We’ve all looked for dieting options at some time in our lives or the other. Whether it be to lose a few pounds or to cultivate a healthier lifestyle, dieting culture has been around forever. While plenty of diet plans are out there, one that has picked up in popularity is intermittent fasting. It’s a diet that’s incredibly easy to follow and brings about a ton of health benefits that aren’t limited to just weight loss.
In this article, we take a quick but comprehensive look at what intermittent fasting is all about.
First Up, What Is Intermittent Fasting?
It’s a diet schedule that focuses on when you eat instead of what you eat. The plan divides your day into two parts: an eating window and a fasting window. Unlike most other diets, there is no preparation, meal planning, or shopping lists; all you need to do is choose a suitable fasting schedule that suits your lifestyle and follow it. The structure of this diet is meant to maximize your body’s natural metabolic processes every day to achieve optimal health.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?
Each time you have a routine break in digestion (such as when you’re asleep), your body is triggered to clear up, recover and heal. Our bodies are designed to become better and stronger during and after fasting. It essentially allows your body to prepare for better things.
How long you should fast depends on personal choice and medical history. However, here are some standard intermittent fasting plans:
Alternate Day Fasting
This is where you alternate between days of one meal that provides about 25% of your daily calorie needs with days of no food restrictions. For example, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday will consist of fasting, and there won’t be food restrictions on alternate days.
Whole Day Fasting
You will dedicate one or two days a week to complete fasting or up to 25% of your daily calorie needs. The other days will have no food restrictions. The 5:2 diet system is about having no food restrictions for five days and a 400-500 calorie diet on the other two days.
Time-Restricted Feeding
You can follow a meal plan daily with a specified time frame allocated for fasting. For example, you can eat meals between 6 am-1 pm and fast for the remaining hours of the day.
Is Intermittent Fasting Good for Your Body?
The health benefits of intermittent fasting are numerous, such as if you’re looking to improve your athletic performance and energy levels, support brain health and, of course, promote healthy weight management. Here are some health benefits of intermittent fasting:
- Training your body to burn fat to produce energy triggers the body’s natural weight-loss mechanisms.
- It helps boost your energy, unlike many other diets that leave you tired and sluggish. In fact, many people say that intermittent fasting makes them feel more energetic.
- Boosts brain power because it supports brain connectivity and the growth of new neurons. There are hormonal changes that take place when you follow intermittent fasting, and studies have shown that this supports memory and brain function.
- Helps in supporting the maintenance of healthy blood sugar levels. When you are in the fasting window, no new glucose is being supplied to the body. Therefore, your body will use stored glucose to support normal blood sugar levels.
- Enhances the heart’s health because intermittent fasting supports healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
- Supports your body’s anti-inflammatory response because fasting gives your body a much-needed break from the constant effort of digesting food. This means your body can focus energy on clearing out damaged cells and tissues, supporting the natural anti-inflammatory response of your body.
What to Eat on An Intermittent Fasting Diet?
Yes, intermittent fasting is about when you eat, but it’s still important to focus on the type of food you eat when you break your fast. It’s a good idea to combine healthy proteins with vegetables and avoid sugars and carbs. Many people starting an intermittent fasting diet will kick it off with a soup, stew, or anything else that’s light. Having vegetables and proteins is recommended as it gives you more energy.
Is Intermittent Fasting Safe for Everybody?
Your `health plays a significant factor when it comes to intermittent fasting. Sometimes, it may not be the right option for you – and in other cases, it could be potentially dangerous too! This is why you should talk to your healthcare provider and discuss whether it’s a good option.
Intermittent fasting is not advised without medical supervision for people with heart problems, high blood sugar levels, or high blood pressure. Moreover, those who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a history of eating disorders should avoid intermittent fasting.
Tips For Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting isn’t immune from challenges. As with every other diet out there, staying on track might sometimes prove to be difficult. Here are some tips that may be helpful:
- Make sure to drink about two or three liters of water daily.
- Do not do intense workouts on fasting days, particularly if you’re just starting out.
- Walking, yoga, and mindfulness practices can be beneficial.
- Have a sound support system that will offer emotional support. This could be as simple as not tempting you by cooking or eating delectable-looking dishes before you.
- Avoid thinking about food by planning distractions during fasting days. You can go for a walk, paint, see a movie, volunteer, or listen to music to distract yourself.
- Season your food generously with spices, herbs, garlic, and vinegar. While these are low in calories, they are dense in flavor, which could help reduce feelings of hunger.
- Eat nutrient-dense food after the fasting period to prevent nutritional deficiencies.
Bottom Line
In a way, intermittent fasting is food deprivation, so overdoing it won’t benefit your health and body. This diet is about distinct food intake regulation that aligns with your habits and lifestyle. A particular intermittent fasting method that worked for someone else might not necessarily work for you, so it’s always good to start with baby steps.
Going for long stretches of not eating is difficult, so a shorter daily eating window might be better than drastic intermittent fasting methods. Moreover, it’s essential that you consume enough calories to meet your nutrient requirements. So long as intermittent fasting does not interfere with your mental health, social life, family life, or work life, you’re good to go!
