If you are keen to lose weight and generally improve your overall health and wellbeing, fasting occasionally might be the way to go. A lot of people fast these days, and intermittent fasting, in particular, has taken the world by storm in recent years – with good reason. Not only does it work very effectively as a weight-loss technique, it is also known to boost the human growth hormone, which is itself a very important hormone for the body. Here are some of the major things you should know if you are going to try intermittent fasting for yourself.
What Is It?
So we’ll start with the basics, first of all: just what is intermittent fasting, and how does it work? Essentially, intermittent fasting is having some period throughout each day where you don’t eat at all. This means that you don’t take in any calories whatsoever – so that would include, for instance, having a cup of tea with milk in it. You include the hours that you are asleep in this, so for many it would be as straightforward as skipping breakfast. Despite how simple it sounds, the results of it can be profound.
What Can You Consume While Fasting?
Fasting is distinct from dieting in that you are not controlling how much you eat, but only when you eat. In other words, you can eat all the calories you normally do in your eating window, and as long as you are fasting too you will find that you still enjoy all of the benefits. You might be wondering: can you take vitamins while fasting? The answer is yes, and for longer fasts, you might even feel that it helps you to get through it. All in all, however, you generally just have water and your vitamins, and nothing else – perhaps some black coffee.
What’s The Point?
There are many wide-ranging benefits to be had from intermittent fasting, some of which we looked briefly at above already. In general, however, the results are clear: first of all, you are going to lose weight, even if you are still eating everything you normally would in your eating window. You are also going to enjoy a greater clarity of mind too, and you’ll be able to feel as if you have a lot more energy in your mind and body. These are just some of the benefits you might experience – there are many more reported benefits to intermittent fasting as well.
There Are Different Kinds
There are lots of different ways to do intermittent fasting, so that is something to be aware of as well. If you are keen to get into it for the first time, you might find that it is best to start out with something like 16:8, where you fast for sixteen hours, including sleep, remember, and eat for the other 8. Or you can go for the one-meal-a-day variety, where you try to cram all of your calories into one sitting. However you do it, you’ll get some strong benefits.
