Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that alternates between periods of eating and fasting. It doesn’t prescribe what to eat but focuses on when to eat. Some of the most popular methods include:

1. 16/8 method: Fast for 16 hours, eat within an 8-hour window (e.g., eat between noon and 8 p.m.).
2. 5:2 method: Eat normally for five days of the week, and restrict calories (usually around 500-600) on two non-consecutive days.
3. Eat-Stop-Eat: Fast for a full 24 hours once or twice a week.
4. Alternate-day fasting: Alternate between days of normal eating and fasting.

You can  use intermittent fasting for various reasons, like weight loss, improving metabolic health, or simplifying your eating schedule. Have you tried it or are you considering it?

What to eat during intermittent fasting

           During the times when you’re not eating, water is  permitted. During your eating periods, “eating normally” does not mean going crazy. Research shows that you’re not likely to lose weight or get healthier if you pack your feeding times with high-calorie junk food, super-sized fried items and treats.

Benefits of intermittent fasting

• Thinking and memory. intermittent fasting boosts working memory in animals and verbal memory in adult humans.

• Heart health. Intermittent fasting improved blood pressure and resting heart rates as well as other heart-related measurements.
• Physical performance. Young men who fasted for 16 hours showed fat loss while maintaining muscle mass. Mice who were fed on alternate days showed better endurance in running.
• Type 2 diabetes and obesity.: Most of the available research shows that intermittent fasting can help people lose body weight and lower their levels of fasting glucose, fasting insulin and leptin while reducing insulin resistance, decreasing levels of leptin and increasing levels of adiponectin.
• Tissue health.  Intermittent fasting reduces tissue damage in surgery.

Is intermittent fasting safe ?

         Some people try intermitting fasting for weight management, and others use the method to address chronic conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, high cholesterol or arthritis. But intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone.

Before you try intermittent fasting (or any diet), you should check in with your dietitian  first. Some people should steer clear of trying intermittent fasting:

• Children under the age of 18
• Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• People with type 1 diabetes who take insulin. “Because those with type I diabetes take insulin, there is a concern that an intermittent fasting eating pattern may result in unsafe levels of hypoglycemia during the fasting period.”
• Those with a history of eating disorders.

        Here from Longefit through intermittent fasting and EMS ,lets fuel your body, shock your muscles, level up your fitness !!

                                                                                             –Dietitian Sulfiya