In recent years, intermittent fasting has become one of the most popular trends in the field of weight loss and wellness.It is believed that severe calorie restriction one or two days a week or daily food consumption only during a relatively narrow time “window” is not only effective in helping to reduce and control weight, but also reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and protects against heart disease. -vascular diseases, helps improve the composition of the intestinal microbiome, is good for the brain and generally prolongs life.
Basic Intermittent Fasting Patterns
1. Time-limited meals
This is the easiest way to start practicing this method, since you are already fasting when you sleep. Most often, we are talking about the fact that you can eat as much as you want for eight hours a day, for example from 10.00 to 18.00 or from 8.00 to 16.00, and abstain from food for the remaining 16 hours.
The relationship between your eating window and fasting period can vary depending on your individual characteristics and preferences – you might, for example, fast for 14 hours and eat within 10 hours, or fast for 20 hours and eat within 4 hours.
2. Method 5:2
During the week, you choose two non-adjacent days when you reduce your caloric intake to 500-600 calories per day. On the rest of the days, you eat as usual, that is, you eat healthy, wholesome food.
3. Fasting for 24 hours
Once or twice a week, you completely abstain from food for 24 hours.
4. Fasting every other day
On fasting days, you do not completely give up food, but reduce your caloric intake to 500-600 calories per day. On other days, eat as usual.
Who and when should not do intermittent fasting?
1. Children and teenagers
Their body, especially the bones, is in a stage of intensive growth and development. Fasting can lead to deficiencies of important nutrients and micronutrients, as well as eating disorders.
2. Pregnant women and those recovering from illness
Starvation will deprive their body of much-needed nutrients.
3. Women in the second half of their menstrual cycle (luteal phase) may find fasting difficult.
During this phase, between ovulation and the onset of menstruation, some women experience increased hunger as increased production of the hormone progesterone increases metabolism, resulting in increased calorie needs.
Additionally, fasting can increase PMS symptoms, such as mood swings, low energy, and general discomfort.
Therefore, the luteal phase is not the best time to restrict calories.
Which intermittent fasting plan is right for you?
1. If you work a lot in the office and drink with colleagues during the week – 6:1
This method is similar to the 5:2 method, only you do not fast two non-contiguous days a week, but only one, and it must fall on a weekend. You need a lot of energy during the work week, so restricting what you eat is a bad idea. Plus, if you decide to go to a bar with your colleagues on an empty stomach, you’re headed for disaster.
2. Parents who take their children to school or kindergarten – 16:8
In the morning, while the house is in chaos, you have no time for breakfast. But just around 9-10 am you are ready to eat something. The last meal of the day can be a hearty family dinner at five or six in the evening. This way you naturally, without much stress, fit into that same eight-hour nutrition window.
3. Pensioners – 5:2
With age, appetite decreases, and older people are not as physically active as young people, so hungry days are easier to bear. In addition, you can prepare nutritious, low-calorie meals at home, which is difficult for those who work.
4. Athletes – 16:8
You need fuel to train, so fasting all day is not an option. If the day before you had dinner at seven o’clock in the evening, then in the morning you can easily go to the gym or go for a run, and at 11.00 have a hearty breakfast.
Some useful facts about intermittent fasting
1. Your appetite may decrease.
You might expect to be hungry as hell after a period of calorie restriction, but this is often not the case because intermittent fasting affects the hormones that regulate appetite.
At first, when you just start practicing this method, the production of the “hunger hormone” ghrelin increases. But over time, when calorie restriction occurs regularly, the body adjusts and ghrelin levels decrease.
It also increases sensitivity to the “satiety hormone” leptin, so you feel fuller longer, which helps control weight.
2. On fast days you need to eat the right calories.
If you’re following the 5:2 routine, you may be confused about what to cook within your daily 500-600 calorie limit. It’s important to understand that not all calories are created equal—getting your energy from sources like fast-digesting carbohydrates, such as white bread or sweets, will cause your blood glucose levels to spike and only make you feel more hungry.
Instead, your meals on fast days, as well as on “normal” days, should contain protein, healthy fats and plenty of fiber to help you feel fuller longer. This way, you can be sure you’re getting the micronutrients you need to stay healthy.
3. You may have hunger rages.
When a person is hungry, his character deteriorates, he becomes gloomy and irritable. This is due to a drop in blood sugar levels. Additionally, prolonged fasting causes increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can lead to increased anxiety in some people. The good news is that over time, the body will adapt and these side effects of fasting will go away.
4. You won’t be able to train at your usual pace.
On fasting days, your energy levels will drop, so you will have to adjust your pace of physical activity to the changed conditions. Start with low-intensity exercises and slowly increase the pace to the point where you feel discomfort.
Don’t force yourself to do what you did before – if you feel dizzy, nauseous or weak, stop training immediately.
5. You will have to drink more water than usual.
Some of the fluid enters the body with food, so on fasting days you will have to compensate for this deficiency and drink more than on “normal” days. It is especially important to remember this if you are exercising and sweat a lot.
6. Cardio at the beginning of the fasting period and strength training at the end
After strength training, it is important to build muscle mass, so it makes sense to time your workout towards the end of your fasting window. So, if you’re on a 16:8 diet and eat between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., finish your strength training before breakfast, which should be high in protein.
But cardio training should be done immediately after the food “window” closes. That is, if you have dinner at 16.00, immediately after that you can go swimming, running, or cycling. In this case, dinner should be rich in carbohydrates, which will fuel your workout.