Losing Weight, Gaining Muscles, and Stay healthy are the main objectives of many people. So for staying healthy two main areas, you need to work upon:
1. Workout
2. Diet Plan
How you exercise, and what is your diet plan? Here we are discussing the 2nd and the most important point.
The word diet comes in our mind, and you start thinking about proteins, carbs, and fats. Still, we are going to discuss a method "Intermittent Fasting" the word itself describes the meaning of this method fasting for any particular interval.
This is the fastest growing and most trending method. People are using this method to stay fit, for weight loss and for gaining muscles. Studies show the positive effects on the body and mind as well and also helps you to improve longevity.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
It is the cycle of eating and fasting in a particular interval. It's not a diet, and it is a method of eating; it does not decide what to eat but specify when to eat. Fasting is not new to us as people fast for many religious reasons and in ancient times when people don't have to eat for a long time, so they remain without food.
Hence it is the more natural way to stay fit and to make the body more functional.
Methods of Intermittent
There are many ways of intermittent fasting based on the dividing hours of the day or days in the week.
1. 16/8 Method: It includes fasting for 16 hours and eating for 8 hours. This can be managed by skipping breakfast or by skipping dinner. You can eat from 1 pm to 9 pm and then fast from 9 pm to 1 pm (16 hours) by skipping breakfast, or you can eat from 9 am to 5 pm, and fast from 5 pm to 9 am (16 hours). This is also the "Leangains Protocol."
2. Eat-Stop-Eat: This includes fasting for a complete 24 hours, like from diner to diner or 9 pm to 9 pm the next day. This can be done once or twice in the week, but with an interval.
3. 5:2 Method: In this method, you are supposed to eat 25% of your daily recommended calories need for a day and then keep a day off and then follow the same this need to develop for two non-consecutive days. You have to eat 500-600 calories in a day and on the next day, eat normally and then the day after following the same and for only two non-consecutive days and the rest five days you can eat normally.
People generally find the 16/8 method easy to follow, and it is also easy to stick with.
How it affects People:
Our body continuously needs the energy to function regularly and adequately; during the fasting, the period the body adjusts to using stored fats in our collection as an energy source. And our collection also indulges in the repair process:
What changes occur in your body during the fast:
Human Growth Hormone (HGH): Fasting increases HGH with rapid speed; its level rises up to 5 folds, which is suitable for fat loss and gain lean muscles. HGH or somatotropin is a peptide hormone that stimulates cell reproduction and regeneration in the body.
Insulin level: It decreases the insulin level in the body. The hormone responsible for using sugar from the food we eat as an energy source, and it stores glucose for future use. When the level decreases, it starts using stored energy, and the power is taken from stored body fat.
Autophagy: This is the process where cells of the body automatically repair their cells by removing old cells and dysfunctional proteins. Our collection is made up of cells, and cells are made up of proteins. But many proteins are in our group, but they are non-functional.
Gene Expression: The functions of gene changes related to fighting against disease and also to longevity. Variations occur due to the Autophagy of cells in the body.
Helpful In Weight Loss
The calorie intake becomes less as people get lesser time to eat, hence results in weight loss. The hormonal changes due to intermittent fasting (as discussed above) also help with weight loss. Though people find a handy and easy way to follow this method for weight loss, so it became a prevalent method.
Due to hormonal changes, short term fasting also increases the metabolic rate of 3.6% to 14%.
As you take a lesser calorie and burn more for body functioning, it results in fat loss by making changes in calorie intake and calories used (heat) in the body.
A review paper in Journal Translational Research examined and found evidence (in the year 2014) that intermittent fasting can lower blood glucose and insulin level. Thus it is found that intermittent fastings are good for weight loss and even for diabetes. It also promotes muscle gain as it burns fat faster, depending upon the food you eat.
If you eat junk foods and higher calorie, then it is of no you use so, you have to keep in mind that during the eating hours eat lesser and healthy.
Health benefits:
Weight Loss: As discussed above, it helps in weight loss in many ways. Fat loss, Calorie burns result in ultimate weight loss.
Heart Health: Hence it reduces insulin level and blood sugar. It also helps in lowering LDL cholesterol and blood triglyceride. These all are the risk factor for heart disease.
Insulin Level: It reduces the insulin level 20% to 30% and blood sugar level by 3% to 6%. This helps in protecting from type diabetes.
Inflammation: Studies show that the body prepares itself to fight may chronic disease.
Cancer: Studies suggested that intermittent fasting may prevent disease.
Anti-Aging: This method shows the positive effects on rats to increase their lifespan. Studies showed that fasting makes rats live 36% to 83% longer.
All the studies are being done on Animals, many more reviews yet to come and will answer many unsolved queries.
And if you are underweight, then you should not try this with consulting your physician/Dietitian.
People with the following conditions should consult a doctor first before taking this method into a habit:
- Diabetic
- Blood Sugar Regulations
- Take Medication
- Pregnant Women
- Breastfeeding Women
- Underweight
- Low Blood Pressure
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