losing weight is not an easy task and it seems that the most challenging part about it is following a strict diet. People usually stick to the advice for a few days and after that, they “surrender” when hunger intensifies.
In addition, they must think about eating healthy and being involved in physical activity. But, some individuals have difficulties losing weight even in a situation where they have stated a fitness routine and started eating the right things.
There are a huge number of people who have trouble achieving a healthy weight even when the diet is appropriate and they exercise on a regular basis. That’s why they start trying some suspicious diet pills or other insecure weight loss methods. That’s certainly not a good thing and you should avoid it.
In some cases this practice may provide results, but in most cases you will regain you weight and experience some side effects. In case you find yourself in a situation like this, you should definitely try intermittent fasting.
What Exactly is Intermittent Fasting?
When people hear about intermittent fasting for the first time, they think that this is some complex procedure, but they are wrong. This special type of fasting is all about eating at certain period of the day. In most cases, people have eight hours to eat and 16 hours to avoid food. But, tea, water and coffee are allowed all the time as long as their total calorie count is not above 50 calories.
For some people, this may sound difficult, but we should not forget that people should sleep for eight hours at night which is half of the fasting period. In other words, stop eating four hours before bedtime and four hours after you wake up and you are good to go. Avoiding breakfast at least in the first few hours is very common practice among modern people who live fast-paced lives, but for some people staying away from food at night may be hard.
What’s The Science Behind Intermittent Fasting?
We know that a huge number of men and women are wondering what makes this weight loss method work. The fact is that there is nothing miraculous about this method and the results come as a logical consequence. What we know for sure is that it is difficult for people to drop those extra pounds because of their eating habits.
One of the main reasons why people can’t lose weight is the fact that they are eating all the time and they never miss a meal or a snack.
That’s why the bodies have adjusted themselves to rely on sugar when they need energy and they interrupt the work of the enzymes that use and eliminate stored fat. It turns out that fasting is a great way to optimize the metabolism and to make your body continue to eliminate fat and use it as a basic fuel.
When the resistance to insulin gets improved and you reach the wanted weight, you should feel free to consume food more regularly because your body will continue to burn fat. This is the basic element of proper weight management.
In other words, intermittent fasting makes the body start using fat as fuel instead of sugar.
Fasting and Physical Activity
Even though this may look like a bad decision to some people, the fact is that you can expect even better results if you are physically active when your stomach is empty. This is something that our ancestors practiced in the past.
Namely, in most cases they were hunting when they were hungry and the same goes for gathering. This is the reason why some people believe that exercise on an empty stomach is a good idea.
According to John Rowley, from the ISSA (International Sports Science Association), people who are exercising and have weight loss objectives might experience better results if they start exercising immediately after waking up on an empty stomach or if they are fasting for 3-4 hours before their night or mid-day exercise session.
If you have less sugar in the body, you will burn more fat. But, in case your objective is to improve your performance (like your agility or strength), exercise on an empty stomach is not the best option because you won’t have sufficient amount of energy.
But, when it comes to weight loss, exercising before your meal is the best idea.
A Few Unexpected Advantages of Practicing Intermittent Fasting
The Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease has recently revealed a review dedicated to some other health benefits of following an intermittent fasting regimen. Some of these advantages are:
Lowering cholesterol
Lowering blood pressure
Prevention and reduction of type 2 diabetes
Lowering inflammation
Protection from cardiovascular diseases
Who Can Use Intermittent Fasting?
Just like in the case of any new health plan or diet, people should talk to their physician before they start following intermittent fasting. So, schedule a meeting with your nutritionist or your doctor and find out whether this practice will be good for you or not.