Intermittent Fasting For Beginners
WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?
It's a calorie restriction eating pattern where you cycle between an eating period and a fasting period during different time intervals.
And right now in the world, it’s a very popular fitness and weight loss trend.
Some call it a diet but it’s actually an eating pattern which doesn’t tell you WHAT to eat, but WHEN to eat.
What you’re doing is splitting the day into periods, or intervals of eating and not eating. There are different systems of creating these intervals, but I’ll talk about that in just a minute.
Right now I want to simplify things.
Think of what happens when you go to sleep.
You basically don’t eat anything for around 8 hours. That’s a period of fasting.
Now just extend that period.
You can do that by not having breakfast in the morning and eating your first meal at noon or 1PM during lunch.
That way you no longer have an 8 or 10-hour fast, but now it's a 14 or 16-hour fast.
Most people do this all the time without even realizing. They eat their last meal somewhere around 8PM and then they don’t eat until lunch the next day.
Lots of people I personally know don’t have a tendency to eat in the morning, just like me so we naturally fast for long periods of time.
And this type of overnight and morning fast falls into the category of the most common type of intermittent fasting, the 16/8 fast.
That means you’re fasting for 16 hours and eating for 8 hours. But this can be adjusted according to your schedule or your body’s needs.
For instance, there is the 12/12 type, where you split the day into two equal parts. So here you can eat for 12 hours and fast for 12 hours.
You also have the 14/10 type with 14-hour fast and 10-hour eating window, and 20/4 which is the most difficult with a 20 hour fasting period.
So now, a question probably pops into everybody’s mind…
IS IT HARD TO ACHIEVE, AND IS IT EVEN HEALTHY?
Well, think about this.
We as a human race have been fasting for thousands of years.
People have not always lived the way we live today. We used to be hunters and gatherers, and sometimes food just wasn’t available.
Certain religions in the past and even today require of their subjects at least one day of fasting per week.
So this is nothing new, and our bodies are adapted for that kind of food deprivation. In fact, our bodies crave it.
It is actually really healthy for you and it greatly increases your levels of energy.
The only negative side-effect happens in the very beginning where you could experience great hunger because your body is not used to such long periods of food deprivation. But that goes away pretty soon.
IS THERE ANY FOOD ALLOWED?
During the fasting period, no food is allowed, but you can drink water, coffee, tea and other beverages with zero-percent calories.
Some types of this fast allow for some small amounts of very low-calorie foods to be eaten, and you can also take supplements, as long as there are no calories in them.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF INTERMITTENT FASTING
There are many beneficial processes happening in our body when we fast:
- Hormone balancing
- Gene and cellular reparation
- Blood sugar reduction
- Reduced blood pressure
- Insulin level reduction
- Increase in human growth hormone
- Improved focus and mental endurance
- Decreased inflammation
- A massive increase in energy
Many do it for the reason of losing weight, and it is very useful in that area.
It can also help you live longer, just as any other calorie restriction can.
Research also shows effects like slowed down tumor growth in mice.
A study showed it can protect against diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease etc.
And it’s convenient. It’s a simple life hack which makes your life simpler and it improves your health at the same time.
It saves a lot of time because you don’t have to prepare meals 3-4+ times a day.
TYPES OF INTERMITTENT FASTING
As I already mentioned, there are various versions of the daily intermittent fasting where you adjust it according to your daily plans, like the 16/8, 14/10 or the 12/12 type.
But there are two other major types:
- Eat-Stop-Eat: 1-2 times a week do a 24-hour fast, for instance, dinner to dinner.
So once or twice a week you go a full day without eating. For instance, you eat dinner at 7:30PM and the next meal is also dinner at 7:30PM the next day.
- 5:2 Diet: eat 500-600 calories during 2 days of the week
You choose which two days of the week you’re going to restrict your calorie intake to 500-600 calories, just make sure they’re not two consecutive days.
So if you’re just starting out and have a fear you won’t be able to stick to the diet, go with the 16/8 diet as it will be the easiest one to get used to because you’re probably already pretty close to doing it without even realizing.
Fasting has great benefits for your health and it's a great tool for your weight loss efforts. You should stick to healthy foods and limit your eating periods by creating periods of fasting which will prove to be extremely healthy for you.
By doing this, you will combine multiple benefits such as improved metabolic health, simplifying your life and losing weight, all at the same time.
So what should you do?
1. Choose a method
2. Make a schedule
3. Plan tasty meals
4. Begin.
2. Make a schedule
3. Plan tasty meals
4. Begin.
Here are some great resources to learn more about Intermittent Fasting with exact steps of how to do it:
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