If you’ve ever dabbled into the world of fasting, you may have heard of the term “intermittent fasting”. It is somewhat like fasting, where there will be a period of time that you don’t eat. However, the difference is where the word intermittent comes in.
That said, let’s delve deeper into intermittent fasting to understand what it is all about, how it works, and the benefits it has to offer:
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
In the simplest of terms, intermittent fasting is a way of eating that cycles through periods of fasting and eating.
Because it is a bit like fasting, it is often combined with crash dieting. Depending on which fasting method you choose, you will have a period of time (ranging from 16 to 20 hours or even more) where you won’t eat. During this time period, you won’t eat anything, specifically food items that have calories or anything that aren’t fasting-friendly. Generally, you’ll find yourself only drinking water.
The idea behind this is that you force your body to go into a ketogenic state so that it utilizes stored fat resources rather than glucose (from carbohydrates). This is supposed to help your body burn fat faster and lose weight in the process.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?
To better understand how intermittent fasting works, let’s have a look at the different kinds of fasting methods there are:
The most common intermittent fasting method is the 16/8 method, where you will fast for 16 hours of the day and eat only within an 8-hour window.
Let’s say you want to start at 12 p.m. You will only eat between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m., and you will fast the rest of the day. This means you will have a 16-hour fasting period and 8 hours of eating time.
During eating time, you will eat whatever you want, as long as it is within a certain calorie range and doesn’t contain much sugar.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting?
There are numerous health benefits of intermittent fasting, with the following just a few of them:
- Fat loss
- Reduce blood sugar levels
- Increase HDL cholesterol levels
- Reduce triglyceride levels
- Increase insulin sensitivity
- Boost immune system
However, the proponents of intermittent fasting are not limited to just this. There are some other myriads of health benefits that you can experience, such as:
- Assist people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- Prevent cancer
- Control appetite
- Lower cholesterol
- Lower blood pressure
- Boost immune system
- Reduce the risk of heart disease
- Increase lifespan
Now, you may be wondering if you will go into a state of starvation during fasting. The answer is “no”. As your body is burning fat, it will not require any additional food. It will take everything it needs from the stored fat in the body!
Conclusion
Intermittent fasting is definitely a method for weight loss where you can experience many benefits for your body. However, it is important to know that you need to do it correctly. Too much of a good thing can be bad. That said, you can pair intermittent fasting with other things like exercise. This is a great way to burn fat from your body while still building muscle and tone your body, given you’re meeting your daily calorie needs!
VI Corpus offers non-toxic research products that help you maximize your gains in the gym. If you are looking for the best body supplements in Brisbane, check out what we have to offer!