There are countless diet methods to lose weight. However, in recent years, it has become clear that it is not only the foods eaten for weight loss, but also when the foods are eaten.
In recent years, a new diet trend has emerged that has increased in popularity, that those who have tried it have gotten quite surprising results and that doctors strongly recommend: INTERMITTING FASTING!
In fact, the method referred to as intermittent fasting is not a short-term diet, but a lifestyle and eating style that should be spread throughout life. As with all other diets, returning to old eating habits after a certain period of time causes the weight lost to be regained.
Although the first goal of this diet is to lose weight, it is also to burn fat without sacrificing muscle, prevent sugar storage and consume healthy foods.
Since the intermittent fasting diet is a very new way of eating, studies are currently insufficient. However, according to the results of a small number of studies, this diet may reduce insulin resistance, be protective against type 2 diabetes, reduce inflammation, protect the heart by lowering cholesterol levels and prevent some types of cancer.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
The body converts the food consumed during the day into glycogen and stores it in the liver for up to 24 hours. These glycogens are burned, converted into energy, within 8 to 12 hours if no more food is consumed.
But because frequent eaters will constantly store glycogen in the body, the glycogen reserve is never depleted and the body tries to burn only glycogen for energy, almost forgetting to burn fat.
Intermittent fasting prevents this and allows the body to burn fat for energy. Thus, weight loss occurs and the desired weight is achieved through intermittent fasting.
Intermittent fasting is actually quite similar to our traditional fasting system. It aims to eat at certain times of the day and starve at others. The difference from traditional fasting is that you can consume beverages such as water, tea and soda during the fasting periods.
There are many variations of the intermittent fasting diet: 8 hours of eating and 16 hours of fasting, 6 hours of eating and 18 hours of fasting, or 4 hours of eating and 20 hours of fasting. Using the 16-8 method as an example, food is consumed during the preferred 8 hours of the day, while no caloric food is taken into the body for the remaining 16 hours.
It is also a personal choice whether you eat during the day, at noon or in the evening during the 8-hour period.
Types of Intermittent Fasting
16:8 Method: It is a method in which all desired foods are consumed for 8 hours out of 24 and all foods with nutritional value and calories are avoided for the remaining 16 hours. During the 16-hour period, liquids such as non-caloric water, unsweetened tea and coffee are allowed. No dietary restrictions are imposed during the hours of meal consumption.
5:2 Method: The aim of this method is to maintain a normal diet for 5 days of the week, and to go to an intense calorie restriction for 2 days of the week. It is generally recommended for people who want to stay in shape rather than lose weight.
In the 5:2 method, an average of 500 calories for women and 600 calories for men should be consumed 2 days a week. The aim of this is to confuse the metabolism and quickly convert the glycogen stored in the liver into energy to avoid weight gain.
How Fat Burning and Weight Loss Happen in Intermittent Fasting
The main goal when losing weight on an intermittent fasting diet is to burn fat while preserving muscle. It is a proven scientific fact that the body tends to burn fat during the fasting period.
This fat burning occurs when the body tries to meet its energy needs from adipose tissue, since no food enters the body outside of the eight hours of the day when food is eaten. At the same time, when the body lacks nutrients, levels of insulin, a hormone that promotes fat storage in the body, drop. Thus, while losing weight, it is possible to realize the lost weight by losing fat.
Is Intermittent Fasting Harmful?
Intermittent fasting is a weight loss method that does not cause any harm if applied correctly. It is important to note, however, that you should not consume too little food, as is customary with other diets.
It is necessary to be able to fully meet the calorie, macro- and micronutrient needs of the body during the day. Serious discomfort can occur when the body does not get enough of the essential nutrients it needs during the hours when food can be consumed during intermittent fasting. In fact, this applies to all types of diets, not just intermittent fasting.
Also, when it comes to the Intermittent Fasting diet list, one speaks of prolonged fasts of around 16-20 hours. The fluctuations in insulin and sugar levels on this diet are quite high for those who are not used to it.
For this reason, this diet is not recommended for people with any health problems, metabolic diseases, children, pregnant women and nursing mothers.