Intermittent fasting is increasingly becoming popular among those who want to lose some weight without having to compromise their food choices. What the trick is done is when to eat.
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that involves demarcated periods of fasting and eating.
It doesn’t tell you the kind of foods/meals you should eat, but rather when you should have them. In that sense, it is not really a diet plan, but more of an eating pattern.
Some common Intermittent fasting methods include 16-hour and 24-hour fasts.
Some observe 24-hour fasting once or twice weekly, while others just avoid eating calories a few days in a week but eat as usual in other days.
A lot of people prefer to practise intermittent fasting because of its health benefits other than cutting extra pounds. Studies showed that adhering to the eating pattern improves health in ways such as regulating blood sugar concentration, decreasing cholesterol levels and increasing longevity.
Intermittent Fasting For Losing Weight
But does limiting food intake to a specific time of the day really help in weight loss? It sure does since it instinctively reduces calorie intake, hence losing weight.
1) 16/8 method: It involves skipping breakfast and eating during a daily restricted period of 8 hours (say from 2 PM-10 PM) and fasting for remaining 16-hours.
2) Eat-stop-eat: It involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice every week.
3) 5:2 diet: It means consuming only between 500-600 calories on two consecutive days of the week while eating normally on other days.
Effects
How does Intermittent fasting affect your body?
Intermittent fasting increases levels of growth hormone by as much as five times, which further helps in fat loss and muscle gain.
It also brings changes in the function of genes related to longevity and immunity.
Further, it can lead to a drop in insulin levels, thus making stored body fat more easily accessible.
This form of fasting also promotes the process of cell repair.