Have you heard about intermittent fasting before? Do you have a few unanswered questions about its effectiveness in weight loss? Some studies show that intermittent fasting can aid in effective weight loss. But before you proceed, you must research quickly and learn more about the topic. Well, in this article, we are going to cover the same!
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting (IF) is when you switch between eating and fasting. It is, in fact, a time-restricted feeding. You have a fasting window during which you do not have food and an eating window during which you eat.
Intermittent fasting has become very popular among people nowadays. It has been in existence for ages. Intermittent fasting was discovered by many people in 2012 by BBC broadcast journalist Dr.Michael Mosley’s TV documentary.
With his documentary and an international best-selling book that followed, Michael Mosley has proved that intermittent fasting is an excellent and effective method for weight loss. Intermittent fasting also has many health benefits.
How does intermittent fasting work
As you all know, after a meal, your body acts on the food to digest and thus convert it into the energy you need. The food you eat is broken down into simpler molecules by the digestive enzymes produced in the digestive tract. For example, carbohydrates that you take in get converted into glucose. A hormone called insulin is also produced to work on the digested food. Imagine that you kept on eating for a whole day. What would be the result? Insulin production in your body increases. Constant high levels of insulin can lead to many diseases, such as diabetes.
Fasting helps to keep insulin levels low and enables you to prevent such diseases. In short, you have to give your body time to work on the food you eat. IF is the best option for that.
The main aim of IF is to follow the insulin production cycle. Insulin production starts when we wake up in the morning. It is at its peak when it is around 3 in the afternoon and dies down by sunset. So, weight loss is a simple task if we have our food along with the insulin cycle.
Here is how it works. You already know that the carbohydrates in your food get converted into glucose. Insulin is responsible for the uptake and use of glucose in the cells. If you had dinner after sunset when insulin production is reduced, the glucose is more likely to remain in your bloodstream, leading to a higher risk of diabetes.
When you fast, the glucose in your bloodstream decreases, and the insulin level drops. This signals your fat cells to release some stored fat, which can then be used for energy production. Additionally, intermittent fasting can increase the release of norepinephrine, a hormone that promotes fat-burning.
How to do Intermittent Fasting?
There are different approaches to intermittent fasting. One is the 16/8 method, which is 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating window. It is the most recommended and easy approach. During the 16 hours of fasting window, you only drink water or black tea/green tea (without added sugar). Even a tiny bite of food during this window can disturb your hormone cycle. You have to be careful not to eat anything during this window. You can have whatever you want during the eating window, without any restrictions. But see to it that you only take in a little fast food (which is unsuitable for the body).
It is best to start with a 12-hour fasting window if you are new to intermittent fasting. Here, you can have dinner at 8 PM and then breakfast at 8 AM the next day, which would not take a toll on your body. You can extend the fasting window to 13 or 14 hours if you do not feel hungry in the morning.
Hunger is the keyword. Hunger is the body’s message that it is time for food. There is no hour limitation to the eating/fasting window. Other approaches include one meal per day, the 5:2 method (5 days of eating, 2 days of fasting), and alternate-day fasting. The aim is to give your body maximum time to digest and work on the food you eat at any point in time.
Your body relies on the stored fat for energy when you fast, which helps burn fat. The key here is consistency. It is good to be consistent for 30 days a month with 12 hours of fasting window. 16 hours of fasting and not being consistent brings you no good.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Research has shown that intermittent fasting has helped many people lose weight. Improved blood pressure, sleep patterns, and better metabolism are also some of the benefits.
Many people choose intermittent fasting primarily for weight loss. By reducing the time during which you consume food, you are less likely to consume higher amounts of calories. This reduced calorie intake is believed to be the main mechanism behind intermittent fasting’s effectiveness for weight loss.
Intermittent fasting also helped to improve mental health conditions such as ADHD, depression, and anxiety in some cases. It also helps to prevent type 2 diabetes or even its reversal. Intermittent fasting has proved to do miracles in the human body when followed correctly.
Intermittent Fasting Side Effects
As we say, there are two sides to a coin; intermittent fasting also has its cons. Some are hunger, fatigue, constipation, dehydration, potential overeating, sleep disorders, mood changes, and malnutrition.
It is better for people under the age of 18 and those who have a history of eating disorders, to stay away from the concept of intermittent fasting.
Everything depends on how your body takes the change. Slow and steady changes in eating habits would not harm your body. Treat your body how it wants to be taken care of. Rest everything will fall in place.
Remember, before deciding to do anything related to health and fitness, it is always advisable to ask your physician’s opinion.
