Most of us have probably heard of a few bro-science influenced fad diets circulating the internet without even trying. Many of these dieting plans are simple rehashes of the previous diet before them. Diets such as the keto diet have more reliability came from aspects of the Adkins diet. These diets, like the keto-friendly diet, have been combined with intermittent fasting to create an even better dieting plan. You don’t need to be a registered dietitian to figure the basics out, and I’m here to help. I’m also here to help understand the benefits of intermittent fasting.
Bro, feel the science, bro … bro. (No)
I have been following this fasting “diet” for the last several months, and I would like to share several key benefits I’ve personally gained from the process. Intermittent fasting does not follow the fad-laden crux where many of these other so-called diets fall. This is mostly because it is not technically considered a diet. There are several different methods of intermittent fasting listed below.
Types of Intermittent Fasting
Alternate-day fasting involves alternating between a 24 hours “fast day” when the person eats less than 25% of usual energy needs, followed by a 24 hour non-fasting “feast day” period. It is the strictest form of intermittent fasting because there are more days of fasting per week. There are two sub-types:
Complete alternate-day fasting (or total intermittent energy restriction), where no calories are consumed on fast days.
Wow, there are a lot of ways to fast, aren’t there?
Modified alternate-day fasting (or partial intermittent energy restriction) which allows the consumption of up to 25% of daily calorie needs on fasting days instead of complete fasting. This is akin to alternating days with normal eating and days with a very low calorie diet.
Periodic fasting or whole-day fasting involves any period of consecutive fasting of more than 24 hours, such as the 5:2 diet where there are 1 or 2 fast days per week, to the more extreme version with several days or weeks of fasting. During the fasting days, it may be allowed approximately 500 to 600 calories or about 25% of regular daily caloric intake instead of complete fasting.
Damn, we’re still going, aren’t we?
Time-restricted feeding involves eating only during a certain number of hours each day. Skipping a meal and the 16:8 diet (16 fasting hours cycled by 8 non-fasting hours) are examples. This schedule is thought to leverage the circadian rhythm.
I’ve listed below 5 different ways that intermittent fasting can greatly benefit you.
Okay, finally! We get to see a hot girl!
Benefits of intermittent fasting…
It Helps You Lose Fat Via A Caloric Deficit
When someone things of dieting, they’re probably of weight loss. Some people may be interested in an overall healthy lifestyle, but most are edging their way in to lose weight first. Most people know that eating less allows you to lose weight, but intermittent fasting accelerates the process even more by allowing you to burn into your fat stores stronger and faster. For example, a 16/8 fast is a fast where you don’t eat for 16 hours. The other 8 hours is your eating window, preferably with two meals and without any meantime snacking.
As long you don’t swallow, trust me, you won’t gain a pound.
It’s not to say it won’t help, but if you decide to over-indulge, weight loss can be stifled. The idea is to reduce your eating window so as to avoid over eating and engage in fat loss faster. If you want the benefits the way they should be, you must eat a healthy diet alongside your fasting program. Many dietitians agree that combining the ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting is the best of both worlds. Combining these two will blast the benefits into overdrive and give you ideal results. Not only will you be losing fat fast, you’ll be in ketosis, burning ketones as your primary fuel.
I told my friends not to pass the ketchup because I was fasting and knew I couldn’t win anyway. Apparently, they needed English lessons.
Intermittent fasting is a form of dietary discipline, and it works, as long as you put the minimal amount of effort into it first. The longer and stronger 2MAD (Two Meals A Day) and OMAD (One Meal A Day) diets are for those willing to take it further. It won’t hurt, and in combination with a good diet, you’ll succeed. Before long, you’ll be fit, and ready to implement further prolonged fasting periods to your diet. Take it slow, but take it all the way!
Benefits of intermittent fasting…
It Helps Detoxify Through A Process Called Autophagy
When you’re on a fast, your body is going through a detoxifying phase where certain cells in your body clean damaged proteins and eat away and consume dead cells. It also allows your body to cleanse itself of harmful bacteria. Think of fasting as a form of probiotic that works as an antibiotic cleanser. When your body is going through autophagy, you’re cleaning and clearing out damaged cells to make room for new ones.
Well, at least you tried to pronounce the word. Just make sure you’re by yourself when you’re practicing.
