A FULL Guide on how to start with Intermittent Fasting.
We see this trend of weight-loss and health-improving diets emerging from every single corner of the internet. Some are really demanding and challenging, and some even go to great lengths by being very long and written on a 300-page book guide. With the modern era’s fast living and rushing for just about anything, you simply cannot afford yourself the luxury to stick to any complicated diet. In order to improve your health and if desired - lose weight; you need something simpler and manageable, something that requires only control on your behalf. And that is called intermittent fasting.
What is intermittent fasting?
While there is a misconception that weight loss and health benefits need to include starving at some point, fasting underlines the term control. It is the voluntary control of when you decide to eat. It is a common fact that these generations are overfed, and food is simply available everywhere. In contrast to that, fasting gives you the control to choose not to eat, for example, not to snack when you otherwise would be doing so.
To easily understand the term you need to start with the 3 main courses, which are breakfast, lunch and dinner. Between dinner and breakfast, you are not eating for let’s say 12h, and most of the part is sleeping, so that is the time when your body is fasting. Basically, all the time that you are not eating - you are intermittently fasting.
How does it work?
Take this into account, by not taking calories for 12h or more, your body becomes dependent on body fat as a fuel. That means that any excessive amount of fat stored in your body will start to be burned after not having any intakes of food. In essence, intermittent fasting is keeping AT LEAST a 12h food-free timeframe between meals, usually between dinner and breakfast or lunch.
Benefits of intermittent fasting:
Control over your calorie intake on long term
Skip a meal or two and simplify your preparations & chores for the day
Weight loss - promotes insulin sensitivity & growth hormone secretion
More free time and even less money expense
Improves brain activity & mental clarity
Can reverse type 2 diabetes
It will increase the fat burning
Better blood profile
Increasing energy
Can be a contributing factor to a longer life.
How to start with intermittent fasting and level up your health - 5 steps!
In some cases, this comes easier for some people, but others would need more time to adapt to this new routine, especially if they are addicted to food and snacking between meals. Here are 5 steps to master your intermittent fasting:
STEP 1. Don’t have breakfast
Yes, this might be surprising to hear but let us start with the name itself - break fast. Hormone activity in the morning like cortisol and adrenal, helps your body wake up, generate energy and become alert. By consuming breakfast you are breaking the cycle faster than needed. Your body has its natural rhythm of helping your health and this is the easiest way to maximize its performance and help burn the excess fat. Besides, lunch is just a few hours away, so you can practice self-control and just wait for the time to come.
STEP 2. Coffee & Tea are allowed
Indeed, but that means they have to be unsweetened. The good news is that your favourite morning rituals will go undisrupted. Coffee or tea does not disrupt the fast. Unfortunately, this cannot go with any sweetener including natural ones because it will trigger blood sugar and insulin levels. You can use a bit of creamer of course, but that means your body will first have to burn the fat of the creamer before continuing to burn the stored fat. Sometimes the key is also in the balance. If you aren’t keen on having a piece of cake during eating time, then a sweetened coffee or tea can be burned faster than desserts that have high sugar levels and calories.
STEP 3. Include working out in the morning
Even activities like yoga can boost your metabolism and induce a faster burn rate. You can skip breakfast and use that time to have an exercising activity. It totally depends on you and what you want to do. Whether a good cardio sweat or hatha yoga, in that manner you will become fresh and balance your hormones for the rest of the day.
STEP 4. Choose your intermittent fasting type
Planning the timing of your lunch and dinner will depend on how well you adapt and what are your goals, furthermore, what do you expect from your fasting. For starters, we would recommend the shorter fasts. Those include 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating two full meals. You can easily achieve and implement this routine daily. The most convenient time would be from 11 am to 7 pm. If you wish to take things further, you can implement the 20 hours fasting and 4-hour eating window. You can plan two smaller meals or one large one during those 4 hours.
Longer fasts include more than 24 hours of fasting. If you choose to include such days, that would mean having one meal and then fasting to the same time you had that meal in the past day, usually it is lunch. The 5:2 fast means you can have 5 regular eating days and 2 fasting days on which the food intake is limited to only 500 calories. Furthermore, alternate-day fasting is similar to the previous but it includes fasting with 500 calories every other day. We recommend the 24h fasting one day a week if you decide on a short fast.
STEP 5. Eat mindfully & embrace dinners
When you limit your snacking, you will start to appreciate what you decide to eat. Plus, by skipping breakfast you will gain quality dinner time with your family. Every bite will be a lovely ritual of pleasure and intimate bonding. A time to replenish your energy from the day and catch up with your family.
We hope we clarified the subject of intermittent fasting and provided you with guidance. Embracing this lifestyle will help your goals like weight loss and more energy but also in the long run - strengthen your health to keep chronic illnesses at bay
WORDS: 1045