While there are many ways to lose weight, intermittent fasting or IF seems to be one of the most popular one now. The diet involves dividing your day between an eating window and a fasting window. It’s really not as hard as it seems. We get into an intermittent state of fasting overnight automatically. All you need to do is to extend this fast for a few hours, and you have a ready-made fasting window. This pause in food consumption, helps the body digest the food, and also burn fat to produce energy. However, it is essential to note the foods that you are allowed to eat during your eating window, and their portions. Read on to know all about this way of losing weight.
Intermittent fasting weight loss is more of an instinctive methodology. As and when your body is ready to align with it, you will excel in it. It is also a natural concept to the body. For example, when you feel unwell, it is quite natural to lose your appetite. And considering our ancestors were hunters and gatherers and ate only when they were able to hunt down animals or found fruits and nuts—our body is quite capable or well adapted in handling IF. A study, published in the journey The Lancet states that IF may have beneficial effects on a range of health outcomes for adults with overweight or obesity.
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It’s really not that hard! If you go to bed at around 10.00 pm at night and you don’t eat breakfast until 7.00 or 8.00 am in the morning, you are in a fasting state in any case. If you can extend this state by another six to eight hours, then you will be able to see an even better effect. This basically means that if you finish eating your dinner by 7 PM seven, your next meal will be around noon the next day.
Intermittent fasting weight loss depends on what you eat during your eating window and how you fast. During the fasting period, only water is allowed. Tea, coffee or any other beverages are also not permitted. Some other types of IF may include tea, coffee and other non-caloric beverages.
This is an excellent way of losing fat by helping the insulin–the fat storage hormone–to function more efficiently by keeping it down and preventing blood sugar spikes and inflammation. Also this method of fasting helps in healing the body by giving a break to digestion and redirecting the blood flow to the parts of the body that needs healing and care.
Intermittent fasting also stimulates BDNF. BDNF or brain-derived neurotrophic factor is a protein that plays a key role in creating new neurons and protects existing ones. It connects one neuron to another and is therefore important in that communication–a process that’s vital for thinking, learning and brain function. The gene that turns on BDNF is activated by intermittent fasting.
As much as the focus is on when you should be eating, I would want to call your attention and encourage you to eat balanced meals.
Also Read: 5 reasons why is intermittent fasting not working for you!
If you are looking for options to include in your eating window, make sure to have some complex carbs. Complex carbohydrates such as jowar, bajra, rajgira, quinoa, oats and brown rice are great. This is changed into glucose in the body, which gets converted to energy.
Another must-add intermittent fasting diet essential is lean proteins. Lean proteins such as eggs, chicken, fish, dals, pulses, nuts and seeds should be eaten. These help to lower blood cholesterol, as well as promote brain health and function.
If you are following intermittent fasting, make sure to include some healthy fats in your eating window. Fats such as coconut oil, ghee, olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds would be good. While these are calorie-laden, they provide instant energy.
High fibre fruits and vegetables such as berries and avocados are great. These are great for digestion, as well as gastric health. These must be eaten during your eating window. Not only will they help you lose weight, but they will also keep you healthy.
Intermittent fasting is just not only about dieting, it is also about following a healthy lifestyle. Adequate water intake, enough exercise, sound sleep, and rest are a must. This ensures overall functioning of the body, and will also help you lose weight in the long run.
It is important to understand that indulging into high-caloric foods such as high sugar, high fat, refined flour and processed foods during the eating window will still lead to inflammation and result in yoyo in the fat percentage rather than a sustained weight loss effect.
In doing the fast correctly and ensuring that it is aligning with your mind, body and soul–you can expect a good weight loss of anywhere between 2 to 6 kgs a month with excellent inch loss and increase in energy levels and brain function.
Intermittent fasting is a popular method to lose weight, and stay healthy. However, having said that it is equally important to keep other factors such as age, physical activity levels, medicals, and stress levels in mind while considering weight loss.
It should be safe to fast for 2-3 days in a week. You can give breaks in between these days, and follow the 16:8 rule.
Pregnant women, or those with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, should consult their doctor before trying IF. Also kids, and teenagers should avoid this.
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