Popular Ways to Do Intermittent Fasting?
Many people have started using intermittent fasting as a great way to lose weight. It has gained so much popularity over the last few years that it’s practically impossible to find someone who hasn’t heard of it, at least once! Intermittent fasting is relatively easy to do because you must skip meals on specific days of the week.
The time you are allowed to eat is usually around 8 hours daily, which covers your sleeping hours, So if you fast from 4 pm-12 pm, for example, you will be able to achieve 16 hours of fasting without even feeling hungry. This makes intermittent fasting very easy since you don’t have anything else apart from water & tea/coffee till noon, when you can break your fast.
Here are six different ways to do intermittent fasting:
1) The 16/8 Method:
While this is the most popular way of doing it, many people prefer not to take it up because they feel it is very tough to follow. Just like any other form of fasting, be ready to get hungry & cranky during the initial days before your body adapts itself.
On average, though, you should start feeling better once your system becomes normal on a 16 hour fast with just water or tea/coffee allowed in the morning hours while you have some light snacks around evening time when your 8-hour eating window begins!
2) EatStopEat:
Brad Pilon popularised this method in his ebook. The only difference is that your fasting window goes for 24 hours and not 16/8, as we saw above. One of the best things about this technique is that you don’t have to do it every week but can fast on any day of the week as per convenience.
3) The 5:2 Diet:
Michael Mosely first introduced this Diet, health journalist & author of ‘The Fast Diet.’ In this method, you will be required to eat normally for five days of the week while limiting your calorie intake drastically for two days of the week, providing you with some fantastic long-lasting results!
4) Eat Stop Eat (24-Hour):
Once again, we see Brad Pilon’s technique here. You will be required to fast on any two non-consecutive days of the week, and this way, you’ll end up fasting for 24 hours (including sleep time).
5) Warrior Diet:
This is yet another method that requires you to eat only fruits throughout the day, but if your goal is weight loss, limit your intake to 1-2 fruits per day. You can drink as much water as you like (please note that fruit juice doesn’t count as fruit!)
6) 25 Hour Fasting:
A pretty similar technique compared to above where your fasting window extends beyond 24 hours due to skipping breakfast & including lunch too in 8 hour eating period.
Can you eat anything while intermittent fasting:
Yes, you can eat anything while intermittent fasting. Well, there are no hard and fast rules about what you should or shouldn’t eat during your fasted periods. If it is your first time doing intermittent fasting, you might wonder if I can drink coffee on intermittent fasting? Yes, coffee is fine to drink if you drink it black without any sugar or milk.
You can also give caffeine before your workout. Most nutrition experts agree that caffeine has numerous health benefits when consumed in moderation, including increased fat burning and better muscle glycogen storage capacity (which ultimately helps with performance).
Suppose this sounds like a glass of red wine at the end of the day sounds good to you. Red Wine is one of the healthiest alcoholic beverages you can have. It has been linked with numerous benefits, including heart health, reduced cancer risk, and even increased longevity.
On a side note, I like to drink water during my fasted period (between breakfast and lunch). It helps me make it through the morning without feeling hungry, keeps me hydrated, and also helps maintain an optimal pH balance in my body.
So basically, when you fast, your body produces glucagon, which breaks down glycogen into glucose during periods where no food is consumed (fasting). Then, insulin kicks in and shuttles that glucose into your cells for energy. The same happens during workouts, but instead of insulin breaking down glycogen, it uses creatine to create ATP.
This process allows more fat to be burned for energy while preserving muscle mass. This is why it is so important to drink plenty of water during your fasted periods and after your workout. It will help with hydration and prevent any possible side effects of intermittent fastings, such as headaches, fatigue, and mood swings.
168 intermittent fasting results:
The good thing about intermittent fasting is that you will see results within the first week. You don’t have to wait for months before you start seeing results like other fat loss techniques such as cardio, weight training, low carb diets, etc.
This means if an obese individual tries intermittent fasting, they will see lasting results very quickly, which may encourage them to stick with this technique for a more extended period, thus experiencing even more benefits which include increased muscle gain (while losing body fat), improved cognitive function and numerous others.
One of the extinct reasons wost people fail when it comes to achieving their ideal physique is because they depend on motivation rather than action.
So let’s be honest here how many times have you started a new weight loss program or a new diet and failed miserably because you relied on motivation to lose weight. Let me tell you something; the reason is not going to get you where you want to be; it may put a smile on your face for a couple of days, but soon after that, it will fade away.