Intermittent fasting is one of the most popular diets today. Intermittent fasting allows you to lose weight, improve your health or choose a healthy diet adapted to your lifestyle.
But when you have never practiced intermittent fasting, it is difficult to know how to implement this eating method and what is the ideal duration of intermittent fasting.
What are the different durations of intermittent fasting?
There are several methods of intermittent fasting with varying periods of fasting time:
- 12-hour intermittent fasting to fast for 12 hours each day including your overnight fast. Simply fast for a short period before going to bed and after waking up. For example, if you finish dinner at 7 p.m., that's when your fast begins. If you were to continue snacking after dinner, it would shorten your fasting time.
- 14/10 intermittent fasting is another beginner-friendly method. You must fast for 14 hours and eat within ten hours.
- You can limit your food intake within a period of six to eight hours each day. The 16/8 fast: eat for eight hours and fast for 16 hours. Skip the morning meal for example.
- There is also the 5:2 approach which involves eating regularly five days a week. The remaining two days you limit yourself to a meal of 500 to 600 calories.
- Finally, Eat-Stop-Eat involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, this intermittent fasting is more difficult to implement and your metabolism may take time to adapt to this type of intermittent fasting.
A longer period without eating, such as 36, 48, and 72 hour fasting periods, will not necessarily be better and may be dangerous to your health. Spending too much time fasting could encourage your body to store more fat in response to starvation and therefore won't help you lose weight.
What is the ideal duration for intermittent fasting?
There is no right length or method for intermittent fasting. This is specific to each person and the program must be adapted to their needs and habits. The duration of intermittent fasting also depends on your objectives: lose weight, adapt your schedule, improve your health, etc. For many, the 16/8 method (fasting for 16 hours a day) is the most practical, simple, durable and easy to maintain in the long term. Indeed, 16/8 intermittent fasting (16-hour fast) is practical in order to reduce the number of meals to prepare.
For people who wish to adopt intermittent fasting consisting of only two meals per day, 16-hour fasting (16/8 intermittent fasting: lunch meals and dinner or breakfast meals and lunch ) is most suitable. This 16-hour fast can be done without time limitation and can be maintained over the long term. This type of intermittent fasting helps regulate insulin, which helps break down fat.
For fasts with a longer period of time, such as one day per week without eating, this can cause stress to the body and be bad for your health. You have to see over time whether your metabolism adapts or not.
Tips for Maintaining Intermittent Fasting
It can be difficult to stick to an intermittent fasting schedule. So here are tips for maintaining your intermittent fasting.
- Drink 2 liters of water per day. Drink plenty of water and calorie-free drinks, such as tea, throughout the day. Additionally, drinking fills your stomach and therefore reduces your desire to eat.
- Avoid obsessing about food. Provide distractions on fasting days to avoid thinking about food.
- Rest and relaxation. Practice your sports sessions outside of fasting periods, favoring light exercises such as yoga during fasting days.
- Make every calorie count. If your chosen method allows for some calories during fasting periods, select nutrient-dense foods that are high in protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Examples include beans, lentils, eggs, fish, nuts and avocado.
- Eating high volume foods. Choose nourishing but low-calorie foods, including popcorn, raw vegetables, and fruits with a high water content, such as grapes and melon.
- Increase the taste. Season meals generously with garlic, herbs, spices or vinegar. These foods are extremely low in calories, full of flavor, which can help reduce feelings of hunger.
- Opt for a healthy diet and nutrient-rich nutrition after the fast ends. Eating foods rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients helps keep blood sugar levels stable and prevent deficiencies. A balanced diet also helps you lose weight and improve overall health.
- To please yourself. Choose dishes that you enjoy cooking.
- Avoid foods containing too much sugar. Sugar can be addictive and cause people to eat more.
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting provides many benefits and has several benefits for your health.
Weightloss
Intermittent fasting can help you lose weight by lowering insulin levels.
This is because the body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, which cells use for energy or convert to fat and store for later use. Insulin is a hormone that allows cells to absorb glucose.
Insulin levels drop when a person does not consume food. During a period of fasting, it is possible that decreased insulin levels cause cells to release their glucose stores as energy.
Repeating this process regularly, as with intermittent fasting, can lead to weight loss. Intermittent fasting can decrease the overall amount of calories consumed, which may also contribute to weight loss.
Coupled with sports sessions outside of your day or fasting period can significantly increase energy expenditure and therefore promote weight loss.
Reduced risks of type 2 diabetes
Intermittent fasting may also have benefits for diabetes prevention, as it may promote weight loss and potentially influence other factors linked to increased diabetes risk. Being overweight or obese is one of the main risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes.
The risks of developing other diseases (cancer, cardiovascular disease) could be reduced thanks to intermittent fasting. But nothing has yet been scientifically proven in humans at the moment.
Eliminate toxins
Toxins and waste products produced by the human body during digestion are the cause of poor health and many diseases. These toxins mainly come from a poor diet. The body must eliminate these toxins. Overeating prevents the body from self-healing and our body does not always receive enough water to eliminate all toxins. Various diseases can appear. Thanks to intermittent fasting, the body deprives itself of food for a time, it activates its self-healing abilities. The body thus begins its cleansing process, thus promoting better health.
In summary.
There are many types of intermittent fasting, each of which has its own advantages and benefits for your health and your body. Some periods of intermittent fasting will be easier to maintain over the long term than others. Any method is good, so to make sure intermittent fasting is right for you, start gradually until you find the length of intermittent fasting that suits you. Make sure you listen to your body. If you feel dizzy or weak or feel like the intermittent fasting diet is interfering with your daily activities, stop the fast. It could harm your health if you don't fuel your body enough. It is important to seek the advice of your doctor before starting any diet. Finally, favor a healthy diet in order to best optimize the desired results.
