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Intermittent fasting and its benefits
Intermittent fasting, is it a diet or a lifestyle? In recent years, intermittent fasting has been gaining more and more ground.
There are already many people worldwide who have adopted this modality either as a diet to lose those extra pounds or simply because they decided to follow this type of diet as a lifestyle.
So when you wonder if intermittent fasting is a diet or a lifestyle? The answer is simply that this will depend on the point of view of each person and if they will follow this diet until they reach their goal, or adopt it as a lifestyle.
What is intermittent fasting?
Fasting is considered a natural process of our body, since fasting is not eating for a long period of time, and that is something that is done every day, when eating breakfast, lunch and dinner is limited.
The difference is that when talking about intermittent fasting, these hours between meals are longer, between 8, 12, 16, or more, it all depends on the physical condition of the person.
This means that if you take a 12-hour intermittent fast, you must spend exactly 12 hours without eating, you are only allowed to drink water, coffee or some type of tea, once these hours are over, you must break the fast by consuming food rich in fiber and protein.
Once the fast is broken, you can eat practically everything, respecting the portions.
The most ideal is that you opt for healthy foods, since if you opt for processed foods and take exaggerated amounts of food, fasting will not make any sense.
Benefits of intermittent fasting
Many studies have revealed that intermittent fasting provides the body with the following benefits:
· People who do intermittent fasting have a lower risk of lower coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes.
· Intermittent fasting helps regulate insulin levels in the blood.
· Improves blood pressure.
It is excellent for fat loss,
· Helps maintain a much healthier intestinal microbiota.
· Helps fight oxidative stress.
Dog, in addition to these benefits, I know that many are interested in clarifying if you can really lose weight with intermittent fasting? And the answer is a definite yes, as long as a caloric deficit-oriented diet is carried out, that is, you must reduce your calorie intake during the day. Hence, it is very important to take care of what you eat once you break the fast.
I mean, intermittent fasting is not a magic wand that will do its job without your help.
Before starting the fast, it must be clear that it is a free-choice eating model, which must be assumed responsibly and not by following a fad.
How to do intermittent fasting?
Today there are many types of intermittent fasting, and these vary depending on the calories, the days of fasting and of course the hours. As already mentioned, intermittent fasting is nothing more than abstaining from eating for a certain period of time.
But all people are different, so there can be only one type of fast. In this segment we are going to explain some of the types that exist so that you can identify which one suits your needs.
Fasting for 12 hours a day
It could be said that it is the simplest type of fast and with which anyone can start. It basically consists of stopping eating food for a period of 12 hours every day.
It is a relatively short fasting period, and best of all, most of the fast occurs while the person is sleeping. If you start fasting at 8 at night, it should be broken at 8 in the morning and you will have a period of 12 hours to eat healthy food.
Fasting for 16 hours a day
The same rules of the 12-hour fast are followed, only that in this type of fast you will only have an 8-hour window to eat healthily.
This type of fast is known as: the 16: 8 method or Leangains diet.
This means that if dinner was at 8 at night, breakfast is not taken the next morning, but the next meal will be at noon.
Fasting 2 days a week
With this type of fast, the level is raised, because people who decide to take the 5: 2 method will be able to eat reasonable amounts of naturally healthy foods for 5 days a week and during the next two days they reduce their caloric intake.
This fast is known as the fast diet, and restricting calories twice a week has been shown to help overweight people and lower blood insulin levels.
Alternate fasting
This type involves fasting every other day and means avoiding solid foods on the days of the fast. Alternate fasting has been proven effective for those who want to lose weight and take care of their heart health.
Fast 24 hours a week
It consists of stopping eating food for 24 hours, once a week. During the fasting day you can only consume calorie-free drinks and tea. This type of fast is known as Eat-Stop-Eat.
Skip meals
It is a fast that involves occasionally skipping some of the meals. That is, if you are not hungry at lunchtime, you skip and eat the meal corresponding to the next hour.
Finally, the so-called warrior diet
Fasting for experts, as it is defined as the most extreme fast. It involves stopping eating for 20 hours a day, with only a 4-hour feeding window.
During the feeding window, people should eat vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats.
This type of fasting is not highly recommended, since if it is not done in the correct way and the right foods are eaten, it can have severe negative effects.
