This Is Why Intermittent Fasting Is So Awesome!

Have you worked hard trying to diet and almost killed yourself of starvation in lieu of shedding those pounds? Well, you’re probably not the only one. And when it comes to diets you would’ve heard like a million names – Atkins, Keto, Alkaline, and so on. Surprisingly, we aren’t here to tell you about another diet plan but here’s something that could genuinely help you. A pattern of eating and a way of life with umpteen number of benefits. Ring a bell? No? We’re talking about Intermittent Fasting. 10 points to whoever guessed right. Jokes apart, here’s all you should know about Intermittent fasting:

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Like we said before, Intermittent Fasting is not a diet plan. It doesn’t put you on restricted foods or dictate quantities. Intermittent Fasting is all about timing your meals! This pattern of eating will enable you to reap truck loads of benefits and weight loss is just the beginning of the list. And unlike most fad diets, Intermittent fasting changes only the ‘when to eat’. Sounds good, no?

How does it work and who should do this?

Anybody and everybody can do Intermittent Fasting! It is not restricted to any age group or gender. That’s the beauty of it. Coming to how it works, we thought an expert outlook would help you better. Sujetha Shetty, Gympik’s Diet Expert and Nutrition Consultant explains, “You don’t really need to worry about losing your muscles. This is one of the main advantages of Intermittent Fasting. When you fast for longer intervals, your body is pushed into using your fat stores and thus you drop those extra pounds.” But this is only if your diet is planned well and you include adequate proteins in your meals. Sujetha continues, “Just because you’re not being restricted on the quantity do not use Intermittent Fasting as an excuse to eat tons of junk food. Make sure you eat responsibly, include more of whole, natural foods and avoid processed foods.”

Common types of Intermittent Fasting

Some very common formats of Intermittent Fasting include 12, 16 and 20 hours fastings. Let us explain with an example – Say you eat your first meal, dinner, at about 8 PM then for a 12 hour format you eat your breakfast the next day between 8-9 AM. That’s how you calculate and design your Intermittent Fasting plan. However, for best results, we would recommend that you consult with your Physician and a Diet and Nutrition Expert to help you through with this.

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Benefits of doing it

Wondering what benefits Intermittent Fasting has in store for you? Fasting is any day better than dieting. Isn’t it? You get to eat whatever you want and in good quantity. The gap might initially seem long but we got to admit that our bodies are amazingly adaptable that way. If this wasn’t good enough then here’s other good reasons for you to consider Intermittent Fasting.

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Drop those pounds

We’re sure you already know this by now. Since your body starts to use the fat stores, your body’s fat percentage drops and even though your muscles mass isn’t lost, you lose fat. Also, because your body becomes more metabolically active you start torching more calories through the day!

You don’t need to overwork yourself

Though workout is extremely crucial and you MUST do it, running on the treadmill dreadfully or working out like insane is not really the only way. With Intermittent Fasting, you’ll be able to see desired results with minimum workout. As said earlier, more fats are used up in this way of eating; even when you aren’t doing rigorous workout! 

Hiked metabolism

When you’re following an Intermittent Fasting pattern, you’re essentially giving your body a lot of gap without food. The state where you are actually fasting is a kind of ‘metabolic exercise’ for your body. You technically train to rapidly and effortlessly use free fatty acids as fuel that are otherwise just stored in your body.

You become leaner and stronger

As a matter of fact, Intermittent Fasting helps you build those lean muscles and you become so much more stronger too. You lose fat and what’s left are your lean muscles. Workout along with this and you’ll see your body getting sculpted like never before. There are a lot of people who’ve testified this too.

Convenience at its best

Even if you do love cooking, wouldn’t it be super easier to just cook 2 sumptions meals instead of 3 or 4? Intermittent Fast requires you to eat only 2 meals or less in a fixed time gap. Meaning less cooking and lesser hassels through the day.

Ward off chances of Cancer and likes

This hasn’t really been proven yet but a lot many studies show that fasting actually does benefit in reducing the probable risks of cancer (basically fights cancer cells efficiently) and also enhances your cardiovascular health. Won’t hurt to try now, would it? Oh and by the way, it also helps in reducing serum cholesterol and blood pressure.

Improves fatty liver and relaxes your digestive organs

Because you do not eat so often, your digestive organs are not worked too much. We all need time to rest and relax, don’t we? So do our organs. Constantly eating doesn’t leave them with any time to relax. But in Intermittent Fasting there’s a long gap between meals so your digestive organs are less worked. Plus, if you’ve been having a fatty liver problem then Intermittent Fasting can be a good cure.

No more hunger pangs

Though initially you might feel extremely starved when you start off Intermittent Fasting, as you progress you’ll see your hunger patterns getting much better. Body begins to clock itself and you’re hungry only when it’s time to eat. Adaptive, remember? And of course, like Sujetha said ‘mindful eating’ is what we’re looking at.

You live longer!

Stop complaining about your life and think how you can do so much more. Travel the world, pick up a hobby, read some best selling books, watch your favorite series or movies over and over – whatever makes you happy. Remember to enjoy life to the fullest. Intermittent Fasting improves your health and adds years to your life. Adding life to these years is, however, up to you!

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These were the top benefits Intermittent Fasting. Just in case, after reading all this, you’re getting too excited to get on with it then know that it should be done keeping in mind your current medical conditions, fitness levels, and everything else in between. It is also not advised for people with Type 1 Diabetes. Hence, it’s always advised and recommended that you speak to someone who knows your medical history and can help you with designing the right plan for you – like your physician or a Diet and Nutrition Expert. If you found this article interesting then go ahead and hit the like and share button. Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below and stay tuned for more interesting stuff. Until then, happy fasting to you!