Intermittent fasting is the practice of purposely not eating for a certain period of time to lose or stop gaining weight. It’s an easy and accessible way to stay on top of your weight without the need for calorie counting or any kind of restricted diet.
So, why should you do it? The more you eat, the longer your cells are likely to be in ‘growth mode’, which means that they are absorbing the nutrients from the food you’re eating and multiplying: causing you to gain weight. When you fast, your body’s survival mode kicks in because of the lack of food. So instead of absorbing nutrients and producing new cells, your body begins breaking down that stored fat for energy.
There are some huge health benefits to intermittent fasting. Some of these include lowered blood pressure and cholesterol, better focus and a sharper mind. It also induces cell repair and reduces your risk of cancer and Alzheimers.
Before you leap into intermittent fasting, it’s important to understand which method is going to be the best for your routine and lifestyle. There are several well-known and effective methods of fasting.
Time-restricted eating is where you fit all of your food consumption into roughly 4-12 hours per day. Scientists have linked time-restricted eating to lower blood pressure and blood sugar. This method is more effective when the eating window is during the daytime. It also gets you into an eating routine that means you’re less likely to snack on things late at night.
One-meal-a-day fasting is another popular one. It is typically recommended that your one meal should be eaten around dinner time, and for the rest of the day, you don’t consume any calories. It’s important to remember that if you’re not getting regular exercise on top of fasting, you won’t see weight-loss results as quickly. Nevertheless, one-meal-a-day fasting is an effective way to steadily reduce body fat.
Alternate day fasting may be an easy way to dip your toes into the fasting lifestyle. Simply alternate between days you eat normally and days you eat nothing! As you become more used to this you can start to try out other more challenging styles of intermittent fasting. Make sure on the days that you are eating, you’re getting the right kinds of nutrients that your body can store up for the fasting periods.