Intermittent fasting. does it work?

 Intermittent fasting. does it work?

Intermittent fasting is one of the latest nutritional fads. This new style of eating would have several health benefits in addition to being a diet. Fasting for weight loss has even become the new slimming trend. Learn about the true benefits of fasting and how to do it with a normal day fasting menu in this post.

What is intermittent fasting? 

This diet involves alternating between times of fasting and periods of food consumption of varied lengths. Intermittent fasting is far more flexible and accessible than severe fasting, which requires no food intake. It provides the same health benefits. Intermittent fasting can be done in a variety of ways, including partial fasting, the 5:2 approach, fasting, and so on.

Fasting has health benefits

Fasting would have numerous health benefits. Particularly in contemporary society, when overeating and junk food are commonplace.

The following are the key health advantages of fasting:

• Reduces insulin production and fat and sugar storage in the body. Stimulates fat destocking.

• Food feelings are better controlled.

• Growth hormone secretion is stimulated.

• Reduces recovery time and improves physical and mental performance.

• It encourages cell renewal.

• Allows the organism to be cleansed and stimulates autophagy, or the organism's natural self-cleaning mechanism.

• Cell oxidation and premature ageing are reduced.

• Prevents obesity and its accompanying disorders, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Fasting to reduce weight: a dietician's perspective

The current craze is to go on a fast to reduce weight. As previously said, fasting has numerous and intriguing health benefits. However, you must exercise caution when it comes to weight loss. In fact, an uncontrolled and poorly executed intermittent fast can do more harm than good. Fatigue, frustration, cravings, and other negative consequences can all place a load on the body.

To avoid them, it is vital to obtain medical advice and be accompanied by food professionals before beginning the fast. Also, keep in mind that fasting is a style of eating, not a diet. Losing weight shouldn't be your sole motivation; it can make things more difficult and lead to more mistakes.

The most common mistakes to avoid if you want to succeed at intermittent fasting

Fasting for weight loss is not as simple as it appears. Indeed, a few typical blunders can derail all of your efforts and render intermittent fasting ineffective.

Here is a list of the most common fasting mistakes to avoid

1. consuming insufficient amounts of water

Sufficient hydration is required for the removal of metabolic wastes and toxins. This hydration is even more critical during intermittent fasting so that the body can support the fasting periods and continue to operate normally. When you fast, your thirst is frequently significantly reduced. As a result, it is critical to pay attention to this point and consume at least 2 liters of water each day, spread out throughout the day.

2. During mealtimes, eat twice as much as usual.

Maintaining a balanced diet during periods of food intake might be difficult when fasting. It is certainly alluring to pounce on food, consume in larger quantities, and turn to comfort foods. This is a huge blunder. The quality of the diet during periods of food intake is just as crucial as the fasting periods themselves for reaping the health benefits of fasting. As a result, meals high in vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and vital fatty acids will be required.

3. Set goals that will be impossible to achieve.

Fasting is a difficult process. To avoid making mistakes, it's best to start slowly and listen to your body before doing anything else. If this is your first time fasting, try to create little goals for yourself. Begin by shifting your dinner time forward in the evening, your breakfast time back in the morning, and so on. You'll be able to gradually extend your fasting period without harming your health this way.

4. Only lose weight quickly

Irregular fasting is more of a way of life than a diet. Its goal isn't to help you lose weight, though it does. Fasting can become a lot more challenging if you reduce it to just that one purpose. This is because you risk missing out on all of the other (physiological and psychological) benefits of fasting and giving up sooner. It can also be aggravating and guilt-inducing if you have a dietary lapse or are losing weight too slowly.

A typical fasting menu on a typical fasting day

Here's an example of a specific fasting food plan to help you create a realistic day menu. The most well-known and extensively used method of intermittent fasting is fasting. This strategy involves alternating a 16-hour fast with an 8-hour meal intake interval. As a result, the last meal of the day is eaten before 8 p.m., and the first meal of the next day is eaten at midday.

Lunch (at 12 p.m.) Snack (at 4 p.m.) Dinner (before 8 p.m.) Raw salad with walnut oil  150 to 200 g of meat, or substitute  200 g green vegetables  200 g of cooked whole starch  30 g of cheese  Seasonal fruit  Tea or infusion  Honey yogurt  Handful of oilseeds  40 g of red berry muesli  250 g of vegetable soup 150 g of white fish or salmon, white cheese and olive oil sauce 200 g of cooked starchy foods  Homemade fruit compote  2 squares of dark chocolate  It is feasible to postpone dinner and hence lunch time to better meet your habits. The most important thing is to maintain a 16-hour fasting period followed by an 8-hour meal intake phase.