Intermittent fasting is currently all over YouTube and the internet. While it isn’t new, its sudden burst of popularity that has spurred millions of promising before and after photos of flatter tummies and leaner bodies has even gotten previous naysayers convinced. So, what exactly is it?
Intermittent fasting is a way of eating that involves regular short-term fasts. There are many ways to go about it, but the most popular ones are:
- The 16/8 method – Skip breakfast and eat during an 8-hour window during the day
- The 20/4 method – Only eat during a 4-hour window of everyday
- Eat-stop-eat – Commit to one or two 24-hour fasts weekly
- The 5:2 diet – Only consume 500-600 calories on two days of the week, but eat normally on other days
Here’s how intermittent fasting helps you lose weight:
- Trains the body to burn fat – The glucose levels drop without food, and as a result, the body turns to fat as a source of energy
- Improves metabolism – Research has proven that intermittent fasting enhances metabolism between 3 to 14%
- Maintains or increases muscle mass – When the body is in a fasted state, the level of insulin (hormone that triggers fat storage) will dip, whereas the human growth hormone levels (responsible for fat-burning and growing muscles) will increase
- Less binge-eating – Your window to eat is significantly lesser, and this means less chances to snack uneccessarily
- Helps you crave less sugar – Intermittent fasting stabilises the blood sugar levels
- Eating less calories – Though it isn’t about calorie restrictions, the chances of being calorie deficit is higher
While intermittent fasting may take a while to get your body used to, being patient and consistent really helps. Additionally, hunger often times comes from the mind and not the stomach. Hence, it’d be great to put some mental tricks, like distraction, to good use.
Admittedly, we aren’t health or nutrition experts and this information is just scratching the surface, but intermittent fasting has really gotten us intrigued and we’re going to be attempting it ourselves! Would you? 😉
Here are a few YouTube videos to help you get started:
