My son, Chris and I enjoying a hot summer day.
How Intermittent Fasting Works
Intermittent Fasting
No one likes to indulge in the consumption of food and drinks more than me! Furthermore, now that I am 53, it is a challenge to continue indulging and not see the number go up on the scale screaming "you've gained weight". And, without a doubt, if you say the word "diet" I instantly have the urge to eat a sleeve of Oreo cookies. Luckily, at 51 I stumbled upon a plan that seems to work for me.
Intermittent fasting, also known as IF, is a timed approach to eating, and it is NOT a diet. IF involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting. Undoubtedly, it has become a popular way to use your body’s natural fat-burning ability to lose fat within a short period. When you go for a lengthy period without eating, your body changes the way it produces enzymes and hormones, which is ideal for fat loss.
Hormones form the basis of metabolic functions which include the rate at which you reduce fat in the body. When you fast for a period, your body will start to increase its hormone production. Also, fasting works to reduce the amount of insulin present within the bloodstream, this ensures that your body burns fat instead of storing it.
Have your pizza and eat it, too!
How to Prepare For Intermittent Fasting?
If you are thinking of starting intermittent fasting, it’s ideal to switch to a mainly low-carbohydrate and healthy meal plan for a few weeks. This will allow the body to get used to fat rather than glucose as a source of energy. That means getting rid of all grains, sugars, legumes, and vegetable oils. This will reduce most side effects associated with fasting.
You can start with a shorter fast of 16 hours, such as from dinner (8 pm) until lunch (12 pm) the next day. This is the one I try to follow most days. It is referred to as the 16/8 plan. You can eat between 12pm and 8pm or 11am and 7pm. Obviously, You have to make the hours work for you in order to make it work. Once you are comfortable with this plan, you can extend the fast to 18-20 hours. For shorter fast, you can do it every day, continuously. For a lengthy fast, such as 24-36 hours, you can do it 1-3 times a week. Click here for 6 different ways to do Intermittent Fasting.
Who Should Not Do Intermittent Fasting?
1-Those who are malnourished or underweight.
2-Women who want to get pregnant, are pregnant, or are breastfeeding.
3-Those who have gout.
4-Those who have eating disorders should first consult with their doctors.
5-Children under 18 years of age and elders.
6-A person with Type 1 diabetes
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Fasting for longer periods shifts your metabolism to burning fat. By the end of a 24-hour fast day, your body has used up glycogen stores in the first few hours and has spent approximately 18 of those hours burning through fat stores in the body. The body activates a healing process doctors call autophagy, which means that the body digests or recycles old or damaged cells.
In 2010, researchers looked at a group of subjects who underwent 70 days of alternate daily fasting (ate one day and fasted the next). Their muscle mass started off at 52.0 kg and ended at 51.9 kg. In other words, there was no loss of muscles, but they did lose 11.4% of fat and saw major improvements in LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. For anyone who is active, but still struggles with fat loss, intermittent fasting can help to increase fat loss without having to ramp up a workout regime or alter a diet plan.
Another benefit of intermittent fasting is that it resets a person's body. Going a day without eating changes a person's desire, causing them to not feel hungry. If you struggle with constantly wanting food, intermittent fasting can help your body adjust to periods of not eating and help you not to feel hungry.
Intermittent fasting helps to reduce fast stored in the body, by switching the metabolism to break down fat instead of sugar or muscle. It has been used by many people and is very beneficial. For anyone who struggles with fat and is tired of dieting, intermittent fasting offers an easy and effective option for reducing weight and living a healthy lifestyle.
