Intermittent fasting advantages and the right method for you
Intermittent fasting or part-time fasting is not only the ideal introduction to ketosis, but it also has several advantages for your performance and performance. You can find out about the effects of skipping a meal every now and then and which method you can use to start intermittent fasting.
WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?
There are countless trends related to diet, nutrition, and fitness, ranging from no-fat to all-fat, to raw food and gluten-free. They should all help them lose weight as quickly or as healthy as possible. The latest trend on the subject of nutrition is not concerned with the “what”, but with the “how”.
With intermittent fasting (Latin: intermittent = interrupt/suspend) the answer is not in what you eat, but in what rhythm you eat. The trend towards the right timing for eating means keeping long periods of abstinence, in which you do not eat anything or skip meals. Fasting takes on average between 14 and 36 hours. The most original form that every human being takes by nature is sleep.
The 7-8 hours in the night without food are often the beginning of intermittent fasting and are simply extended in the morning hours so that you get 14 hours without food. Definitely the simplest way to start a healthy and healthy fast. But this is only one way of intermittent fasting. Each form has its own guidelines regarding the duration and what to eat during the eating phase. Therefore, we present the three most popular methods and the basics of how they work. Find out which one suits your lifestyle and goals.
Take-Home-Message # 1: Intermittent fasting (lat. Intermittere = interrupt/suspend) means nothing or only very little to eat over longer periods of the day. This is then repeated week after week.
INTERMITTENT FASTING: LOSING WEIGHT AND KETOSIS
One of the most notable benefits of fasting is its metabolic effects. By skipping meals, the body draws on existing fat reserves and consumes them. On the one hand, this means that you can lose weight very well and becomes a further advantage if you want to switch to a ketogenic diet and thus ketosis. A ketosis is a metabolic form in which the liver forms so-called ketone bodies from medium-chain fats, which are an ideal source of energy for your brain.
Compared to extracting energy from carbohydrates (glucose), ketone bodies deliver faster energy to the brain. If you pay particular attention to your diet during fasting and eat low in carbohydrates, the body switches to so-called ketosis more quickly. Intermittent fasting speeds up the process of getting into ketosis faster by training the body to get its energy from fat stores. Intermittent fasting is the ideal entry into ketosis and increased mental performance.
OTHER BENEFITS OF INTERMITTENT FASTING
The influence of intermittent fasting goes beyond the brain. A study by the Laboratory of Neurosciences in Baltimore found that fasting is a relief for the brain. The stimulus intensity decreases during Lent and so the nerve cells can regenerate better.¹
In addition to the neurological advantages, nowadays we also know about the effectiveness of fasting against various common diseases such as high blood pressure and obesity. For example, it increases the body’s sensitivity and response to insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar levels and thus control feelings of hunger.
In studies on mice, it was also found that the reduction in calories had an impact on the lifespan and increased it by 30 %². Intermittent fasting can therefore have a regenerative effect both for your body and for your brain and thus has long-term, positive effects on health.
Take-Home-Message # 2: Intermittent fasting has numerous advantages. It helps you lose weight, is beneficial for the cardiovascular system and the regeneration of nerve cells in the brain. Definitely an all-rounder for health!
**The benefits of intermittent fasting on your health: **
- Improvement of the digestive tract
- Regulation of blood sugar levels
- Increased fat burning and losing weight
- Easier entry into ketosis and increased mental performance
- Faster regeneration of nerve cells
HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?
1. Eat stop eat The Eat stop eat method is best for healthy eaters who want an extra push. How it works: Fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. During the 24-hour fast, nothing is eaten and you only drink calorie-free drinks. After the 24 hours are up, you usually return to eating normally. The main reason for this method?
This type of intermittent fasting reduces total calorie intake without really limiting what you can eat, just how often you can eat. Yes, of course, 24 hours without food sounds like a very long time. The good news is that this program is flexible.
You don’t have to follow the all-or-nothing principle at the beginning. Do not eat anything as long as you can take on the first day and then gradually increase the fasting phase overtime to help your body slowly adjust. Getting started with intermittent fasting can help if you have something nice to do during the day and there are no obligations to eat, such as lunch at work.
2. Leangains The lean gains method is best suited for committed athletes who want to lose body fat and build muscle. How it works: 14 (women) to 16 (men) hours a day have fasted and the remaining eight to ten hours can be eaten. You shouldn’t consume calories during Lent, although black coffee, diet cola, and sugar-free gum are allowed.
For most, it will be easiest to fast until late in the morning and then break the fast about 6 hours after waking up around noon. This process is adaptable to every lifestyle, but it is important to adhere to regular time windows for eating. The lean gains method can be combined particularly well with another nutritional hack, namely, the keto diet already mentioned.
The diet based purely on healthy fats offers you the ideal source of energy after a long period of fasting. A bulletproof coffee or butter coffee was particularly suitable here. Simply combine the coffee with butter and a little MCT oil and you are immediately optimally supplied with energy.
3. UpDayDownDay The UpDayDownDay method is best for disciplined dieters with a specific target weight. How it works: You eat very little on one day and as usual the next day. On the low-calorie days, this means a fifth of your usual calorie intake.
With 2,000 or 2,500 calories as a guideline, a “fasting day” includes 400 to 500 calories. Diet shakes can help in the initial phase to make it easier to hold down days because they are very filling but low in calories. However, diet shakes as food should only be used in the initial phase of the diet. After that, you should start eating real food on “down” days.
If exercise is part of your routine, it could be more difficult for you to perform on “down” days. On these days, you should take a more relaxed approach to your training sessions or put the sport on days with normal calorie intake. This is how you ensure that you stay healthy and at the same time perform well.
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