Intermittent fasting requires having defined periods for eating and fasting. In simpler terms, there would be an eating window as opposed to a fasting window. By and large, the fasting window is longer than the average duration between regular meals in a day – Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The length and other requirements would be determined by the purpose of the fast, as well as the type considering that there are several types of intermittent fasts.
This IST Health nutrition article will point out some types of intermittent fasting and a few other things. You are guaranteed to find out some interesting information about intermittent fasting here. This is provided you keep reading this IST Health nutrition study.
Summary
Types of Intermittent Fasting
The list below cannot include all the types as there are too many of them. However, some options are very common as they are used because of how they help in achieving certain fitness and/or general health goals. A few of these common intermittent fasting types include:
5:2 Diet Plan
A lot of intermittent fasting options focus on the time people can eat and when they should fast. The 5:2 diet is different in this regard. This is because people are not ultimately restricted from eating. Rather, they just have to be mindful of the number of calories they consume during their fasting period. So, the 5:2 method does prioritize food choice over food restriction.
The idea is to eat normally for 5 days a week. Conversely, they would have to maintain a 500 – 600 calorie benchmark for two days.
Warrior Diet Plan
The warrior diet option is a bit similar to the 5:2 method explained above. This is in the sense that there is no ultimate restriction of food during the fasting window. The idea is to have the person eat low-calorie foods in the early hours of the day and switch to a dense-calorie diet in the evening.
Usually, the recommendation is a small portion of fruits or veggies for breakfast. The person then skips lunch and eats a meal with moderate to large amounts of calories in the evening, or the latter period of the day.
Time-Restricted Eating
This is one of the time-minded plans. It requires fasting for an extended period each day. The fasting benchmark is 12 hours and it could even be more than that. For example, it is quite common for those who use this plan to fast for as long as 16 hours and have their eating window for 8 hours.
During the eating window, the person is not restricted to eating just once. It could be as much as twice or even thrice.
Eat-Stop-Fast
It requires that the person fasts for a whole day. This is at least once a week. It could be as much as 2 or even 3 days.
Alternate –Day Fasting
It requires that you fast for a whole day and have your eating window the next day. You are to do this intermittently throughout the week. On fasting days, you may decide to eat but it has to be beverages, drinks, or solid meals; with a very minute amount of calories in them. Bearing this in mind, you may want to find out how many calories break a fast during alternate-day intermittent fasting.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting can contribute to healthy living. This is provided it is right for you. If it is, here are some of the benefits of intermittent fasting as deduced from studies conducted on some men and women:
Body Weight Loss
This is one of the most profound benefits of intermittent fasting. Many people with weight loss goals have noticed positive effects after engaging in intermittent fasting. This is not surprising as the practice does help people lose (especially) visceral fat. Effects such as reduced insulin and increased HGH levels are partly responsible for this.
Reduces Insulin Resistance
Unchecked insulin resistance can cause the level of blood sugar to go up. This increases the risk of developing health complications like type 2 diabetes. Intermittent fasting can put insulin resistance in check; reducing the chance of developing such health complications.
Cell Regeneration
Intermittent fasting can drive the body to start cell repair and regeneration. This contributes immensely to healthy living in several ways.
Reduces Body Inflammation
Unchecked body inflammation is a threat to healthy living. Some diseases such as Asthma, Stroke, multiple sclerosis, and several others are hard to maintain when the body’s inflammation cannot be contained. Intermittent fasting can help in this regard.
Energy Boost
There are few but inconclusive studies that explain the connection between intermittent fasting and increased energy levels. However, we must add that this is still being researched even though some people have reported this to be true.
It is without a reasonable doubt that intermittent fasting offers so many health and fitness benefits. However, it is best that you don’t indulge in it without your doctor’s consent. This is because there are cons you need to ensure you are not susceptible to.
Other posts on this website can be read to keep you well-informed. For example, you can read this nutrition-related article that discusses safety concerns about energy drinks for women while pregnant.