are eating. If you dont want the sandwich, skip it. Your body knows what to do, it will take your body fat. Thats why you carry it around with you.
In other words, by voluntarily submitting to an absence of food for long periods during the day, my body would transition from burning sugar for fuel to burning fat.
Tips for Better Sleep
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Does Intermittent Fasting Get Easier Tips For Adjusting To A Fasting Schedule
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Intermittent Fasting has become increasingly popular, especially with people looking to lose a few pounds. And scientific research shows the benefits of IF stretch beyond weight loss. There are multiple health benefits associated with Intermittent Fasting, notably improved insulin resistance and longevity, said Dr. Gretchen San Miguel, a primary care physician.
And dietary fasting is not a new concept. Humans have used it for centuries when food was scarce, and it plays a central role in many major religions.
But that doesnt mean it is easy. The good news, however, is that it gets easier over time, as your body adjusts and if you take certain things into consideration.
Here are some tips for adjusting to a fasting schedule for those that want to try it.
Im Trying To Fast But I Feel Like Its Reducing My Energy Levels Is This Normal
It is very normal to feel tired or to have low energy levels when you first start fasting. This can also happen when you first start a new fasting schedule. But if you stick with a set intermittent fasting schedule or fasting duration for 2-3 weeks, you should adapt and have similar energy levels during your fasting windows or days as during your eating windows or days.
However, if you continue to feel tired or to have low energy levels while fasting, you may be overdoing it. You may fasting for too long too often, or not getting enough calories in during your eating windows. If you are already at a healthy BMI, reduce your fast durations or spread your fasts further apart.
To boost your fasting energy levels, you should also:
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Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting
Can intermittent fasting improve your health? Recent research has found that using intermittent fasting for weight loss may have some benefits in the short term.
It appears that fasting for a short time can produce ketosis, which is a process that occurs when the body doesn’t have enough glucose for energy, so it breaks down stored fat instead. This causes an increase in substances called ketones. This, coupled with fewer calories consumed overall, can lead to weight loss. Research suggests that alternate-day fasting is about as effective as a typical low-calorie diet for weight loss.
Fasting also affects metabolic processes in the body that may work to decrease inflammation, as well as improve blood sugar regulation and physical stress response. Some research shows this may improve conditions associated with inflammation like arthritis, asthma and multiple sclerosis.
Little long-term research has been done on intermittent fasting to examine how it affects people over time. As a result, long-term health benefits or risks are unknown.