The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting11 min read
11 min read
Share This Article on Social Media
Intermittent fasting has become more and more popular over the last couple of years. It is a trend used by people to lose weight, improve their health or simplify their lifestyles. Maybe you’ve heard of it, or maybe even tried it. Whether that’s the case, or you are completely new to this topic, this post will give you a practical overview on what Intermittent Fasting is, the benefits of Intermittent Fasting, how to properly fast, as well as a personal account of my own experience with it.
The history of Fasting
Fasting is not a modern-day practice. In fact, it has been around for thousands of years. In the Stone Age, people had periods of time with very little caloric intake. This wasn’t so much out of choice rather than necessity. Hunters and Gatherers would go days looking for food, only to then have a big meal to have enough nutrition for the next unpredictable time span of not eating.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent Fasting basically means you separate your days into eating/feeding windows, as well as fasting windows. So you essentially only eat during a specific time.
Intermittent Fasting does not specify what you eat, but only when you eat.
There are different types of Intermittent fasting, so I will explain them in a bit more detail:
Types of Intermittent Fasting
Time restricted fasting
This is arguably the most common type of Intermittent Fasting. The great thing about all of the time restricted types of fasting, is that they are 100% adjustable to any lifestyle. Once you choose the type of intervall you will go with, you have complete freedom to choose what hours of eating fit your current lifestyle the best.
16:8
16 refers to the number of hours you will spend fasting, 8 is the number of hours you will spend eating. This is a great start to fasting for beginners.
For example, if you tend to have busy mornings and usually have a late dinner at night, starting your fasting window at 9pm after dinner and not eating until 1pm the next day might be the best fit for you.
If your last meal is usually around 5pm, you might just start your fast there and eat again at 9am the next day!
You can adjust this schedule any way you like, as long as you stick to the basic rule of 16 hours fasting / 8 hours eating.
14:10
If 16 hours of fasting seem too long for you at first, start smaller! 14, or even 12 hour windows can still bring some benefits of IF! But remember, the longer your fasting window, the more benefits you tend to reap from fasting!
5:2 - The Twice-a-Week-Fast
Another popular method of Intermittent Fasting is 5:2. This refers to eating normal 5 days of the week and keeping your calories to 500/day the other two days.
This method is technically not “fasting” as your body does not get the break in digestion that brings so many benefits with actual fasting, but it may be a good option if you are trying to lose weight.
Alternate-Day-Fast
This method is similar to the 5:2, just that you eat 500 calories every other day instead of twice a week.
A study showed that people who followed this diet for 6 months, and then went off the diet for 6 months had significantly higher levels of LDL levels (which is the bad cholesterol), suggesting that the diet improved their health initially.
Eat-Stop-Eat or the 24 hour Fast
This method includes fasting for 24 hours. It can be done as often as you like, but once or twice a week seems to be a good number for most people.
For example, if you had dinner at 7pm today, you will fast until 7pm tomorrow.
Some people repeat this fast daily. Although this offers remarkable health benefits, be careful when restricting your food intake to one meal a day that you still get enough nutrients and calories. People who practice this a lot have no problem eating a nutritious 2500 calorie meal in one sitting, but that might not be the best option for you. Try it out and see how you feel!
Multiple Day Fasts
Technically this is another type of fasting, but Multiple Day Fasts usually do not take part in people’s life on a very regular level, it’s more of a 1, 2 or 3 times a year kind of thing.
I will not go much deeper into this type of Fast, as that will be a whole other post with much more focus on Water Fasts.
What are the benefits of Intermittent Fasting?
So now that you got to know the different types of fasting you might ask yourself: Why would I restrict my eating time on a daily basis? What’s in it for me?
The science on Intermittent Fasting is still evolving, but studies have already linked IF to numerous health benefits.
This study linked fasting for 18 hours and eating for 6 hours to a metabolic switch from glucose based to ketone based energy, which increases people’s stress resistance and longevity and decreased the incidence of diseases like cancer or obesity.
Another study found that fasting will decrease the risk of chronic disease in humans.
Here is a list of other benefits of IF:
- Insulin Levels: levels of insulin in blood drop significantly, making fat burning easier
- Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Levels: the levels of HGH may increase dramatically, resulting in a facilitation of fat burning and muscle gain.
- Cellular Repair: The body starts to induce important repair processes, like removing waste from cells. This process is also known as autophagy.
- Metabolic Rate: Intermittent Fasting enhances your metabolic rate to make weight loss easier.
- Reduced inflammation: Studies show that IF can help reduce inflammation in the body.
- Improved Clarity
- More energy
- Less hunger
- No more “hangry-ness”
- Improved focus
- Better athletic performance
- Heightened mood
in connection with their fasting.
