Have you heard of intermittent fasting before? If you haven’t, it’s been mentioned a lot lately in the health and fitness world. Intermittent fasting is settings specific hours where you allow yourself to consume food and restrict it for the remainder of the 24-hour day. Fasting has a place in many different cultures and religions throughout the centuries. It boasts a myriad of health benefits when it’s done properly.
Intermittent fasting has many different effects on your body. Under the state of fasting, your body makes fat more available to use. Certain studies show that it can improve your metabolism and accelerate weight loss.
For example, you can choose to fast for 8 hours between 12 PM to 8 PM, for the remainder of the time you restrict calories. You can also choose to fast 2 days out of the 7-day week. There are many different variations of intermittent fasting. What they all have in common is restricting calories for a certain time period followed by a period of consuming calories. You should be conscious and aware of what you’re consuming during your eating periods, make sure to get enough calories to sustain the amount of activity you are doing on a daily basis. If you are very active or your job and lifestyle is physically taxing, you should be careful to avoid fainting, lightheadedness, dizziness, and brain fog.
Pros of intermittent fasting:
- Promote long life
- Reduce inflammation
- Weight loss
- Lower insulin level
- Reduce stubborn belly fat
Cons of intermittent fasting:
- Harmful if you’ve had an eating disorder
- Harmful if you don’t consume enough calories
- Women should be weary of fasting
Ultimately, fasting can be a great addition to your healthy and balanced lifestyle. Fasting is not used as a quick fix for weight loss, it is a lifestyle supplement rather than a fix all solution.
