What Is The Intermittent Fasting Diet Plan – A Diet Hack?

So what is the intermittent fasting diet plan all about anyway?

There’s a lot of buzz in the health and fitness community these days about a concept that people are using to lose extra weight and feel better overall.

But will it work for you? Or is it all just the latest hype in the diet industry?

What Is The Intermittent Fasting Diet Plan?

To break it down in the simplest of terms, intermittent fasting is a way of eating that rotates between periods of eating and fasting (not eating at all).

There are no hard core rules about what you can or cannot eat because the principal lies in the time of when you actually eat.

Looking at it from this angle suggests that it is not really a conventional diet per se, but an eating system.

Popular methods of intermittent fasting include cycling between 16 hour periods of daily fasting, or twice a week engaging in 24 hours of complete fasting.

If we look back at ancient peoples, fasting was a common event because there were no grocery stores or guaranteed food sources.

So the human body evolved over time to deal with these periods of food scarcity.

Some religions also include fasting as a part of their cultures at different times of year. They include Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism.

It is not that uncommon to go sometimes for longer periods of time without food than to be eating every couple of hours.

Easiest Methods For Intermittent Fasting Diet Plan

There are a couple of easy ways to do intermittent fasting which can be quite effective in assisting your weight loss progress.

These methods revolve around separating your days or week into different time sections that are based on eating and not eating.

Keep in mind that during the fasting periods, you will eat little to nothing at all. However, drinking water and keeping hydrated with non-caloric beverages is recommended and encouraged.

Method #1 – 16:8

This method is sometimes referred to as the “Lean gains protocol.” This style basically suggests you eat only during an hour window of time such as noon to 8:00 pm. You would forfeit breakfast and any food in the morning. Then only eat during the 8-hour window of time. Then you would stop eating (fasting) for the next 16 hours of time.

Method #2 – Eat. Stop. Eat.

The concept of eat stop eat involves fasting for 24 hours continuously one to two different days per week. So the idea would be eat as normal and then stop eating after dinner one night for 24 consecutive hours, picking up eating again after that.

Method #3 – The 5/2 Plan

This method of intermittent fasting involves dividing your week into 5 days and 2 days of eating. You can pick whichever days works best for your schedule. But in essence you would eat only 500 – 600 calories on 2 non-consecutive days of your week while eating like usual on the other 5 days.

The general idea with intermittent fasting on these plan styles is to help you lose weight through reduced caloric intake. However, it also assumes that you would not be overindulging during any of your eating time frames.

The most popular and easiest method of intermittent fasting for many people is the 16:8 method. It is super easy to follow and very simple to stay with.

What Are The Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting?

There have been many studies now done on both animals and people with intermittent fasting.

Research has shown that intermittent fasting can assist in controlling body weight while also helping the brain and body overall.

The National Institutes of Health database has shown that intermittent fasting can help you lose weight and particularly belly fat without massive caloric restriction.

This easy to follow style of eating and fasting can have positive effects in shedding belly fat without too much work.

It can also help reduce insulin resistance by lowering blood sugar. This in turn helps protect against type 2 diabetes.

Some studies have shown that intermittent fasting can lower inflammation in the body which is a contributing factor in many diseases.

Intermittent fasting may also help keep your heart healthy by reducing bad “LDL” cholesterol, blood triglycerides and other risk factors for heart disease.

Some animal studies suggest that intermittent fasting can protect against cancers.

Other studies have shown that eating this way can help your brain health and may aid in longevity.

It is important to note that most of these studies were conducted on animals and were short term. Science is still learning and evolving.

Further long term research on humans still needs to be conducted in order to find answers to many more questions. But the possibilities of this early knowledge are still exciting. To read about another popular trend for reducing belly fat click here.

Intermittent Fasting – Weight Loss Life Hack?

One of the greatest reasons to try intermittent fasting, especially if you are overworked and stressed, is its utter simplicity.

We all know that eating healthy on a regular basis takes a lot of time, planning and work. Plus it can be very difficult to maintain healthy eating on a daily basis.

Intermittent fasting helps to solve this problem. Many people look at it like a diet hack.

Maybe it is in a way because it is super easy to follow and does not require a lot of planning or prep work. You will also have a little less clean up due to fewer meals required.

Even if you do not want to always do intermittent fasting, it might be something you want to try from time to time for weight loss and belly fat reduction.

Less preparation, less cooking, and less clean up means less work for you. You might even end up feeling healthier and losing your belly fat in the process!

Who Should Avoid Intermittent Fasting?

If you are underweight or have any kind of eating disorder you should not do intermittent fasting.

You should always check with your doctor before engaging in any type of diet or exercise plan. Women should also be more careful with this method.

Some studies are showing that intermittent fasting may be problematic for women. Therefore, it should be introduced slowly for women and stopped if it interferes with menstruation. This method would also not be suitable for anyone who is:

• struggling with fertility issues
• pregnant or trying to get pregnant
• breastfeeding
• has diabetes
• on prescription medication
• underweight
• dealing with a major health issue.

Always check with your health care practitioner first to see if intermittent fasting is healthy for you.

The Intermittent Fasting Plan – Things To Consider

Intermittent fasting is definitely not for everyone. However, it is just one strategy that can help you lose weight and improve your health under the right circumstances.

It will always be important to get your daily sleep, eat as healthy as you can and incorporate moderate amounts of exercise into your week.

If the idea of intermittent fasting does not appeal to you for whatever reason, then simply stick to whatever is working for you. There is no cookie cutter method for losing belly weight and getting proper nutrition.

The best strategy is the one that you can commit to and stick with over the long haul.

The only way to know if this method will work for you is to give it a try.

If you feel well overall while you are fasting, it can provide a long term solution for improving health and achieving your belly fat weight loss goals.

If you’ve tried something else to lose weight and had great results, please consider sharing in the comments below.