If you are anything like me and love to ponder over your extra pounds, you must have come across intermittent fasting. You might have speculated if it’s really worth it to deprive yourself of the ultimate bliss called food for so many hours, afterall you only have one life to eat. Well, stay with me through this article and I will tell you if it really is, because I have jumped the fasting bandwagon in a desperate attempt to lose the adamant extra pounds.
After the much talked about ketogenic diet, which has been equally loved and dissed by many, intermittent fasting claims the second spot of being the most popular. Unlike keto, you absolutely don’t have any prohibitions regarding your food in this method. The process is as simple as it gets: you have to choose a period of time of at least twelve hours at a certain time throughout the day where you can’t consume anything that has calories. Later, you will be rewarded a period of eight hours where you can consume as much as you would like. Simple? Not so much.
While the idea might seem very alluring as you really don’t have to deprive yourself of any delicacies, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Let’s initiate by explaining how intermittent fasting works in theory; the idea is that lesser time to consume food automatically means lesser calorie intake. Also, the large amount of time where you don’t consume anything prompts your body to start converting fat to energy, thus resulting in weight loss. I consider myself an expert when it comes to this method and let me tell you that, if you aren’t cautious with what you binge on in your eating window, your hours of self deprivation can really be a waste.
Did you know that it takes your metabolic system a whole half a day to totally consume the last meal you have eaten? Which testifies, you unfortunately won’t start burning any real fat until after twelve hours. Therefore, the second theory of intermittent fasting is only applicable if you fast more than twelve hours. The next disheartening fact is that even though you can binge on whatever you like after your fast, you really shouldn’t. The key to losing weight is “insulin levels” which are spiked by carbohydrates and sugars and as long as your insulin level is high, you won’t burn any fat.
You must be anxiously wondering: then what do I eat after the fast? Well, kick off with a rich salad with leafy greens and dressed with adequate amounts of good fats like olive or coconut oil. Then you can add plenty of protein rich foods like meat, cheese, fish, mushrooms to your main course. As for liquids, you can consume sugar free tea, coffee, lemon water during your fasting period as well as after.
The best trick is to keep your carbohydrate intake to a lower scale and only consume unprocessed carbohydrates. Replace your white pasta with whole grain one and opt for brown rice and bread instead of white. The next key mantra is to eliminate any types of sugar or sugary foods. Add to that plenty of water and trust me, intermittent fasting is the best thing that can happen to you.
advertisement