Do you want to lose some weight healthily but can’t find any idea? Then Intermittent fasting diet plan can give you the hope to lose weight fast according to your body structure and health conditions.
Many benefits come with intermittent fasting, but the main one is weight loss. You will lose weight because your body will consume fat stores instead of burning calories from food when you don’t eat for a certain period.
If you want to try intermittent fasting, then I recommend you to take advice from your dietitian or nutritionist before starting a plan. The health care professional will advise you on more safe methods by checking up on your medical history and health conditions, and which plan is suitable for your condition to lose weight fast.
In this article, you will find some information about intermittent fasting if you are a newbie and don’t know about intermittent fasting, then this article is going to be very effective for you.
Read more: A Complete Ketogenic Diet for Beginners
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a diet that is based on cycles of fasting and eating. It is a form of intermittent energy restriction. The fast can be for as little as 16 hours or up to 36 hours, depending on the specific type of intermittent fasting.
It has been found that intermittent fasting can lead to weight loss, lower insulin levels, and improved cholesterol levels. Intermittent fasting can be used to improve health outcomes by reducing the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
The first thing that you need to do before starting intermittent fasting is to find out what kind of intermittent fasting you want to do. Many different types of intermittent fasting diets are available with different periods and rules.
3 methods of intermittent fasting diet plan:
The 3 methods of intermittent fasting that you can apply, include –
- Alternate-day fasting
- Periodic fasting
- Daily-time food-restricted feeding
1. Alternate-Day fasting:
Alternate-day fasting is the most common version of intermittent fasting. The concept of this diet is you need to fast every other day (1 day after) & then you will be free to eat whatever you want on the non-fasting days. This is as simple as that.
This is called “modified” fasting. If your daily food intake is 2000 calories then you can take around 500 calories on fasting days. You can take tea and coffee without sugar or take 20-25% of calories according to your daily requirements.
Alternate-day fasting has very health benefits including fast weight loss, reduced cholesterol levels, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
2. Periodic fasting:
Periodic fasting is a different variation of intermittent fasting. The main difference between periodic fasting is skipping your meal for a certain period of time and giving at least 14 hours of gap between eating and fasting. When you start fasting, you cannot eat anything until you finish your fasting window. To be more strict, you can include some dietary restrictions during the eating window.
Typically, on the eating window, you can eat all types of calories and nutrition you want to eat. Dietary restrictions are included to accelerate weight loss. Specifically, fat loss. We will get to why this works later. First, some common variations in periodic fasting to consider.
For example, if you take intervals of 8/16 (eat/fast) periodic fasting then you need to have fasting for 16 hours, and then you can eat whatever you want within the next 8 hours. There are 2 common periodic fasting time zones that you can apply to, including at least 8-10 hours of feeding period and a fasting period of 14-16 hours. This is a very simple approach that you can apply every day consistently. You can raise your eating schedule if your health care provider advises you.
3. Time-Food Restricted feeding:
Time-restricted feeding is something like a calorie-restriction diet. This method is similar to periodic fasting but restricts some high-calorie foods in the eating window. This rule gives the permit to eat low-calorie, healthy and nutritious amounts of food intake to ensure nutritional adequacy. You can create your fasting & eating window range from 6-12 hours or 8/16.
The main difference between periodic fasting and time-restricted feeding is that periodic fasting is a shorter-term approach where you can eat anything in your feeding window, while time-restricted feeding is a longer-term dietary approach.
If you choose high-calorie foods while you are in a time-restricted feeding period, you may end up eating a normal day and can’t get any benefits from this fasting schedule. Although you are eating properly, maintain the fasting and feeding window.
For example, if you want to eat during a window of 8–9 hours, you have to skip one or two of the meals or snacks you usually eat in your feeding window. The most popular feeding windows that people use are 6–10 hours each day, the research says.
Time-restricted feeding has many health benefits that reduce your excess body weight, lower your blood sugar levels, decreases your cholesterol levels, improves glucose tolerance, increases metabolic flexibility, keep your blood pressure normal, etc.
What type of fasting is the best?
Intermittent fasting has different times and schedules. You can choose any plan according to your capacity. The most popular & effective method you can choose is 16:8, or 14:10. There are many other plans available that you can choose. For example, select any schedule of intermittent fasting for 12, 14, 16, 18, or 20 hours.
For example, for starting intermittent fasting, the night very important period. For this reason, most people choose this time for fasting. If you finish all your meals by 7 pm every night, then you can take your 1st breakfast at 11 am. Last meal you should take 16 or 14 hours back.
However, if you are a beginner, then I recommend you start at 14:10 first. Then, when your body adjusts this schedule, you may slowly trigger this schedule into 16 hours. Obviously, before starting any plan of intermittent fasting, check on your present medical conditions with any nutritionist or healthcare provider and take the doctor’s advice.
What are the benefits of fasting?
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a diet that involves eating small amounts of food at regular intervals. It is a popular diet that has been around for a long time and is gaining momentum as more people are becoming interested in it. The main benefits of intermittent fasting are:
- It can help to promote weight loss because it forces you to eat fewer calories than you normally would. This can help you prevent many health issues, and help you get rid of various ailments that are associated with weight gain.
- Intermittent fasting is very effective for those who have heart problems because it keeps your heart healthy. It also improves blood sugar levels and reduces the risk of several diseases. Overall, it can be a great way to improve health and well-being.
- It can help people to sleep better. Intermittent fasting can help people to sleep better because it forces them to eat fewer calories than they normally would. This can help people to feel more rested throughout the night and wake up feeling fresh and alert the next day.
- It can help people to feel more energized. Intermittent fasting can help people to feel more energized so people easily maintain their regular work and awake throughout the day.
- It helps to run better liver function. It prevents the accumulation of fat in the liver.
- It increased longevity. In addition, intermittent fasting can also help people to feel fuller and longer, which can help to reduce their calorie intake.
- Intermittent fasting triggers faster metabolism. A faster metabolism helps people to lose weight and keep it off. Intermittent fasting is a great way to lose weight because it forces you to eat fewer calories than you normally would. This can help people to lose weight quickly and easily.
- Intermittent fasting reduced inflammation. Inflammation is a natural immune response to infection or injury. Intermittent fasting strengthens the immune system of the body & protects itself from harmful stimuli.
Intermittent fasting has many health benefits that help you to lead a better life. However, it is important to remember that intermittent fasting is not for everyone. If you are pregnant or nursing, have any medical conditions, or are taking any medications, you should consult with your doctor before starting an intermittent fasting plan.
