Intermittent Fasting: What You Need to Know
Fasting has been practiced since the dawn of time. Ancient hunter-gatherers couldn’t find anything to eat for days. As a result, humans evolved to be able to survive for extended periods without food.
In the modern era, people avoid food for hours on purpose. Scientifically, it is a good thing to give your gut a break therefore it is essential to know about intermittent fasting.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that alternates between fasting and eating periods. It does not specify which foods to eat, but rather when to eat them. In this regard, it is not a diet in the traditional sense, but rather an eating pattern.
How does intermittent fasting work?
There are several approaches to intermittent fasting, but they all revolve around establishing regular eating and fasting times. For example, you could try eating only eight hours a day and fasting the rest of the time. You could also choose to eat only one meal per day two days per week.
Intermittent fasting works by extending the time between when your body has burned through the calories from your last meal and begins to burn fat.
Body types
Physical characteristics:
Physical characteristics
In addition, people with a mesomorph body type will usually have an easier time putting on and keeping muscle. They have a faster metabolism and a lower body fat percentage. They can generally lose weight easily.
Physical characteristics
People with an endomorph body type can easily put on muscle mass, but have an overall slower metabolism, higher tendency for fat accumulation and more difficulty with weight loss.
Methods
There are several ways to do intermittent fasting.
1. 12 hours a day – The guidelines are straightforward. Every day, a person must choose and follow a 12-hour fasting window.
2. Fasting for two days a week – On two non-consecutive days of the week, you consume 500-600 calories but eat normally on the other five.
3. 24 hours – This involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week, such as not eating from dinner one day to dinner the next.
4. 16/8 – This method entails skipping either breakfast or dinner, and limiting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 1-9 p.m. You fast for 16 hours in between. Endomorph people must follow 16 hours of intermittent fasting because they can quickly add muscle growth.
5. 14/10 – Mesomorphs can easily benefit from following intermittent fasting for 12-14 hours. Ectomorphs may have difficulty gaining weight and muscle no matter what they eat or do in the gym. They don’t gain weight easily so fasting for 12-14 hours is suitable for them as well.
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is more beneficial than other diets for reducing inflammation and improving inflammation-related conditions like:
● Alzheimer’s disease
● Arthritis\sAsthma
● Stroke
Some other health benefits of intermittent fasting are:
● Memory and thinking – Intermittent fasting improves verbal memory in adults.
● Physical ability – Fasting for 16 hours results in fat loss while maintaining muscle mass in young men.
● Obesity and diabetes – Intermittent fasting prevents obesity.
● Tissue well-being – Intermittent fasting reduces tissue damage and improves surgical outcomes.
Please note: This diet is not suitable for children, pregnant women, people suffering from eating disorders, and some diabetics.
Also Read: Emotional Hunger VS Physical Hunger: What’s the difference?