Understanding intermittent fasting can help you lose weight, have more energy, and improve overall health.
IF or intermittent fasting is not so much about WHAT you eat, but WHEN you eat.
Alternating between periods of eating and fasting, making conscious decisions to skip a meal or go a certain amount of time without eating, can…
- weight loss
- improve insulin resistance
- stabilize blood sugar levels
- reduce oxidative stress
- stabilize blood sugar levels.
While research on intermittent fasting is relatively young, there is plenty of research on the benefits of fasting. Many people find that it is easier to fast than to follow a certain diet for a long period of time.
There are many different ways to incorporate intermittent fasting into your daily life. These three methods seem to be the most popular:
✔️ Skip a meal every now and then
This is a simple way to get started. You will reduce calories for the day (if you do not overeat at other meals). It also allows you to feel hunger cues and get used to changing your eating patterns.
✔️ 16/8 Method
This method entails fasting for 16 hours (typically from 8 PM until noon the next day, but you can choose what works best for you). After the 16 hours, you then eat during the remaining 8-hour window.
It is basically not eating anything after dinner and skipping breakfast – which many people may naturally do. The important thing is to still make healthy food choices during that 8-hour window.
✔️5:2 Diet – The Fast Diet
It’s called the 5:2 diet because you eat normally for five days of the week and restrict calories to 25% of your usual calorie intake (around 500–600 per day) on the other 2 days of the week.
One way to do this is to restrict calories for 2-3 small meals on Mondays and Thursdays, and then eat a balanced diet the rest of the week.
Have you tried any of these intermittent fasting methods? Do these explanations help you with understanding intermittent fasting better?
