Intermittent fasting, also known as IF, is one of the most popular eating methods for health and fitness. People usually use it to lose weight, improve health condition and simplify their eating style. It is an ancient eating method because it has been practiced throughout human history. For beginners, the facts below will help you to apply an intermittent fasting method in a proper way.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Somebody has a big mistake that intermittent fasting is starving. Fasting is different from starvation in one essential way that is: control. While starvation is the time that food is absent for a long time, fasting is the voluntary withholding of food for health reasons.
So that Intermittent fasting is an eating method that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. As a result of this, it is rather an eating pattern than a diet. For those who want to apply an intermittent fasting method, you can choose the time to fast and time to end a fast depends on your daily working routine. And this method doesn’t focus much on which foods you eat but rather the time you should eat them.
How intermittent fasting method affect your body?
Before you want to start an eating method, make sure that you totally understand how it affects your body.
Intermittent fasting method simply allows your body to burn its stored energy. For example, for those who are extra weight, this method can burn off excess body fat effectively. So that if you don’t eat, your body will simply “eat” your own fat for energy to work every day.
The 16/8 method
There are many ways that you can apply the intermittent fasting method, by adjusting the time between fasting and eating. The 16/8 method means you will fast every day for 14-16 hours, then restrict your daily eating time to 8-10 hours.
For example, in case you finish your last meal at 8 pm then you don’t eat until 12 noon the next day. So that you technically fast for 16 hours.
Between the fasting time, you can freely drink water, coffee, and non-caloric drinks. Although you can eat in 8 hours, you shouldn’t eat junk food or excessive amounts of calories.
Woman are recommended to fast for 14 to 15 hours because it seems to burn better with slightly shorter fasts.
The 5:2 Diet
In this method, you will eat normally in 5 days in a week, and restrict calories to 500- 600 on 2 days left.
For example, you can eat normally on all days except Tuesday and Friday, where you eat two small meals about 250 calories per meal for women, and 300 for men.
Eat-stop-eat method
If you want to apply an intermittent fasting method in this way, you will fast for 24 hours, once or twice a week. For example, if you eat dinner on Sunday at 8 pm, then you don’t eat until dinner the next day at 8 pm, that you’ve just done an eat-stop-eat method. This method is maybe not proper to many people, especially ones who work hard.
To sum up, if you apply an intermittent fasting method, you can lose weight by burning stored fat. But remember do not eat too much during eating time. Many people find the 16/8 method is easy to follow and practice, to know which IF method is suitable for you, this article will be helpful to you.
