Intermittent fasting is one of the most popular health and fitness trends. Not only does it help you to lose weight but improves overall health too.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It doesn’t specify what foods you should be eating rather when you should be eating them.
Intermittent Fasting Methods
•The 16/8 method: It involves restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours and fasting for 16 hours in between. You could either skip breakfast or dinner, according to what suits you.
•Eat-stop-eat: This method involves fasting for 24 hours twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until the dinner next day. It is an advanced method so it’s better if you start off with the 16/8 method first.
•The 5:2 diet: With this method, you consume 500-600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week but eat normally the other 5 days.
All these methods would help you lose weight by reducing your calorie intake, as long as you’re not eating a lot more during the eating window.
How does Intermittent Fasting affect your body?
Intermittent fasting makes major changes to the hormone levels which facilitate weight loss and increase your metabolic rate.
It lowers the insulin levels in your body, increases the levels of growth hormone and norepinephrine (the fat burning hormone).
Additionally, it makes your immune system strong which helps your body fight inflammation.
Safety and side effects
Intermittent fasting is a very safe way for weight loss if you’re healthy and well-nourished overall. However, initially you may feel weak and your brain might not perform as well as you’re used to. This is temporary and gets fine once your body adapts to the new meal schedule.
If you have any of the following conditions, it’s good to consult your doctor before trying out intermittent fasting:
•Have diabetes
•Have low blood pressure
•Take medications
•Have a history of eating disorders
•Pregnant/breastfeeding
•Have an irregular menstrual cycle
Intermittent fasting works wonders for some people, not others. The best way is to try it out for a while and see how your body responds to this method.
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