What is Intermittent Fasting? How Does it Work is the new trend these days. Here are some helpful rips to give you more insight?
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is not only one of the most popular current trends to help individuals lose weight or maintain healthy weight levels, and it is also one of the easiest. Since the pandemic that started worldwide in 2020, many people have been confined to their homes and have begun preparing and consuming meals they have prepared themselves. With the options of prepared meals, fast food, and processed foods still abundantly available, people are struggling with how to maintain more healthy diets. Intermittent fasting has now emerged as one of the easiest and most effective ways to achieve this goal.
What is Intermittent Fasting? How Does it Work?
What is Intermittent fasting? Intermittent fasting is not a diet in the traditional sense, as it does not control the choices of what a person eats. Humans who did not have readily accessible food around the clock or refrigeration practiced intermittent fasting throughout history. It is also a common practice in many of the world’s major religions, so this is not a new thing. What is unique about fasting today is that studies are beginning to show how advantageous it can be to a healthy diet.
What is Intermittent fasting? How Does it Work?
Instead, it is designed to create specific cycles of eating patterns that cycle between eating periods and periods of fasting. The IF method that has emerged as most popular for beginners is the 16/8 method that involves fasting for 16 hours of the day and only eating during a pre-determined 8 hour period. This is the most manageable plan to follow, considering the average person will be asleep for more than half of the fasting period. By simply skipping breakfast and limiting your eating period from Noon until 8 pm, you can begin intermittent fasting.
What is Intermittent Fasting? How Does it Work?
What is Intermittent fasting? How Does it Work?
The idea behind fasting is simple. By eating fewer meals, you will consume fewer calories. As long as you do not overeat and consume more than usual during the eight-hour eating period, weight loss should be an almost immediate result. Other health benefits can be found at the molecular level, such as human growth hormone levels rising and insulin levels decreasing. Recent studies are also emerging that show promising evidence that you increase the release of fat-burning hormones when you fast. At the same time, your body’s cells initiate critical repair processes as well.
When you have fewer meals to plan, cook and consume, chances are you are going to choose what you eat more wisely. Proteins, vitamins, and nutrients should naturally become more critical than chips, candy, and soda. Other benefits include potentially reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and heart disease, so it may potentially extend your life span.
Intermittent fasting makes eating healthy simpler.
As with any change to your diet, it is recommended that you consult your doctor before attempting any new diet as different people may experience a variety of side effects. Some of the main ones of intermittent fasting are feeling hunger, weakness, or some brain fog while adapting to your new eating schedule.
As straightforward and exciting as this all sounds, intermittent fasting is not appropriate for underweight people or those who have eating disorders, certain blood disorders, or diabetes. Many women also should not try fasting, especially those who are pregnant, trying to conceive, or breastfeeding. Again, this is why it is essential to consult your doctor before trying any new diet or weight control program.
During your eating cycles don’t choose these types of foods
What is Intermittent Fasting? How Does it Work?
For those who can and are willing to try intermittent fasting, the best recommendation is to make sure that what you do chose to consume during your eating periods is well balanced and nutritional. Drinking tea, coffee, and hot water with lemon is also acceptable during the fasting periods as long as sugar or heavy creams are not added. Consuming these drinks has been proven to be helpful to those just starting the program as it may help lessen any initial hunger pangs.
For more information please visit the Health.gov website.
