Weight loss is generally linked with cutting down the diet and increasing physical exercise. Most people think that starving yourself is somehow linked with dieting. Others feel fasting for months can help you reduce weight. There is no doubt that starving can help you lose weight but it is not good for your health. If you starve yourself, your body might go into shock. Our body has a mechanism of handling starvation in a way that it deposits surplus food in the form of fat in the adipose tissues. Eventually, when the body doesn’t consume too much food or needs some energy to perform daily functions, the body extracts energy from these fat cells. The basic aim of every human being is to reach the ultimate benchmark of ketosis where you eat exactly the amount of food that you can exert via physical movement or exercise.
In case you feel, fasting and starving will help you lose fat, you might be right. However, this is a short-lived method. You might drop a few pounds in one go but your body will trigger the survival mode, which means your body will think it might not ever find food again. Next time you start eating, your body will keep storing everything and it will also suppress the metabolism rate so that it takes longer to digest food and the body can easily store the excess food. Overall, by starving yourself you are triggering your body to store more and this can eventually result in being overweight. Now, most people think that if starving yourself is so dangerous, why do doctors recommend fasting? It is very important to keep in mind that fasting is different from starving. It has different types and you do not have to starve your body or get your body in survival mode.
With the help of this article, we will explore in detail some of the best ways of intermittent fasting. We will explore how intermittent fasting is different from starving and how you can choose the best way of fasting. Since there are multiple types, we will also help you to choose the most effective one that you can try.
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Most people are already familiar with the word fasting which means abstaining from eating. However, people usually confuse the idea of fasting and starving. There is no doubt that intermittent fasting has now become a trend. Models, celebrities, and social media influences are using intermittent fasting and they are endorsing it as well. According to some of the biggest supporters of intermittent fasting, it helps with weight loss, it also helps with improving metabolism rate and in some cases, it helps in increasing life span. Although most researchers claim that there is no way to see the impact on life yet, however, some still claim that t helps with cutting down the body fat which eventually reduces fat and improves the body heath.
There are so many different methods of intermittent fasting. Some help you abstain from food for just a few hours of the day, others limit you to eating just a few days of the week. It all comes down to the type that suits you best. There are a few people who add detox liquid diet in fasting as well, however, there are a very few who add detox as a fasting method whereas others still consider it as a simple detox method and nothing else. Although every method has its significance yet it is very important to choose the one that suits you the best. You need to figure out a fasting pattern that complements your diet. Before you get down to the types, you need to know that without professional advice you cannot try any of these fasting methods.
Types of Intermittent Fasting
According to most researchers, there are six main types of Intermittent Fasting. However, some argue that there are more than six. However, within this article, we will mainly highlight and talk about the six main types.
The 5:2 Diet
This diet helps you divide your week into two parts. The first parts consist of two days where you have to eat a very restricted low calories diet. However, the other five days you can eat whatever you want to eat. This method is especially effective for people who work five days a week and have a weekend at home. You do not have to leave to eat altogether, instead, you just have to bring down the calories. In most cases, people eat 2500 to 3000 calories per day depending on their height or overall eating pattern. However for two days i.e. Saturday and Sunday you need to stick to 500 calories only. Most people drink coffee, juices, or just have a few bits of salad and so far it has paid well for them. However, it is up to you to select two days. You can cut your food protein for the first two days and enjoy pizza and fried food on Saturday Sunday as well.
The 16/8 Method
One of the most common and yet most effective kinds of Intermittent Fasting is known as the 16/8 method. With this, you have to divide your 24 hours into 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating. The main inspiration behind this method is the work and home life balance. You spend 8 hours at work and this is the time when you normally eat a lot. So you can just fit in all the eating within that time. However, once you are home, you cannot eat anything for the next 16 hours. Most people already use this method and they feel it is effective. However, others feel that while working they get distracted when they eat too much. Apart from this, some people claim that they get lethargic when they eat at work. In short, it is up to you to select an 8 hours window so you can enjoy anything you want to eat. You can add three meals, two meals, or just rely on one big meal, it all comes down to the way you formulate the eating pattern. This method is also known as the Leangains protocol. You can skip your breakfast and then have a late brunch. Then do not eat anything after dinner and you will be good to go.
Warrior Diet
Introduced by Ori Hofmekler, the warrior diet is pretty popular because it reminds you of the older times when man used to survive on fresh fruits and vegetables only. You need to find a four hours window where you can eat and for the rest of the 20 hours you need to fast. One thing is very important to keep in mind, eating fruits and vegetables only can get boring and this might even cause protein deficiency so you can try it for a month or just for a few weeks. After that, you need to return to your normal diet. In case you do not return to the normal eating pattern you might see the impact on your health especially your liver, pancreas, and kidneys.
Eat Fast Eat
This method was introduced by Brad Pilon. According to this method you need to give your body a 24 hours break. This doesn’t mean you cannot drink anything, which means you can stay hydrated but you cannot continue solid food. The exact frequency is too fast for two days or three days depending on your requirement. You can also fast for just one day. To ensure that you are taking a 24 hours break, you need to have your last meal of the day which will be dinner, and then you need to stop eating for the next day till dinner. This method is quite popular because you can try it on weekends. Most people feel that since they are at work, they cannot try it because they feel drained. You can start in just one day and then slowly, move to two days or three days depending on your body requirement.
Alternate-Day Fasting
So far this is the most effective and easy form of fasting. You can easily fast for one day and then the next day you can eat normally. The effect of alternate day fasting is much more because you are actually fasting for a full 24 hours and you are only eating for three days a week. One thing that is very important to keep in mind is that this is very harsh fasting so you might feel lethargic. However, you need to keep in mind that you can drink fresh juices or just take a 250 calories meal if you want. This is optional however, it is better to stay hydrated.
Meal Skipping
This kind of fasting is very spontaneous. Most people fast by skipping meals without knowing. In most cases, people have a set routine however they eat. However, psychologists explain that in most cases, our bodies are classically conditioned so they feel the urge to eat at a certain time. Most of us do not even know how to feel hungry. When we feel that it’s too late and we haven’t had a decent meal in a long time you start salivating. If we learn to detect hunger and only eat when we feel like eating or feel hungry, this will be very helpful for us. Most people do not feel the need to eat every day. We do not even need to eat three times a day. In most cases just two meals are enough, in other cases, you can keep a bowl of food by your side and just munch on it without refilling. You will see that by the end of the day you will feel full and you might not even have to finish the whole bowl. This is a very common practice in French women where they eat chewing gum and mint to suppress their desire to eat.
Bottom Line
To sum it all up, you cannot play with your health. Starving is completely different from fasting because with fasting you are setting a specific interval that you can try with your body. However, if you have some food-related abnormality or you have an eating disorder, fasting is not recommended by doctors at all. Most people feel that they need to lose weight because they are overweight so they rely on fasting. However, without estimating your own BMI or without taking professional help, you might end up ruining your overall health as well. The best practice is to set a diet plan that will help you eat a specific number of calories per day or week so that your body can function properly. With starvation, people end up malnourished. They cannot even think about eating later because their stomach doesn’t digest properly. To stay healthy, it is better to eat more but eat a low calorie diet. This way you will stay full but your body will still consume fewer calories. Salads, green leaves, fruits, vegetables, and juices are very good for overall body health.
