Intermittent fasting, interval fasting, part-time fasting, or intermittent fasting is a nutritional trend that is getting a lot of attention. This diet offers alternating periods of fasting and eating to allow the body to get enough rest. The advantages of intermittent fasting are numerous: less bloating, better physical and mental performance, considerable energy gain … If you are interested in this method of fasting and you are ready to learn to eat again , here’s everything you need to know about intermittent fasting. I practice it myself, and I will share with you my feedback on my experience through these “few” lines.
What is intermittent fasting?
The purpose of interval fasting is to eat over a limited period of time, the idea being to have a longer period of fast than that of food intake. You should know that, during each food intake during the day, we come to interrupt the fasting period. Whether we consume a slice of bread or a mixed salad, technically the fast is broken.
If you are wondering who can do intermittent fasting, the answer is simple: the vast majority of the population, except in exceptional cases with particular health problems. Indeed, this type of fast is not a diet that requires reducing the daily calorie intake. The amount of food consumed remains identical to that of a conventional diet.
How do I do intermittent fasting now? The schedules during which to practice intermittent fasting are specific to each (s). The key is to respect a food intake / fasting interval which is generally 8h / 16h or 9h / 15h. By doing the math, you will quickly realize that in order to keep up with this pace, you must not skip a meal, but shift it. I grant you, at first, changing your eating pattern is not easy. It’s just a habit to take.
If you can’t do without your breakfast in the morning, here is the intermittent fasting rhythm you could adopt:
What are the variations of interval fasting?
Intermittent fasting can be done in several ways, even without changing the concept of the diet. The key is to find a pace that you can handle and hold over the long term. Here are 3 different rates of intermittent fasting. They are not ranked easier or less easy for the simple reason that the feeling is personal.
- The 16/8 variant: 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of food intake. This is the method I recommend for getting started. The change is less abrupt and it is easy to stick with it for the long haul.
- The 20/4 variant: 20 hours of fasting and 4 hours of food. This solution takes practice. However, if you don’t have a problem with going without food for a long period of time, you are free to start here.
- The 36/12 variant: 36 hours of fasting and 12 hours for eating. In other words, it’s about eating every other day over a period of just 12 hours.
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting?
The advantages of intermittent fasting are numerous. This diet has positive effects on both the physical and the morale of the people who practice it. On top of that, you don’t have to wait months to see the difference because results show up quickly
- Intermittent fasting and weight loss
Does intermittent fasting make you lose weight? Technically, no, since the calorie intake during the day does not decrease. However, it is true that we often tend to overeat ourselves. Reducing the number of hours between meals therefore makes it possible to feel less hunger during this time. So when we need to eat again, we use less.
During fasting, our body produces hormones which in themselves facilitate lipid metabolism (or lipid metabolism). To be clearer, this is what helps burn fat. In order for the metabolism to be in a state of ketosis, the body needs to go between 8 hours and 12 hours without being fed. To put it simply, when a metabolism is in ketosis, it works because it needs to be fed. That’s why it will draw its resources from the fat reserve. It then burns the fatty mass, which are fats, without affecting the lean mass (the muscles).
In my personal experience, intermittent fasting decreases bloating. I am a person who always has a little round lower abdomen, even in the morning when I wake up. However, since I started intermittent fasting, my stomach is flatter, especially in the morning.
- Energy gain
If you were worried about cravings or fatigue during interval fasting, think again. Since you continue to eat normally in quantities, your body receives all the necessary nutrients.
During the fasting phase, your body is in full detoxification. Rather than focusing its energy on digestion, the body focuses on metabolism. Also, in a fasting state, the body produces growth hormones and thus allows cell renewal. Fasting time helps the immune system recover and improve the quality of sleep.
Intermittent fasting also helps to gain energy since, during the digestion period, the body works and gets tired. It’s not for nothing that after eating, you want to take a big nap … This is why the longer the body goes without eating, the less tired it will be.
