This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. Disclaimer: Intermittent Fasting is controversial, although a proven healthy diet. Before starting any diet change, always consult your health care provider.
Intermittent fasting is a huge trend right now. People of all different health and fitness levels have found success with this style of eating. Whether people are looking to lose weight, maintain a weight loss, or improve their relationship with food, intermittent fasting is there to help.
There are so many benefits to fasted eating. Not only are there numerous health benefits but many people have found it helps with time and money as well. This because they are eating more consciously.
Fasting is far from starvation. Starvation is involuntary whereas fasting is all about control. Fasting is a practice that has been around for hundreds of years. In fact, many religions have periods of fasting for spiritual purposes. So in that way, intermittent fasting is nothing new or special. When you think about it, people fast every day during that lovely period we call sleep. And “break” their “fast” with breakfast. See what I did there? And that isn’t a coincidence. The English language simply acknowledges a daily (nightly?) fast.
Nourishing With Intermittent Fasting
Does it matter when you eat? Turns out it does. Really, there are two states the human body can be in: fed or not fed. Which translates to high insulin or low insulin levels. Therefore, the body is either storing calories or burning calories. One or the other, no in-between. Fasting allows the body to increase the amount of time spent burning calories. This then results in weight-loss. Remember, your body is designed to burn the calories that it consumes. So really, when fasting you are just encouraging your body to do more of what it does best.
If you are eating at regularly scheduled times throughout the day, from morning till night, then your body is used to burning the calories from the incoming food. This style of eating doesn’t allow your body to burn any of the stored calories. And as a result, you’re not really burning any body fat. The body is out of balance. But fasting is there to help! Diets may be complicated but fasting simplifies eating.
New research has supported the benefits of intermittent fasting and weight-loss. Studies, like this recent one from Harvard University, show that this way of eating is safe and actually recommended for weight-loss. According to this Harvard research, intermittent fasting is quite effective especially when paired with a plant-based diet.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?
There are many methods of timed fasting. Some methods are easier than others. But when it comes to nourishing your body, it’s about finding which method works best for you. Because intermittent fasting means restricting food intake to specific hours, choosing a time period that works for you is important.
The most common method (and the one I use) is the 16:8. This method has people fasting for a 16 hour period and eating during an 8-hour window. Most people choose to have their eating window between 1 pm and 8 pm. Another common “short” fasting period is 20:4. This requires fasting for 20 hours and eating during a 4-hour window. For example, people may eat from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm and then fast for the remaining hours.
Then there is long fasting which is 24 hrs, or dinner to dinner or lunch to lunch. Therefore, only eating one meal a day. This type of fasting is not intended to be done daily. Rather it is suggested this method be done 1-3 times a week with regular eating on the other days.
There are other methods of intermittent fasting but because I don’t feel like I can recommend them, I don’t feel like I should write about them. However, you can definitely search out these out on your own should you desire!
Why Does Fasting Work?
When your body is in a fasted state, the body’s insulin levels are low which makes it much easier for your body to burn fat. It also positively changes the functions of your cells, hormones, and genes. Studies have found that fasting increases your growth hormone as much as 5-fold, which increases the breakdown of body fat. Overall, intermittent fasting has been shown to help burn more calories by increasing the body’s metabolic rate. In some cases research has shown an increase of 3.6%!
Other Benefits!
- Enhances heart health.
- May help to lower breast cancer risk.
- Helps get rid of cravings due to lower levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin (this hugely helped with my emotional eating).
- Improves gut health and significantly helps IBS.
- Lowered blood cholesterol.
- Reversal of type 2 diabetes.
- Reduce inflammation.
Who Shouldn’t Fast?
There are people who should not do any type of fasting. Obviously, children. But also, pregnant women, those who are underweight, and women who are breastfeeding. Those who have diabetes, or really any sort of medical condition probably shouldn’t fast or should definitely speak with their doctor before trying fasting. Fasting in any of these cases could potentially be very harmful.
How To Get Started
Getting started is really easy. Chances are you’ve already accidentally fasted a few times in your life. Basically, anytime you ate dinner, overslept, and waited to eat at lunchtime. And some people don’t enjoy breakfast, and naturally, fast each day.
First, choose your style of fasting. Do your research first! The more information you have the more successful your fasting will be. For the first couple of times, go with your instincts. If you feel like you don’t need to eat breakfast that day, then don’t. There isn’t a need to follow a strict plan in order to get great results.
Now, common sense, always consult a doctor or health care provider before making a major change to your diet and health. However, I can speak to the amazing benefits of intermittent fasting. It absolutely plays a huge role in my healthy lifestyle. Things like IBS, binge-eating, late-night snacking, and headaches have all disappeared since I started eating in this method. I highly recommend giving it a try!
Have you tried intermittent fasting?
- Starting A NEW Fitness Journey At Nearly 40 Years Old! - 06/09/2024
- 30-Day Walking Challenge For Beginners - 12/05/2024
- 3 Simple Things That Healthy People Who DON’T Diet Do Differently - 10/05/2024
