How exactly does the diet work?
With intermittent fasting you only eat during a specific period of the day. The most popular method is the 16:8 method in which you fast for 16 hours and eat during the other 8. This ultimately condenses your meals to a shorter span of time. With this you can eat regularly as you would if you weren’t fasting squeezing all your meals into an 8 hour span. This is the one most people go with and is the easiest to manage long term.
There is another variation of the diet which is called the 5:2 method. In this regimen you eat regularly 5 days in a week, with the other 2 days having one meal, limiting the daily intake to 500-600 calories.
Essentially the fast leads to your body burning through your sugar stores leading to burning fat, all within a few hours into the fast. During the fasting hours zero calorie beverages such as water or black coffee are fine to consume. Avoid eating junk food or other high calorie food, as this may be counterproductive to losing weight.
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting?
- Can help you lose weight, while retaining muscle
- May help heart health by regulating blood pressure and heart rate
- Can help with insulin resistance and may reduce the risk of diabetes
- May help with focus, memory and stress.
Wrapping it up
Intermittent fasting is a popular diet that comes with many health benefits. There are many approaches and variations. Results are individual and can vary.
Please consult your doctor or nutritionist to see if this diet is right for you.
Resources:
- John Hopkins Medicine. Intermittent Fasting: What is it, and how does it work? Accessed August 8th,2022.
2.Kris Gunnars, Katherine Marengo LDN;10 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting. Accessed. August 8th, 2022.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting#TOC_TITLE_HDR_5
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