Intermittent fasting is a popular health and fitness trend these days. It is not a diet but an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It's used to lose weight, improve one’s health, and simplify one's lifestyle. It doesn’t dictate what you should eat but when you should eat.
Intermittent fasting is safe for most healthy individuals but may not be for those with a medical condition.
The first step to intermittent fasting is to determine your goal. It may be to lose weight, improve overall health, or improve metabolic health.
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Once your goal is established, this will help determine which method of fasting is best.
There are four methods of fasting. Anyone considering intermittent fasting should pick a plan that suits their needs.
To determine which plan works best, it's important to stick withone plan for a month or longer before trying another. Keep reading to learn about the four intermittent fasting plans and how they work.
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Leangains or The 16/8 Method
This involves skipping breakfast, restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, then fasting for 16 hours in between. For example, after skipping breakfast, you'd be free to eat between 12-8 p.m. You would then fast for the next 16 hours and repeat the following day.
Females fast for 14 hours and then eat what they want for the remaining 10 hours. This method seems to be the easiest to start with and stick to.
Eat-Stop-Eat
This involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. For example, not eating from breakfast one day until breakfast the next day. This may not be the best method for a person who has never cleansed before because they will become very hungry.
The Alternate Day Fasting or 5:2 Plan
On this plan, you consume only 500-600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week but maintain your normal consumption the other 5 days.
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Warrior Diet
This involves eating very little for 20 hours each day and consuming typical food intake during the remaining 4 hours. This is the most extreme method of fasting and may not be suitable for someone new to fasting.
Studies have shown that intermittent fasting along with weight loss, reduces insulin levels, which makes it easier for the body to use stored fat. It lowers blood sugar, blood pressure, and inflammation levels. It has also been shown to increase human growth hormone or HGH, which helps the body utilize body fat and increase muscle.
As stated earlier, intermittent fasting is generally safe. However, people with medical conditions should consult their physician before beginning any program.
Those at risk and who may need medical supervision include people with diabetes, women who are nursing or pregnant, people with low blood pressure, and people who are underweight or have eating disorders.
When deciding which method to choose, keep in mind that you do not need to eat a certain type of food, a certain amount, or even avoid certain foods.
You can eat whatever you want, but if your goal is to reach optimal health and/or lose weight, it is recommended that you follow a healthy diet. It’s also important to drink lots of water or other no-calorie drinks throughout the fast days you choose to fast.
