WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?
Intermittent fasting is by definition a brief time period during which you refrain from eating or drinking. It permits a few exceptions like water, tea, coffee, and bone broth. Intermittent fasting shouldn’t be confused with starvation or calorie restriction. It’s simply shorting your time window of eating.
It might be helpful to think of intermittent fasting as an eating pattern rather than a diet. With food easily accessible, we’ve been programmed to eat anywhere from three-to-six times per day—and that’s if we’re not grazing on trial mix or sipping on a green juice in between meals. Intermittent fasting sets a limited time window of eating so your body can take a break from digestion—which uses a lot of energy!—and instead spend dedicated energy taking care of other processes like cellular repair and fighting oxidative stress.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
Intermittent fasting enthusiasts claim numerous benefits from increased energy and mental clarity to reducing disease risk and aiding in weight loss. While this trendy eating pattern may seem too good to be true, there’s research to support the benefits.
Some of the latest evidence-based benefits on intermittent fasting include:
- Reducing inflammation
- Lowering total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, and blood pressure
- Managing blood sugar by normalizing insulin sensitivity
- Weight loss from decreased calorie intake and temporary increase in resting energy expenditure
- Improvements in degenerative brain disorders
- Lowering inflammation in the gut
INTERMITTENT FASTING METHODS
• TIME-RESTRICTED EATING
In this broad fasting scenario, you abstain from food for 12 to 16 hours. In the most popular version, you fast for 16 hours and have an eight-hour window of eating in a 24-hour time period. For example, you stop eating at 8 p.m. and eat your first meal around noon the following day.
• 5-2
This eating plan allows for five days of normal eating and two non-consecutive days of eating only 500 to 600 calories per day.
• STOP-EAT-STOP
In this plan, you go an entire 24 hours without eating two or three times per week.
ARE THERE NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS?
Some side effects of prolonged fasting include increased stress levels, disrupted sleep, headaches, and moodiness. Hanger is real, people. It’s important to listen to your body. If you feel faint, lightheaded, shaky, or nauseous, you’re better off breaking your fast and eating something.
There’s also the possibility of forming a restriction-bingeing cycle, which is typical with calorie-restricted diets. When individuals feel deprived, they may overeat or binge when “allowed” to eat. It can set individuals up for weight gain and creating a negative relationship.
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