Intermittent fasting is recognized as a popular weight loss diet due to its less strict food options. It can also help and vastly improve people’s health from obesity complications. This works as part of an eating schedule that involves not eating for most of the day while only consuming water, tea, or coffee during the fasting period. The main meal would generally be consumed after a certain amount of hours, depending on your fasting diet.
Some fasting plans can either involve eating after certain hours of the day or eating on certain days of the week. Below we will cover some of the most popular intermittent fasting methods.
Fasting Diet Plans
- 12-hour fasting: A straightforward plan, the person has to choose 12 hours to abstain from any food. This can be avoiding meals in the morning or evenings, depending on your preference.
- 16:8 method: This plan involves leaving an 8-hour eating window while fasting for the remaining 16 hours.
- 5:2 method: A bit more intense, this diet involves three days of regular food intake while two days will require a more extended fasting period and a quarter of your everyday calorie intake. For example, if you usually have 2,000 calories daily, you need to consume only 500 calories for each of those two days.
- Eat-Stop-Eat: This method involves choosing two non-consecutive days out of the week and avoiding any food consumption for 24 hours a day. You can eat freely for the remaining days in the week but avoid overconsumption.
- The Warrior Diet: Considered a bit more extreme, this diet involves a 20-hour fasting window that is eventually be met with a large meal at night. The eating window usually is around 4 hours, and its essential to consume plenty of vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats. Some carbohydrates are also recommended.
The Fasting Effects on the Body
- Insulin levels – The dropped blood insulin levels cause an increase in fat burning.
- Human growth hormone levels (HGH) – The blood levels of HGH can rise dramatically, and the higher levels can cause more fat burning, muscle growth, and other benefits.
- Cellular Repair – The body’s cellular repair process becomes more efficient in removing waste material from cells.
- Gene expression – Our molecules and genes responsible for longevity and disease prevention become more sable.
Conclusion
Intermittent fasting is a great tool that can be used in many ways. The beauty of it is that you can customize it to fit your schedule or meal time preference. Whether you like to skip breakfast or have late-night meals, you can find any method that can help you reach a healthier state. This is also a great diet to practice after fully recovering from bariatric surgery. It can help control calorie intake and make weight management much easier in the long run.