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Intermittent Fasting for Beginners - The Complete Guide - Diet Doctor
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Fasting....
...is the voluntary withholding of food for spiritual, health, or other reasons.
Food is easily available, but you choose not to eat it. This can be for any period of time, from a few hours up to a few days or – with medical supervision – even weeks on end.
It’s done by someone who is not underweight and thus has enough stored body fat to live off.
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Intermittent fasting for weight loss
When we fast, Insulin levels fall, signaling the body to start burning stored energy as no more is coming through food. Blood glucose falls, so the body must now pull glucose out of storage to burn for energy.
In essence, intermittent fasting allows the body to use its stored energy.
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Health benefits of intermittent fasting
- Weight and body fat loss
- Lowered blood insulin and sugar levels
- Possibly reversal of type 2 diabetes
- Possibly improved mental clarity and concentration
- Possibly increased energy
- Possibly increased growth hormone, at least in the short term
- Possibly an improved blood cholesterol profile
- Possibly a reduction in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease
- Possibly longer life
- Possibly activation of cellular cleansing by stimulating autophagy
- Possibly reduction of inflammation
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Possible side effects
- Hunger is the most common side effect of intermittent fasting.
- Constipation is common. Less going in means less going out. Standard laxatives can be used to help.
- Headaches are common and tend to disappear after the first few times on fasts.
- Mineral water may help if your stomach tends to gurgle.
- Other possible side effects include dizziness, heartburn and muscle cramps.
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Things to keep in mind
- Drink water
- Stay busy
- Ride out the hunger waves
- Give yourself 1 month to see if intermittent fasting (such as 16:8) is a good fit for you
- Follow a low-carb diet between fasting periods. This reduces hunger and makes intermittent fasting easier.
- Don’t binge after fasting.
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Types of fasting
Shorter fasts (<24hrs):
- 16:8: eating only during an 8-hour window during the day and fasting for the remaining 16 hours.
- 20:4: 4-hour eating window and a 20-hour fast.
Longer fasts (>24 hours):
- 24-hour fasts: fasting from dinner to dinner (or lunch to lunch).
- 5:2 fast: 5 regular eating days and two fasting days.
- 36 hour fasts: fasting the entire day.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Intermittent Fasting (IF)
The dietary practice of restricting your food consumption to a specific window of time. It is used as a supplement to your diet.
In this fasting state, our bodies can break down extra fat...
Approaches to intermittent fasting
- Skipped meals - when you skip over a meal to induce extra time of fasting.
- Eating windows - this condenses your entire macronutrient intake between a 4 and 7-hour window. The rest of the time you are in a fasting state.
- 24-48 hour cleanse - where you go into extended fasting periods and do not eat for 1-2 days.
Autophagy definition and benefits
The process by which the cell devours itself.
- Non-essential parts like damaged proteins are recycled and invading microorganisms and toxic compounds are removed.
- Autophagy plays an important role in stopping the aging process, reversing disease, and preventing cancer, but it doesn’t happen all the time.
- Autophagic processes can be initiated by fasting, protein restriction and carbohydrate restriction.
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Intermittent fasting
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
- It makes your day simpler: fewer meals= less stressing about what you'll eat.
- It helps you live longer: you get the benefits of a longer life without the hassle of starving.
- Still up for debate, but intermittent fasting may reduce the risk of cancer.
- It is much easier than dieting, once you get over the idea that you need to eat all the time.
Different Fasting Schedules
- Daily Intermittent Fasting: 16–hour fast followed by an 8–hour eating period.
- Weekly Intermittent Fasting: One of the best ways to get started with it - do it once per week.
- Alternate Day Intermittent Fasting: incorporates longer fasting periods on alternating days throughout the week.
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Intermittent fasting
Fasting means abstinence of some or all food for a period of time.
Intermittent fasting ranges from eating a few calories all day every other day or several times a week to fasti...
A metabolic shift
It can take 10 to 12 hours to use up calories in the liver before your body changes over to use the stored fat.
After meals, glucose is used for energy, while fat is stored in fat tissue. During fasts, once glucose is depleted, stored fat is broken down and used for energy.
The easiest way to lose weight
To lose weight, strive for sixteen calorie-free hours. Stop eating by 8 pm, and eat again at noon the next day. Results can take up to four weeks to notice.
Intermittent dieters should eat healthy foods, including whole grains and healthy fats and protein. They should limit saturated fats and avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates. Be sure to stay well-hydrated.