Intermittent fasting or intermittent fasting is a time-restricted form of eating that has become a very common practice among the population in recent years due to its multiple benefits. This practice shows promise as a possible new paradigm in the approach to weight loss and reducing inflammation. It also has many possible long-term health benefits.
WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?
It is a practice that is gaining more and more popularity focused on stopping eating for short and controlled periods of time. For many people, it is a less restrictive method compared to traditional weight loss methods. In addition, its main objective is to reduce the total daily caloric intake, as well as to reduce insulin levels in the blood during the day to reduce the synthesis of body fat.
WAYS TO INTERMITTENTLY FAST TO LOSE WEIGHT
Currently, there are different ways of practicing intermittent fasting. It is important to choose the method that works best for you and works best for your body.
Here are the most popular methods:
· 12/12 – This method consists of fasting for 12 hours in a row and the other 12 hours eating is allowed. It is ideal for those people who want to get started in this method and have never tried it.
· 16/8 – This variety of fasting is one of the most practiced and consists of restricting the feeding window to a period of 8 hours while the window of fasting is extended to 16 hours a day. It is somewhat stricter than the one mentioned above, but as your body gets used to it, it is easy to carry.
· 6/18 – This is an 18-hour fast and then a 6-hour nutritional window. It is more extreme than those mentioned above, it may not be tolerable for certain people.
· 4/20 – This method is more rigorous and the nutritional window is shortened to 4 hours with 20 hours of fasting. Being so extreme, it may not be tolerated by some people.
· 5: 2 – By performing this variety of fasting, you will be able to eat a normal diet 5 days a week, while the other 2 days, you will have to restrict your calories between 400 or 600 kcal per day.
· 4: 3 – To practice it, you have to eat normally for 4 days a week, but decrease calories up to 400-600 kcal per day for the other 3 remaining days.
· 24 hours or OMAD – As you can imagine, with this method you can simply make a meal every 24 hours. For example, eat dinner at 8:00 p.m. and not eat again until 8:00 p.m. the next day.
· Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) – It involves alternating the day on which the energy limit is 75%, known as the “fasting day” and “feeding day”, during which normal meals are eaten.
Which method of fasting to choose?
As you can see, there are multiple ways to carry out intermittent fasting to lose weight. We recommend starting with the 12/12 method. And, from there, if it is well tolerated, progress to a little more strict models.
