Intermittent fasting (IF) is currently one of the world’s most popular health and fitness trends. And people are using it to lose weight, improve their health and simplify their lifestyles.
Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating.
Fasting is also often done for religious or spiritual reasons, including in Islam, Christianity, Judaism.Fasting from time to time is more natural than always eating 3–4 (or more) meals per day.
There are several ways for intermittent fasting involving splitting the week days or the day hours to fasting and non fasting periods … and here are the most popular methods :
- The 16/8 method: Also called the Leangains protocol and it is the most popular method, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 1–9 p.m. Then you fast for 16 hours in between.
- Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.
- The 5:2 diet: With this method, you consume only 500–600 calories on two nonconsecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days.
And to get the best results and maximize your benefit from intermittent fasting you should:
- Stay hydrated: Drink lots of water and calorie-free drinks, such as herbal teas, throughout the day. This can help ensure you get enough electrolytes, sodium and potassium.
- Make every calorie count: If the chosen plan allows some calories during fasting periods, select nutrient-dense foods that are rich in protein, fiber, and healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients helps to keep blood sugar levels steady, prevent nutrient deficiencies and maintains your energy levels throughout the day. Examples include beans, lentils, eggs, fish, nuts, avocado, and unprocessed meats. This balanced diet will also contribute to weight loss and overall health.
- Avoid thinking about food: Plan plenty of distractions on fasting days to avoid thinking about food, such as catching up on paperwork or going to see a movie.
Also it affects the body metabolism in several ways :
- Human Growth Hormone (HGH): The levels of growth hormone skyrocket, increasing as much as 5-fold. This has benefits for fat loss and muscle gain.
- Insulin: Insulin sensitivity improves and levels of insulin drop dramatically. Lower insulin levels make stored body fat more accessible and weight loss easier and protecting against type 2 diabetes
- Cellular repair: When fasted, your cells initiate cellular repair processes. This includes autophagy, where cells digest and remove old and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells
- Gene expression: There are changes in the function of genes related to longevity and protection against disease
- Inflammation: Some studies showed that intermittent fasting reduces markers of inflammation, a key driver of many chronic diseases
- In addition to lowering insulin and increasing growth hormone levels, it increases the release of the fat burning hormone norepinephrine (adrenaline) , these changes in hormones, short-term fasting may increase your metabolic rate by 3.6–14% and that makes the intermittent fasting one of the most powerful methods for weight loss
- Heart health: Intermittent fasting may reduce the “bad” LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers, blood sugar and insulin resistance which are all risk factors for heart disease
Although the intermittent fasting has many benefits however it is not suitable for everyone especially if you :
- Have diabetes
- Have problems with blood sugar regulation.
- Have low blood pressure.
- Take medications.
- Are underweight.
- Have a history of eating disorders
- Are a woman who is trying to conceive.
- Are a woman with a history of amenorrhea.
- Are pregnant or breastfeeding
Then you should consult the physician or healthcare provider first.
References:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/intermittent-fasting-guide#should-you
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322293#tips-for-fasting
