Intermittent Fasting Diet: Know Important Facts Before You Start
- Lifestyle Health
Alessia Braun- 0
- 9 minutes read
The intermittent fasting diet has been one of the famous health trends of the last decade. There are some people who swear by their eating patterns, finding that it helps to handle their appetite and weight and to support optimal health.
Nevertheless, intermittent fasting might not be correct for everyone, either for medical purposes because it does not match their image of a sustainable and nutritious diet.
This article will take a closer look at some of the most famous ways to do intermittent fasting as well as a few benefits and drawbacks. This article may help you to evaluate if this diet is something you wish to try for your happiness or health and will also see what an intermittent fasting diet plan includes.
What Is An Intermittent Fasting Diet?
An intermittent fasting diet is an eating pattern during which an individual refrains from taking any calories for an extended span of time. Usually, this period remains between 12 and 40 hours. Coffee, water, and other calorie free beverages are allowed at the time of fasting, but no solid food or drinks that contain calories are permitted.
For instance, if we talk about intermittent fasting rules, if you complete your dinner at 7 p.m. Monday and do not eat again until 7 p.m Tuesday, you have completed a fast of 24 hours. Some people select to fast from breakfast to breakfast or from lunch to lunch. But which time period works best depends on the user.
A complete 24-hour fast each day can seem extreme and may be hard for many people to maintain, so it is usually not suggested for beginners. However, you do not have to go all-in right away, and many intermittent fasting routines begin with shorter fasting spans.
Here are 5 of the most famous eating patterns or intermittent fasting schedules for adding this fasting routine to your diet:
- Time-restricted eating: This involves fasting each day for 12 hours or longer and eating in the rest hours. A famous instance is the intermittent fasting diet 16/8 method. It offers a daily 16-hour fast and an 8-hour eating window wherein you can fit in 2, 3, or even more meals.
- The 5:2 diet: The 5:2 diet includes eating as you generally do 5 days of the week and limiting your calorie intake to 500–600 on the residual 2 days. This can be the best intermittent fasting for weight loss.
- Eat Stop Eat: Eat Stop Eat includes a 24-hour fast once or twice every week.
- Alternate-day fasting: With the alternate-day fasting method, the aim is to fast each other day.
- The Warrior Diet: The Warrior Diet was among the first famous diets to involve a form of intermittent fasting diet. It includes eating small portions of vegetables and raw fruits during the day and eating one big meal at night.
Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting Diet
Researchers have already connected numerous health advantages with intermittent fasting and prevail to examine them. Along with that, for some people, intermittent fasting fits well into their structure of a sustainable and healthy long-term diet. If you are wondering if this fasting method could be ideal for you, here are a few intermittent fasting benefits that might poke your interest.
1. Might Help In Weight Loss And Enhance Metabolic Health
Two primary reasons why people go for intermittent fasting are to handle their weight and also their metabolic health. Metabolic health is a parameter of how well the body processes or it metabolizes, energy. It is often measured by blood pressure, blood fat levels, and blood sugar. Abstaining from food or fasting can formulate a calorie deficit, implying that your body has fewer calories than it requires to maintain its present weight. That is the reason diets that depend on calorie limitations, like intermittent fasting for weight loss may act as a hallmark.
2. Can Be A Sustainable Lifestyle Alteration
Intermittent fasting might sound complex and daunting, but it can be easy at times. In fact, you might even evaluate that fasting helps ease your day since you require to plan fewer meals.
What is more, it does not typically need calorie counting, keeping an eye on your macros, consuming certain foods that you might not be used to eating or discarding certain foods that you otherwise enjoy.
3. Functions Well With A Nutritious And Whole Foods Diet
Because intermittent fasting is aimed more at when rather than what you eat, it is generally convenient to implement in conjunction with your present diet. You won’t inevitably require to purchase any special foods or diverge much from what you typically consume.
If you are already content with the state of your present diet but looking for other ways to boost your overall health, fasting might be something you wish to explore.
Drawbacks Of Intermittent Fasting Diet
Intermittent fasting is one avenue in regulating your calorie intake and working toward enhancing your metabolic health. Even though the eating pattern can certainly be a portion of a healthy diet, it will likely seize some adjusting to in the beginning. Along with that, simply put, this fasting is not ideal for everyone. Here are a few disadvantages you could face when first trying an intermittent fasting diet.
1. Might Go Against Your Intuition
An intermittent fasting diet needs restraint, discipline, and planning ahead. For some people, using those strategies to keep your calorie intake within a constructed time frame is no issue, but for others, it might feel unnatural initially. This may be mainly true if you are used to depending on your intuition to plan when to eat. Along with that, if you prefer not to abide by a strict schedule, you might find intermittent fasting a bit frustrating.
2. You Will Likely Feel Hungry
Even an 8 or 12 hour fast might feel like quite a long time when you are not used to fasting. You may go to bed hungry several days each week. That may naturally feel unsustainable and unpleasant in the long term. Along with that, at times, it might be important to override your natural hunger and completeness cues in order to not break your fast earlier in comparison to planned. This does not imply that fasting is not a schedule you can get used to. Once you have adjusted to intermittent fasting, you might even notice that it makes you feel less hungry.
Conclusion
An intermittent fasting diet is a weight loss avenue that functions for some people, but not everyone. It is not suggested for individuals who once had or presently have an eating disorder. It may also be not ideal for children, individuals with underlying health scenarios, and people who are breastfeeding or pregnant.
If you plan to try intermittent fasting, know that just like with any eating pattern, the quality of diet is key. To receive the most from intermittent fasting, be sure to consume a variety of nutrient-dense whole foods at the time of your eating window and limit ultra-processed foods. Along with that, before embarking on an intermittent fast, be sure to see a trained healthcare professional to assure that it is safe for you to do so.
