Intermittent Fasting for Effective Weight Loss

There are quite a few people who find intermittent fasting (that is fasting during the day or for part of the day) to be an convenient way for weight loss. Intermittent fasting is becoming popular because it is not only simple to follow but also a enjoyable and fun way to lose weight. A short-term intermittent fast can either be on a daily or weekly basis. A daily intermittent fast involve eating only for a certain period of the day while the weekly intermittent fast involves limited eating of low calories on particular days of the week.

Daily Intermittent Fast:
The main advantage of a daily intermittent fast is the consistency. Be it monday or thursday, your eating pattern will be the same, making it easier for you to follow. Basically, in a daily intermittent fasting all you need to do is set aside at least 6 hours as ‘eating-hours’. For instance, during your daily routine consider eating only between 9 a.m — 3 p.m and strictly not eating anything before and after that time. So, you would be fasting for about 18 hours a day and 6 hours of eating.

Although it is convenient and beneficial, this type of fasting has a couple of disadvantages like lowering the metabolism due to less calorie intake or even resulting in muscle loss. It is also observed that during this form of fasting few people tend to become depressed or have increased anxiety.

Weekly Intermittent Fasting:
The main advantage of weekly fasting is that it is very simple to follow — eat on the day you are not fasting, don’t eat on the days you are fasting, as simple as that. In this type of fasting, schedule your week as such that on certain days you eat and on the other days you fast. On the days that you are fasting, you can replace your full meals by taking just about 6-8 glasses of fruit or vegetable juice or any other low-calorie food. And, on the eating days make sure that you have a balanced healthy diet. Depending on your flexibility, either make your fast alternate days or 3- days in a week or any other pattern that is convenient for you. However, weekly intermittent fasting can have a disadvantage of you binging into food on eating days.

All-in-all intermittent fasting is not only beneficial for weight loss but also other things like improving insulin resistance which in turn helps in building muscle and helps prevents diseases like type 2 diabetes. It is also effective in cleansing the body fats and toxins and increases the immune productivity.