What is intermittent fasting schedule? How does it work? Benefits behind it?

 

What is intermittent fasting ? How does it work? and What is the science behind it?

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between period of fasting and period of eating, so simply in your feeding pattern in a day you would have a window which is so called feeding. Window where you can eat and there would be a fasting  window,where you can't simply eat or you fast.

Here's an example of a common intermittent fasting schedule:

1. 16/8 Method: This involves fasting for 16 hours and eating within an 8-hour window. For example, you may eat your last meal at 8 pm and then fast until noon the next day, and then eat all of your meals within the remaining 8 hours.

2. 5:2 Method: This involves eating normally for five days of the week and restricting calories to 500-600 for two non-consecutive days. For example, you may eat normally from Monday to Friday, and then restrict your calorie intake to 500-600 calories on Saturday and Tuesday.

3. Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. For example, you may eat your last meal at 7 pm on Monday and then fast until 7 pm on Tuesday.

4. Alternate-Day Fasting: This involves fasting every other day. On fasting days, you may consume 500-600 calories, while on non-fasting days, you can eat normally.

Now it doesn't specify which food you should be eating or which calories you should be taking, but it really implies that when you should eat? It doesn't have any restriction of a specific type of food.

In the feeding window you can consume all the food and that's pretty beneficial. 

You can enjoy carbs.You can enjoy protein and fat everything. But in the fasting window you cannot intake any of carbohydrate protein or fat and you have to strictly follow that fasting window.

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Now let me tell you that how intermittent fasting works?and does intermittent fasting cause

weight loss? And if it does weight loss then how and what are the health benefits of intermediate fasting?

The idea behind intermittent fasting is that by restricting food, our bodies will more quickly and efficiently tap our fat stores for energy. While glucose from carbohydrates is our most direct fuel source, we burn fat for energy when glucose isn't available. This happens even more during times of food deprivation.

 

So let's quickly look at the health benefits you would have a increased growth hormone secretion while you're fasting for long.It reduces inflammation, improves your cognitive abilities.It also controls blood glucose level and it lowers the insulin level.Ultimately the biggest achievement from intermediate fasting is the weight loss.

 

Let us understand what really happens when we are fasted?

If you don't eat for 10–16 hours, your body will go to its fat stores for energy, and fatty acids called ketones will be released into the bloodstream. This has been shown to protect memory and learning functionality, says Mattson, as well as slow disease processes in the brain

Prolonged fasting will eventually prompt our body to experience ketone is and metabolically switch to breaking down fat as fuel; using stored fatty acids instead of glycogen for energy.

Intermittent fasting can be a tool to help promote weight loss which may influence other benefits associated with fasting.

If you're concerned about high cholesterol try adopting healthy lifestyle habits like incorporating exercise and a diet low in saturated and trans fats, and rich in high fiber food.Eventually you would be thinner.

Read more:Liposuction for Fat Loss by expert Cosmetic & Plastic Surgeons

A heart healthy diet high in nutrient-dense whole foods from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and quality proteins is still the best approach to supporting heart health.

Although fasting may provide some health benefits, looking at the quality of our diet and lifestyle can help us create healthy habits to support our health. 

Intermittent fasting may help improve memory and mental performance and support brain health/function by protecting neurons in the brain against deterioration and dysfunction .

When we fast we give our body time to rest and repair, tending to natural processes put in place to keep our cells healthy. Autophagy is an example of a process our body naturally undergoes to keep our cells healthy and in turn, keep us healthy! 

 Weight control and reduced inflammation in the body could reduce the development of cancer, but further research is needed to understand the role fasting may play in cancer treatment.

 

These kind of intermittent fasting paradigms are present in many religious cultures for example in Islamic ramadan month they fast and feed in a specific time window.

In Hindu culture it is also present,along with christian Judaism and many other cultures. 

 

But the best results are obtained when we avoid processed or too much oily food.

Intermittent fasting is time restricted feeding where you can enjoy sometimes your favorite food and that's the biggest advantage of intermittent fasting. 

 

When we start intermittent fasting we should do a gradual step-wise practice.

First of all let's say we have a 14 hours of feed feeding and 10 hours of fasting window.We would increase the fasting window gradually.Next we can have a 12 hours of fasting 12 hours of feeding.Eventually in order to get optimal result we can get 8 hours of feeding and 16 hours of fasting window ,so the closing of feeding window or minimizing the feeding video window and maximizing the fasting window is a gradual process.The biggest mistake is doing it dramatically, so body would not be responding well. If this change is drastic body might have other side effects for that but the best way to adapt intermittent fasting is this following this step wise fashion where body is adapting to these kind of new time restricted feeding paradigm, and it would give you optimal results. 

Read more: All the things you must try to burn fats and weight lose

 

Lastly while you are fasting you can have other drinks such as green tea coffee or let's say water which doesn't have any calories to it but staying hydrated is really important for any kind of fasting.The biggest mistake people do is putting a little bit of sugar in their coffee or in the green tea and that's absolutely wrong because you're in taking calories and breaking your fast actually.

 

Let's break some facts and myths regarding intermittent fasting.

First of all people think intermittent fasting would cause muscle loss but it's not really true because it has been shown that intermittent fasting can increase your growth hormone level so that means you can lose fat without losing your muscle mass. 

Keep in mind that intermittent fasting may have different effects on different people. Talk to your doctor if you start experiencing unusual anxiety, headaches, nausea or other symptoms after you start intermittent fasting.