Intermittent Fasting Would Be the Key to Successful Weight Loss? 

Intermittent fasting would be the key to successful weight loss? Intermittent fasting has long been a favorite in the fitness community. That’s why we decided to show you what it is, what types we know, and what health effects you can expect from it. Here are 5 Benefits of Intermittent Fasting: Click Here!

What is Intermittent Fasting Exactly?

During Intermittent Fasting, eating and fasting periods alternate cyclically. This means that the deliberate restriction on calorie intake (up to 25% of your daily calorie intake) alternates between 16-24 hours with relatively normal intake for 8-24 hours, depending on the type of intermittent fasting.[1] Unlike other diets, almost everything can be eaten during periodic fasting, but only for a limited time.

The basic idea behind intermittent fasting is to reduce your calorie intake, which leads to weight and fat loss. This is just one way to get to your dream shape and eliminate the floaters. It belongs to a simpler form of food that is popular with many people. The benefit of intermittent fasting is that research has also proven its health effects.

Types of Intermittent Fasting:

Types of intermittent fasting differ from the length of time intervals during which you are not allowed to eat. The following lines describe the 6 types of intermittent fasting. Any of these can be effective, but it is completely individual to which type is good for you.

1. 16/8 – 16-Hour Fasting

This is the most natural way of fasting. 16/8 is a method of fasting for 16 hours each day and eating two, three or more meals for the remaining 8 hours. Also known as the Leangains protocol, this type was popularized by fitness expert Martin Berkhan. [2]

In practice, a 16/8 diet means you skip breakfast and your last meal is dinner. For example, you stop eating at 8 pm and next time you eat at midnight the next day. You won’t even notice that you endured a 16 hour fast, including 8 hours of sleep.

You can customize this system to your own needs. If you can’t imagine starting the day without a great breakfast, you can skip dinner.
The key is to keep a 14/10 or 16/8 ratio.

Of course, during fasting, you need to drink enough fluid to keep your body hydrated. However, you can only drink water, unsweetened coffee, and calorie-free drinks. During the meal, they could eat anything they had done before. You can achieve results faster if you include more vegetables, fruits and healthy foods in your diet. However, even intermittent fasting cannot work wonders if you fill yourself up in the 8 hours as if you were trying to make up for the 16-hour fast. The golden rule that you only bring in as much as you burned during the day is still valid.

2. The Warrior Diet

Another type of intermittent fasting is 20/4. You fast for 20 hours, while you can eat for 4 hours daily. The warrior’s diet aims to increase the effect of the sympathetic nervous system, which promotes the stimulation of lipolysis and accelerates metabolism. [3] However, during the 4-hour nutrition window, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which aids in faster glucose absorption and regeneration. [4] 

You can see a clear view of the 16/8 diet and the warrior diet on the timeline. [5]

3. 5: 2 – Fasting 2 Days a Week

5: 2 fasting consists of five days of normal meals and two days of eating 500-600 calories. In this case, women may consume 500 calories and men may consume 600 calories. The 5: 2 meal is also known as the “fast diet”, which was brought to the attention of the physician and journalist Michael Mosley.

In practice, a 5: 2 meal looks like this: all week long, you eat classical meals, reducing your calorie intake only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In this way, only two smaller doses were eaten – 250 calories for women and 300 for men. Critics see the disadvantage of this diet in that it has not been well researched, even though there have been many studies on intermittent fasting itself. [2] [5]

4. Eat-Stop-Eat – All day fasting once or twice a week

Eat-stop-eat involves a 24-hour fast at least once or twice a week. This type of intermittent fasting has become very popular in recent years thanks to Brad Pilon, a fitness expert.

According to the eat-stop-eat system, no food should be taken from the previous day’s dinner to the next day’s dinner. Of course, you can keep it from breakfast to breakfast or from lunch to lunch. The goal is to endure for 24 hours without food. Water, coffee, and other calorie-free beverages that suppress hunger are allowed. If you want to lose weight, you must eat as much as you do during the days when you are not fasting. But beware, during this time you are still on a healthy and balanced diet.

If you are planning on this diet, we recommend that you first try fasting of 14-16 hours to gradually prepare your body for hunger. If you are persuaded, your meals will be sorted as shown below. [2] [5]

5. Alternate-day Fasting – Fasting every other day

Alternate-day fasting is a way of eating when you fast every other day. There are several variations of this intermittent fasting, from all-day fasting to 500 calories a day.

For example, you eat normally for 12 hours and fast for the next 36 hours, or eat for 24 hours and fast for 24 hours. [5] Alternate-day, however, is an extreme type of fasting and is therefore not recommended in the long run. A sketch of a meal based on this old fashion is shown in the figure below. [2]

6. Random Meal Skipping – Casual Fasting

It is not always necessary to adhere to the strict rules of intermittent fasting. If you occasionally try 24-hour fasting, you may experience some of the health benefits of intermittent fasting.

It’s just a myth that you have to eat every few hours so that you don’t go into fasting mode and lose muscle. The human body is designed to last for several days without food. Therefore, it is worth trying this diet when you are not hungry, on the go or have no time to cook. What does this look like in practice? Refer to the illustration below for an illustrative meal schedule for occasional fasting. [5] [2]

Instagram: @sabrina.at.gym

Sources:

[1] Beginners Guide To Intermittent Fasting: Science And Supplementation
[2] Kris Gunnars – 6 popular ways to do intermittent fasting
[3] Zauner C, Schneeweiss B, Kranz A Madl C, Ratheiser K, Kramer L, Roth E, Schneider B, Lenz K – Resting energy expenditure in short-term starvation is increased as a result of an increase in serum norepinephrine.
[4] Chen JL, Yeh DP, Lee JP, Chen CY, Huang CY, Lee SD, CHen CC, Kuo TB, Kao CL, Kuo Ch – Parasympathetic nervous activity mirrors recovery status in weightlifting performance after training
[5] The lowdown on intermittent fasting