There are plenty of different ways of fasting. Intermittent fasting is an increasingly common eating pattern that for some period of time includes not eating or drastically reducing the food intake.
A variety of possible health benefits, including short-term increases in human growth hormone (HGH) and improvements in gene expression, have been related to this fasting process. These effects are associated with survival and a lower risk of illness. Thus, individuals who fast on a daily basis also expect to lose weight or live a longer, healthier life. However, if not done correctly, fasting can be dangerous.
There are different approaches to this eating pattern. Every method can be effective, but it depends on the person to find out which one works best.
Here are 5 ways to follow an intermittent diet:
- The 12:12 Schedule: The guidelines are easy for this diet. Each day, a person needs to determine and adhere to a 12-hour fasting window. Fasting for 10–16 hours, according to some studies, will cause the body to convert its fat reserves into energy, which releases ketones into the bloodstream. This will promote the loss of weight. A good choice for beginners could be this form of intermittent fasting schedule. This is because the fasting window is relatively short, much of the fasting takes place during sleep, and each day the person can eat the same amount of calories. The best way to do the 12-hour fast is to include in the fasting window the time of sleep.
- The 16:8 schedule: Fasting for 16 hours a day is called the 16:8 strategy or the Leangains diet, leaving an eating window of 8 hours. Men fast for 16 hours per day during the 16:8 diet, and women fast for 14 hours. For someone who has already tried the 12-hour fast, but has not seen any advantages, this form of intermittent fast might be beneficial. Usually, on this fast, people end their evening meal by 8 p.m. and then miss breakfast the next day, and do not eat until noon again.
- Alternative day fasting: The alternate day fasting plan, which includes fasting every other day, has many variants. Alternate day fasting means a complete avoidance of solid foods on fasting days for some individuals, while other individuals allow up to 500 calories. People also prefer to consume as much as they want on feeding days. One study reports that alternative day fasting is successful in both lean and overweight adults for weight loss and heart health. Alternate day fasting is a fairly intense form of intermittent fasting, which may not be appropriate for beginners or those with certain medical conditions.
- Meal Skipping: For beginners, this versatile approach to intermittent fasting can be fine. It means missing meals sometimes. Depending on their level of hunger or time constraints, people will determine which meals to miss. It is necessary, however, to eat healthy foods for each meal. Meal skipping is likely to be most effective when people track and respond to hunger signals from their body. Essentially, when they are hungry, individuals using this form of intermittent fasting will eat and miss meals when they are not. For certain individuals, this may sound more normal than the other methods of fasting.
- The 2-day diet: People on this diet eat standard quantities of nutritious food for 5 days and minimize calorie consumption for 2 days. Men usually eat 600 calories and women 500 calories during the 2 fasting days. Usually, people break their fasting days throughout the week. They can fast on Monday and Thursday, for instance, and eat normally on the other days. However, in between fasting days, there should be at least 1 non-fasting day.
Kritika is a freelance content writer with Femsay.com