Effective Ways to Intermittent Fasting for a Better Lifestyle and Better Metabolism

With the craze surrounding new fad diets, the name intermittent fasting is still one of the most popular health trends. The hype is real, as many people still swear by this eating pattern, claiming it plays an important role in weight loss and appetite control.

How do you define intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern in which you abstain from consuming calories for an extended period of time. In normal cases, this period can last from 12 to 40 hours.

You can only drink water, coffee and other calorie-free drinks. However, any form of solid food or drink that contains calories is allowed.

For example, if you have dinner at 8pm on Tuesday and continue your fast until 8pm on Wednesday, you will end up completing a 24-hour fast.
Either one can fast from breakfast to breakfast or from lunch to lunch. The ideal time frame varies from person to person based on body type and metabolism.

For any beginner, a full 24-hour fast every alternate day can seem daunting and difficult to maintain. Therefore, it is usually not recommended for beginners. Therefore, people do not need to take the plunge right away and most people start intermittent fasting with shorter durations.

In fact, it might be a good idea to keep yours body type in mind before embarking on intermittent fasting.

5 popular eating patterns to incorporate intermittent fasting into your diet

There are many ways to indulge in this type of fasting for best results. If one way doesn’t seem to suit your body, you can always switch to another.

1. Time-limited eating

This includes daily fasting of 12 hours or more and eating food during the existing hours. The 16/8 method is the best example of this. In this method, a person fasts for 16 hours straight and keeps an 8-hour window in which they can include 2, 3 or more meals.

2. Diet 5:2

This is easier compared to eating normally 5 days a week and restricting your calorie intake to 500-600 the other 2 days.

3. Eat, stop eating

With this type, you can indulge in a 24-hour fast once or twice a week.

4. Alternative daily fasting

This method, as the name suggests, involves fasting every other day.

5. Warrior Diet

The Warrior Diet was the first popular diet that became popular in other forms of intermittent fasting. In this method, you can eat minimal portions of raw fruits and vegetables during the day, and eat a heavier meal at night.

Benefits of intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting increases many health benefits, some of which include:

* Helps in weight loss while improving metabolic health

By restricting calorie intake during intermittent fasting, the weight loss process is accelerated by regulating appetite and giving a feeling of fullness. It has been shown to provide other health benefits such as:

Lowering blood pressure
Blood sugar regulation
Restores damaged cells
Better brain health

Read also: These celebrities achieved their weight loss goals through intermittent fasting

* It can prove to be a long-term lifestyle change

Intermittent fasting can seem intimidating at first, but it’s less complicated than it seems. This method simplifies your day because unlike other diet plans, you don’t have to plan a lot of meals.

Plus, you don’t have to meticulously check your macros or calorie intake, eat or eliminate certain foods that you otherwise consume.

* Shows effective results with a nutritious diet of whole foods

Since intermittent fasting is more about when you eat than what you eat, it is usually done without interruption. You don’t need to splurge on special foods or deviate from your usual normal diet.