“Auto” means self, and “phagy” means eat. The cells in your body are essentially eating themselves as you don’t eat. This helps to repair the immune system, and healing factors of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Although autophagy can be brought about by other means through diet and exercise, fasting is the best way to turn in on systematically. Autophagy is activated typically around the 18 hour mark during a fast, so get on it!
Increasing BDNF and Helping Clear The Mind are Significant Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Fasting does all sorts of great things, and another one of those things is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This is something that can happen to your body when put through the stress of not eating. This in turn allows the brain to create new nerves and synapses. Since your body is clearly being stressed into survival mode, it creates new brain cells to help deal with the lack of food and stress. In turn, you become more adept at survival as the body strengthens the immune system.
Wow, I took this as another 4 letter acronym. Sorry, let’s try again, honey. No, we don’t have to tie you to the bed again.
Fasting is also useful as a brain stimulant and anti-oxidant, which relieves oxidation stress from the brain. In this regard, you’re getting smarter as you fast, and the faster you become. This will in turn help clear brain fog, and thinking will become cleaner, clearer and quicker. Although you shouldn’t take it too far, an occasional fasting period longer than 24 hours boosts this result. You won’t regret it!
Increasing Growth Hormone/ Great Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Growth hormone is self-explanatory: it’s the hormone that allows you to grow. This hormone is released when your body goes through stress as a backup store to retain muscle. This especially happens during a fasting period. It is said to increase growth hormone production by 1200%. High intensity interval training (HIIT cardio) is also a good mechanism to get growth hormone produced.
Well, I’ve been looking in my pants all day, and I’ve seen absolutely no growth. That’s strange!
If you decide to fast, you may be at risk of losing muscle. This only occurs if you decide to fast for too long combined with poor nutrition. If you fast properly, and for not too long, you’ll be okay. And if you exercise and lift weights along side it, it’ll be even better. In turn, growth hormone is the hormone protecting and helping to improve the body maintain itself while you receive the other benefits of fasting.
Fighting Cancer and Increasing Stem Cell Production are Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
When your body is starved of all the harmful nutrients leaving it’s body, it goes into a sort of survival mode. This survival mode allows your body to starve the harmful byproducts in your body that may be cancer causing. It’s also been known to reduce and slow tumor growth and size in those involved. Stem cells are activated, and repair damaged tissue caused my cancer or any number of infections. It allows the immune system to strengthen through the body’s ability to deal with healthy stress.
When is the fight going to air on Pay-per-view? I think it’s something everyone should see!
The best way to initiate the cancer fighting qualities of fasting is by fasting for at least 24 hours. A fast that lasts longer than a day is typically called a prolonged fast. If you prolong fast, the benefits will begin to manifest. Although prolonged fasts are typically recommended only under specific circumstances, so ask your doctor. If you decide to, start slow, and give it a few weeks between each prolonged fasting period.
Cancer won’t stand a chance. I’ll give it a 1, 2 day knockout punch to the gut and increase that flora!
Supplements can also be useful to help force this process along as well. Intermittent fasting is a good jumping spot to reach this point. While daily intermittent fasting isn’t the end all be all, it certainly is a starting point, so get going!
As you can see, fasting is a good and fairly easy way to start getting healthy fast. Ha, see what I did there? It may start as a struggle, and it won’t be fun at first, but you’ll bask in victory once you get there. Indeed though, because in the long run, you won’t regret the benefits! Start slow, and build fast and strong. Good luck on your weight loss journey to a healthier lifestyle. No more the days you marinate in misery, because it’s your time to shine! Take your destiny, because you deserve it!
Come and enjoy, please!
How-To Guide: https://www.healthline.com
Hey, if you haven’t heard, fasting is not eating, and not eating allows you to lose weight and fat.Autophagy is a process that cleans old, dead cells and circulates them via consumption. In turn it helps heal the body and increase the immune system.BDNF is what fasting does when the brain goes into survival mode. In turn, your brain grows smarter as new synapses and neurons are formed.Growth hormone is a hormone that stimulates growth excreted from the pituitary gland. Your body, to compensate for a lack of nutrition, will begin to produce this hormone.Cancer sucks, but if you fast, cancer can become a thing of the past!- Finished!