A lot of those who hear the words Intermittent Fasting or see this article are likely within the same position which I was in before discovering this program. And that is, always being paranoid if you didn’t have something inside your stomach, your precious muscles would rapidly disappear along with your metabolism crashing, thus turning you in to a fat blob.
Possibly the biggest takeaway you can acquire from reading this article about intermittent fasting is easy: it’s okay with an empty stomach. Actually, that’s exactly what you’ll want to be capable of loose fat effectively.
Your muscles tissue isn’t gonna disappear, as well as your metabolism isn’t gonna crash!
Those claims are false that are incomplete summaries of ideas based on minimal/incomplete understandings.
I, and several other individuals, have found this understanding to be really liberating and helpful. For example, I don’t need to be paranoid about eating constantly.
I use to think about all of this the whole time.
I’d even go grab a bag of chips if I hadn’t prepared my eating schedule to ‘preserve my muscles.’ Obviously, this mentality only led to me gaining fat and not getting the results I had been after.
Essentially by utilizing these understandings you’re a much more gonna achieve better results because you’re not constantly overeating due to inaccurate assumptions about how exactly the body works.
What is intermittent fasting?
For those who may not be familiar towards the term, intermittent fasting is merely taking “intermittent” times of fasting (no food) and implement them to your lifestyle. This may be either daily or simply a couple times per week.
It’s similar to a diet method ancient gladiators and warriors were using….
Some tips I have read/seen so far on reduced consumption of calories and IF research, the final outcome is always that using short-term fasting can be quite effective in relation to:
- Decreasing blood sugar levels and levels of insulin (enhancing the state from the overall glucose metabolism)
- Increasing essential fatty acid oxidation with an increase of FFAs (through increasing lipolysis hormones GH, glucagon and adrenaline)
- Sparing and preserving muscle tissue (lean mass)
- Increasing various health factors (lower inflammation, lower blood pressure level, reduced oxidative stress, increased protection against neuro-degenerative diseases, and much more)
- Keeping your metabolism strong/healthy
Additionally, there are numerous lifestyle benefits by using intermittent fasting, for example not a slave to eating all day every day, having natural daily energy and concentration, as well as just learning to enjoy eating once again.
The Logic Behind IF
When researching how the body’s evolved, it’s seems reasonable to believe the body of a human was in a fasted state most of the time. Not by choice, but by demand. Meals are scarce in the wild. There never will be any Tupperware, microwaves, or packaged convenience foods. Hunting and gathering takes effort (aka exercise), and frequently coming up empty handed and remaining hungry could be unavoidable. That is why our bodies is incredibly good at storing fat (This is my own experience). To put it differently, in the wild food was probably scarce for the majority of human evolution. Humankind definitely wasn’t eating like a pig continuously, and most likely the feeding times were irregular and erratic. So what exactly is the purpose intermittent fasting? Replicating conditions of the way the human body evolved will almost certainly provide health and fitness. Therefore, the point is, the human body evolved in time due to fasting, in other words, not being fed.
IF as your lifestyle
How are you able to implement intermittent fasting in your lifestyle/system/habit? Well thankfully there aren’t any hard ‘rules,’ only suggestions and principles. The key is straightforward: let yourself starve yourself occasionally. Some individuals (including the author of one of the books I suggest called “Eat Stop Eat”) recommend fasting maybe once or twice per week for twenty-four hrs. Personally, I’ve followed a plan of daily 16 or more hours fasts called the Warrior diet. For me personally, this made sense as I’ve never liked breakfast anyways. Basically I’ve got my last meal around 9 PM. I skip breakfast, do my work out with weights at morning or evening depending on what shift I work in, within a fasted state, and get my largest meal for the day around 6 – 9 PM.
Warrior Diet method
The benefits are:
- simple eating methods for every day
- even individuals who might not eat 100% clean foods are able to see fat reduction because of the smaller window minimizing calorie total each day
The Disadvantages are:
- May possibly lower metabolism if calories are way too low for too much time (not what you long for in case your #1 goal is losing weight)To not get enough food within the smaller window could also result in muscle loss for more active people.
- Can increase anxiety, depression or any other emotional feelings. For those who have past with these, you have to start SLOW and find out how you feel. As soon as you begin to feel an excessive amount anxiety, depression or any other emotional response, STOP your fasting and get back on normal all day eating.