So this gives us a list of not only physical but also mental health benefits that may improve your life significantly!
How do you fast properly?
Now that you know the types as well as the benefits of Intermittent Fasting, you might want to give it a go yourself.
Although it is one of the most simple methods to implement into your day-to-day, there are a few things you should keep in mind for your fasts.
In order to reap all the benefits from fasting, we want to prevent an insulin spike during our fasting windows. This essentially means that we should not consume any calories, solid or liquid, otherwise the body will not get into the desired state of ketosis!
I’ll give you a list here of everything you can safely consume during your fasting window to ensure that you avoid the things that break a fast!
What you can drink:
- Water (and as much of it as possible! Water not only helps you curb your hunger feelings a bit, it is also very beneficial for your metabolism and overall health! When I fast until noon, I try to drink at least 1-2L (32-64Oz) of water before I break my fast.)
- Black Coffee (no creamer, milk or sugar of any kind! Even though it is technically okay for the fast, you should also stray away from artificial sweeteners, as well!)
- Tea (same here, no creamer, milk, sugar or honey to ensure that you don’t get an insulin spike)
- Apple Cider Vinegar (some people drink diluted ACV in water to reap potential health benefits and curb hunger)
- Lemon juice (squeezing lemon or lime into your water will not break your fast and may actually bring a lot of added health benefits!)
- Non-caloric drinks (again, try to stay away from artificial sweeteners as much as possible. Even though Coke Zero for example won’t technically break your fast, it is better to stick to water, tea and coffee during that time)
Breaking the fast
To break your fast, you can choose to eat whatever you want. Some people have no problem breaking their fast with big meals, other people report it is better for their digestion to ease into eating by having a light meal or some fruit first. Experiment with what feels best for your body!
Important: Make sure to get enough food and calories in your eating window to benefit from IF!
Personal Takeaways
I have been using the Intermittent Fasting method for close to 3 years now. Personally, it helped me tremendously in understanding my body, its cravings and my emotions tied to food and hunger.
I do not fast every single day, or at least not for the same amount of time, but that is the beautiful thing about IF, you can use it however it fits your life!
As for hunger, the first 2 or 3 days of doing Intermittent Fasting I felt very hungry around the times that I would usually eat in the morning. But after that, my body adjusted and I will now get hungry around the time I usually break my fast.
I have gotten to a point of understanding with my body where if I do get incredibly hungry hours before my eating window starts, it will almost always mean I didn’t get enough food the day before and in turn I will up my food intake for that day accordingly.
Eating
A normal day for me starts with a lot of water (with lemon or chlorophyll) and a cup of black coffee. On most days, my first meal will be around 12pm-2pm. This varies mostly on my schedule and my hunger level. On some days I might not even eat until 4 or 5pm, if I’m out and about.
I love the fact that this has helped me so much in terms of not being dependent on food throughout the day. It is so liberating to know that I will be okay and my energy will be constant and reliable even if I don’t get a chance to eat until later.
Sometimes I will have a snack in the afternoon, but most of the time my relatively big lunch ties me over to dinner, which I have around 6 or 7pm.
On a normal day I might have another snack at around 8pm and that’s usually it for the day.
Sometimes I am more strict with my fasting windows and I like using the App Zero to track my fasts, but most of the time nowadays my body is so adjusted to this schedule that I fast automatically.
Working out
For me, working out fasted has been a game changer. I can’t understand anymore how I used to go on a long run right after eating a bowl of oatmeal, for example.
I have seen a huge increase in my performance since starting to work out on an empty stomach. Not only that, but I also feel so much better. No more nausea mid-workout, no more sluggish feeling or tiredness.
When I don’t workout in my fasting window, I try to do it in the evening before dinner, at least 3-4 hours after my last meal.
This works well for me, and I can even go on long 5-6 hour hikes on an empty stomach without fluctuations in my energy!
Conclusion
Intermittent Fasting can be a great tool in understanding your body and hunger, as well as optimizing your health. Whether you want to improve your health, prevent chronic disease, get the most out of your energy or lose weight, Intermittent Fasting might be a great thing to try out for you!
Make sure to check with your doctor if you have health conditions that might make IF a health risk for you!
Experiment!!
One of the biggest tips I can give you, is to try different things and experiment with your body! Maybe working out on an empty stomach doesn’t work for you, maybe you feel a lot better eating first thing in the morning and having your fasting window start in the late afternoon, maybe 16:8 is good for you, or maybe your body feels better on a 5:2.
There is no one-fits-all answer to this, as everybody is different and every body is different. Due to the abundance of IF methods, I am sure there is something in there that might benefit you, just try it out and have fun!
Let me know if you have tried IF and what your experience with it was, or if you have any questions by clicking the “contact” button at the top of the page!
