With changing times, people today are moving towards a healthier lifestyle. Along with Keto diet plans and hardcore workouts, intermittent fasting is a new term that has been brimming amongst the teenagers so as to lose weight.
This new method for weight loss has reportedly helped many of the famous stars including Jennifer Aniston, Kourtney Kardashian, Malaika Arora Khan, Varun Dhawan and many others. The latest review published in October 2021 in the Annual Review of Nutrition found that intermittent fasting leads to roughly the same amount of weight loss as the traditional calorie restrictive diets. It may further improve other markers of cardiometabolic health as well.
Krista Varady, PhD, researcher and professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, Chicago confirmed the same and cuts out approximately 500 calories a day.
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting (IF) refers to an eating schedule that alternates periods of going without food with meals. There are different types of plans including calorie restriction only for a certain number of hours everyday or certain days of the week.
The key difference between intermittent fasting and traditional calorie restriction diets is that it doesn’t control the portion of the food that a person is eating. But rather the time of their consumption.
What Type Of Intermittent Fasting Plans Lead To Weight Loss?
The review included three types of intermittent fasting:
- Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) – includes a day of unrestricted eating alternating it with fasting day wherein the person consumes only one meal for 500 calories for the total daily calorie intake.
- 5:2 diet includes five days of unrestricted eating and two days of fasting every week
- Time Restricted Eating – wherein the person is limited eating to a specified number of hours per day, followed by 16 hours of fasting.
Myths Of Intermittent Fasting
During the study, Varady and her colleagues hoped that the review would help debunk some of the myths related to IF.
- IF negatively affects metabolism and it causes eating disorders.
- IF isn’t for everyone
At the same time, there are several groups of people who should not fast. It includes,
- People who are pregnant or lactating
- Children under 12
- Those with a history of eating disorders
- Those Body Mass Index is less than 18.5
- Shift workers as they might have trouble establishing a certain eating and fasting regimens
- People who need medication with food at specific times
How To Make Intermittent Fasting Most Effective?
The most effective way of making IF effective is to start slowly and gradually set into the plan they have opted for. IF is a new routine for you and your body. So it is important to give yourself time to adjust. It is natural for you to face some side effects like headaches, constipation within the first two weeks of fasting. However, drinking more water can help.
There are no specific recommendations for food consumption during intermittent fasting but for the alternate day or 5:2 fasting day plan, alcohol is not recommended on fasting day.