Eat-Stop-Eat method
The pros are:
- Allows you to make certain they are getting enough calories on the non-fasting days, then just keeps to a simple small feed window(if any) on the IF days.
- Simple thinking for individuals that don’t have knowledge of the best way to eat clean to eat one day, and after that eat in a smaller window the next day (alternate day fasting/CR). This could achieve fat reduction for individuals that are mainly overweight and may not be too active. (obviously don’t misunderstand me, that maintaining a healthy diet is our primary goal but this may be a good step for many people to begin their weight loss journey and discover ways to make smarter choices as they go)
Disadvantages:
- Doesn’t force you to make smarter choices with their food (as you could probably eat junk some day, and then fast the following but still shed pounds). Not something you want long run since this is not likely to increase your other health markers (diseases prevention, insulin resistance) similar to a good IF program on sensible foods.
An intermittent fasting program that will get you real results is a lot more than simply skipping breakfast. It’s really about 3 things:
- Fasting along with a good workout routine and appropriate supplements like whey protein
If you’re just skipping breakfast, it’s likely that you simply won’t receive optimal advantages of an IF program. Fasted workouts using the right supplements is exactly what has got me results, not merely skipping breakfast.
- Nutritional timing (post workout)
The fasting program I follow depends upon nutritional timing as well. Specifically what I’m saying by nutritional timing is eating certain quantities of food around specific times. To put it differently, it’s a lot more than simply skipping breakfast; it’s also about eating large amount of your everyday calories (as much as 50% of the daily calorie consumption) after your exercise routine.
- Appropriate calorie consumption
This is still the foundation. It is possible to overeat by using an intermittent fasting program and discover minimal (if any) fat loss. You’ve to determine, or come with an intuitive sense of your consumption of calories. If you’re looking to gain muscle you’re still going to need excess calorie consumption, and when you’re looking to lose fat you’re still going to need restricted consumption of calories. Intermittent fasting is really a program that permits you to stick to a system that keeps yourself on track in this connection. It’s not magic, and doesn’t help make your body defy the laws of consumption of calories.
What Do You Gain From Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss?
First of all you have to make decisions and plans that you will fully abide by. You need be motivated by the decision and plans that you have set down. For example, you have to stick to fruits and vegetables instead of processed foods. You can also start by eating normally but cut down on the ratio of food you consume. The main thing about this weight loss procedure is not how you do it, but what benefits it brings to you. These benefits are discussed here.
It Keeps You Active
IF program will keep you active in that it will increase your mental focus as well as concentration. During fasting your body releases chemicals which increase your mental awareness and productivity.
It Keeps You Healthy
Blood sugar levels in your body will be kept stable throughout the intermittent fasting period. This is why this method is safe even for people suffering from various diseases. It will help you control diabetes and also stabilize your energy level by improving your health.
It Reduces Your Urge to Get Hungry When Dieting
When you are used to eating all meals in a day it will be difficult for you to diet by avoiding eating some meals. But after sometime of dieting the body gets used to these eating habits. Intermittent fasting will not bring up the urge to eat which in turn helps you reduce weight.
It Saves You Time and Money
Intermittent fasting for weight loss will save you a lot of money since you will skip some meals. You will also save money because you will not buy fuel to cook food every time. It will save you the time of moving to the market or shop to buy food. It will save time in that you will not be required to cook every time.
Burn Down Fat Faster
Fats are burned down when fasting leading to loss of excess weight. When you cut down on eating foods that are rich in fats, your body switches to the stored fats and uses them for energy. This will reduce the fat stores therefore making you lose weight.
Fasting Reduces Oxidative Stress
When you fast, oxidative components which cause internal harm to your body will be reduced. This will reduce stress since you will not suffer any harm. Additionally, intermitted fasting for weight loss will increase your capacity to resist stress, diseases and skin acne problem. This means that fasting will enable you cells to respond to stress in your body much better. You will not sweat so much because you are not taking in food that is rich in fats; this will avoid skin acne problems
Intermittent fasting for weight loss is not an easy task. It requires patience in order for you to succeed. You have to try it in a day to see if you can do it for a long time.
Now you can see the following video explaining the more benefits of IF.
