Do not get confused about this at all. Intermittent fasting is totally different from dieting. It involves more of you giving yourself a fixed time to eat, and anything other than that isn’t ideal.
Dieting restricts you on what to eat to keep your calorie intake at a minimum, but with intermittent fasting, you get to eat what you want but on time.
Intermittent fasting has a lot of health benefits, weight loss inclusive, but it isn’t for everyone.
Intermittent fasting is just about going in cycles on when to eat and when to fast. Usually, when you are starting on this, it can be a bit difficult to eat at a specific time every day, but in this article, we would be giving you tips that can help make it easier for you.
Intermittent fasting is a popular method of losing weight, and it is safe for those who are healthy. If you have any medical condition, you would need to speak with your doctor to know if you should be doing this or not.
Tips for Intermittent Fasting To Stimulate Weight Loss
Set Out Your Personal Goals
Ideally, anyone who wants to start intermittent fasting should have a goal/aim in mind. It can be to lose weight, increase your body’s metabolism, or improve your overall health. Identifying your aims would help you better in figuring out the best fasting method to use and what you should set your calorie intake and nutrients at.
Select The Method
After you have identified why you are starting on your intermittent fasting journey, you need to figure out which of the potential methods work for you. You should pick out a plan based on what works for you and your preference. There are four possible methods to pick from; these include:
Warrior Diet
The warrior diet requires that you eat only a little amount of food for 20 hours daily. If you are planning on doing this, it means that you get to eat all you want in the remaining four hours of the day. Doing this can be hard if you are starting because it can make your stomach uncomfortable.
Leangains
This method is mostly reserved for weightlifters, but recently it has gained popularity among those who want to fast. This method involves you fasting for 16 hours a day, and you can eat whatever you like for the remaining 8 hours. During the fast period, you are required not to eat anything, but you can take water or no-calorie beverages.
Eat Stop Eat
This method involves fasting for two days every week; you get to eat nothing at all within those 48 hours. It doesn’t matter when you start, as long as you don’t fast for 24 hours, and it happens on non-consecutive days. When you don’t eat for 24 hours, you would feel the hunger kicking in, and it may be worse if you are unfamiliar with fasting.
Alternate Day Fasting
Most people opt for this method if they want to improve their blood level and lose weight in the process. This method is also called the “5:2 method” because it involves eating just 500 calories on two non-consecutive days in a week.
You can decide to add a third day to this method. Also, for the rest of the week, you can eat only the number of calories you shed off during the day. With time this would cause a calorie deficit in your body and cause you to lose more weight.
Decide On A Meal Plan
When you are planning on losing weight, it would be much easier if you can set out what you would eat throughout the week, at the start of the week. You don’t even need to be strict in planning your meals; be sure it contains the right nutrients, and be careful of your calorie intake.
Figure Out Your Calorie Intake
For the fact that with intermittent fasting, there are no dietary restrictions it doesn’t mean your calorie intake is insignificant. If you are interested in losing weight, you need to create a calorie deficit for yourself. In other words, you need to consume lesser energy than what you use.
Make The Calories Count
Not all calories are the same, so you need to put into consideration the nutritional value of the calories you are going for.
Ideally, you are expected to eat nutrient-dense food or meals that have a high amount of nutrients per calorie. It can be a bit hard to abandon junk food totally, but you can practice moderation and place your attention on healthier options.
