WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?

Intermittent fasting is a structured, timed eating plan that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. Though commonly used as a diet for weight loss, it isn’t typically described as a diet. Many people use intermittent fasting to burn fat, lose weight, and give their digestive system a cleanse and break.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Intermittent fasting methods require one to fast for a certain amount of time before having a brief window of time to eat again. What’s excellent about intermittent fasting is that there is no right or wrong way of doing it. There are various methods you can use to approach intermittent fasting.

Alternate Day Fasting:

Complete fasting for 1-2 days in a week and leaving the other days with no food or calorie restrictions on alternate days. This means that if you are fasting 2 or 3 days a week, your fasting days are split between your non-fasting days.

e.g. Mon, Wed and Friday are fasting days while every other day is a typical eating day.

Whole Day Fasting:

This is the same as alternate day fasting. However, your fasting days can be grouped as opposed to splitting them.

e.g. Your regular eating days can be Wednesday to Sunday meaning your fasting days will be Monday and Tuesday.

Time-Restricted Feeding:

This is an approach where you segment your fasting by hours as opposed to days. This means you have a meal plan during certain hours, and then fasting outside of those hours.

e.g. You may eat from 8am-2pm and then not eating again outside of those
hours until the next day

WHY INTERMITTENT FASTING?

Amongst all weight loss diets, intermittent fasting is one of the most popular. This type of fasting results in fewer meals consumed, this directly correlates with less calorie intake which results in weight loss. Not all people will have the same results, so it’s important to find an intermittent fasting approach that works for you.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Intermittent fasting is a great way to lose weight. However, as with all diets, they may not work on all people. When trying to lose weight, it’s always best to consult with your general health practitioner, or you may even approach a dietician. That way you can have a diet plan that works best for you while also being able to diet safely.

Intermittent fasting is not for all people. If you find it difficult to sustain long periods
of fasting, there are other forms of dieting that you can use and get you results. This type of diet is only one approach for those who can commit to long periods of fasting. It also requires you to understand your own bodies macronutrients and caloric needs.

Like all diets, intermittent fasting does not guarantee muscle retention. By losing fat,there is also a chance you will lose muscle. That’s why it’s still essential that whichever diet or training plan you follow, lifting weights is important to supplement a healthy diet and reach your physical activity goals.

To learn more about intermittent fasting, head over to the Okadoc app or visit okadoc to book an appointment with your nutritionist immediately.  Read about another type of diet here..