How Does Intermittent Fasting Help With Weight Loss?
Intermittent fasting is one of the best ways to speed up your weight loss. There are several reasons for this which we’ll examine further down. What’s important to note is that intermittent fasting is not like a diet.
This is a method that can be adopted as a lifestyle choice and you’ll stay lean much easier and will not regain the lost weight like so many people do.
Intermittent fasting operates on a simple principle – there is an eating window and a fasting window. The duration of the windows may vary depending on the different types of intermittent fasting out there.
The fundamentals remain the same though. You’re only allowed to eat during the eating window and once the time is up, you’ll not consume any food until the following day when your window reopens.
The most common style of intermittent fasting that thousands of people have adopted has an 8-hour eating window, followed a 16-hour fasting window. During the fasting period, you’re allowed to drink water.
Ideally, when your eating window opens, you should consume most of your calories and carbs at the start of the window, preferably after a workout session. This will boost your metabolic rate and your body will have time to burn off the glucose in your body.
The biggest benefit of intermittent fasting is that it keeps your blood sugar levels stable. This greatly aids in weight loss. Your body is unable to burn fat if it keeps experiencing spikes in the blood sugar levels.
Most people eat throughout the day, and every time they eat something, the body releases insulin. The blood sugar level goes up and the body burns glucose for fuel instead of fat.
When you’re in a fasted state, your body has no choice but to burn the fat stores for fuel. That’s what makes intermittent fasting so potent. It accelerates your weight loss. Of course, you’ll also need to ensure that you’re at a caloric deficit of about 500 to 600 calories.
If you diet is on point, your body will torch the fat faster than you ever thought possible. Thousands of people swear by intermittent fasting and it has been proven to aid in weight loss.
When you’re first starting off with this method, you may wish to have a 10-hour eating window and gradually, reduce the window as your appetite decreases. It can seem torturous to many people when they’re first starting off with intermittent fasting.
By easing into it gradually, you’ll get a feel for it and it will take about 2 to 3 weeks before your body adapts, and you no longer feel hungry during the fasting window.
It goes without saying that even with a fasting plan, you should strive to eat clean and eliminate as much of the poor food choices as you can and replace them with healthier options.
The beauty of intermittent fasting is that it reconnects you to the feeling of hunger. Most people nowadays, treat food as therapy instead of fuel. They eat even if they’re not hungry. That’s exactly why obesity is an epidemic.
Intermittent fasting will bring this unhealthy attitude to an abrupt halt, and you’ll discover what hunger feels like and eat to live instead of live to eat. Once this goal is achieved, your fat will melt off and you’ll reach the body of your dreams.
Author – Rich Benvin
As a professional tennis coach I know the importance of physical fitness, mental toughness, nutrition, healthy living and weight loss. Learn how to have more energy, lose undesired body fat, enjoy a winning sports diet — and feel confident about your food choices.
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