If you’re wondering why your diet isn’t working like you thought it would, maybe you should look into your pattern of eating. Intermittent fasting, the oldest dietary regulation, is recently the world’s most popular health trend. People are seeing outstanding results in weight loss, health improvement, and simplifying their lifestyle. 

What Is It?

Intermittent fasting is a controlled schedule of consuming meals so you attain the maximum health benefits from your intake. It doesn’t control which foods you eat, but rather when you should eat them. Ultimately, an eating pattern. With various methods, common intermittent fasting cycles contain 16-hour fasts or 24-hour fasts, two times per week.  

Why?

Diets’ harsh change on your body can take a toll on your energy level. It can be draining when you force such a strict food restriction. A regulated eating pattern containing all of the nutrients your body loves is easier on your body. It’s a great method to get lean while maintaining your muscle mass, without cutting your calories and nutrients. Cutting your calories and carbohydrates is not the goal of intermittent fasting. In fact, you want to try to keep your calorie intake the same by eating bigger meals. The behavior change isn’t a huge change in lifestyle, as diets are. Simplicity helps reduce worrying about cooking or purchasing three meals a day, or eating six snacks a day. This can consume your thoughts and make your mind concentrate on food, which isn’t healthy. Intermittent fasting is something so simple, yet can create immense results.

Methods 

• The 16/8: Also known as the Leangains protocol, you skip breakfast then restrict your daily eating period to 8 hours. Then, you fast for 16 hours in between. This is the most popular method. 

• Eat-Stop-Eat: You fast for 24 hours once or twice a week. 

• The 5:2 diet: For two non-consecutive days of the week, you consumer 500-600 calories, then continue to eat normally the other five days.

How Does It Work?

When your body is digesting and absorbing food, it is in the fed state. This digestion state lasts for three to five hours after consumption. While in the fed state, it’s difficult for your body to burn fat due to high insulin levels. After, your body enters the post-absorptive state, which is when your body isn’t processing food. This lasts 8 to 12 hours after your last consumption, starting the fasted state. The fasted state is the time when it’s easier for your body to burn fat. Your Human Growth Hormone (HGH) levels raise while fasting, which has benefits of fat loss and muscle gain. Fasting forces your body to a fat burning state that you can’t achieve on a normal eating schedule. 

Going on an eating pattern is not something everyone needs to do. Overall, getting nutrients, exercising, and getting plentiful sleep should be your focus. Everyone’s body works differently, and you have to find out what works best for you. As intermittent fasting is a recent trend, research is still in its early stage. However, many studies have been conducted, and it’s looking very positive when followed safely. The benefits already seen in intermittent fasting include everything leading to a better, healthy lifestyle. If you haven’t found a successful method of attaining this, intermittent fasting may be the answer! 

Always consult with your physician before starting a new diet.