Losing weight and marching on the path of fitness is something that has taken up a speed more aggressively than ever before in the past few years. There can be many reasons for the dramatic shift in people’s thinking, but that’s not the topic to discuss.
As people started making changes in their lifestyles to get rid of body fat, health experts, fitness coaches, and dietitians have rolled out discrete plans and ways for people to achieve their fitness goals faster and more effectively.
One of the many ways is ‘intermittent fasting’, and many famous personalities have mentioned the same while talking about their fitness journeys. For those searching out the methods for a proper diet, intermittent fasting can be the best thing to try.
For those who don’t know what it is, intermittent fasting is a technique to keep control of the consumption of food by scheduling various meal timings over a decided period of time for voluntary fasting and nonfasting.
There are many studies and surveys available to prove the positive impacts of intermittent fasting. Now let us look at six different ways to adopt and adapt intermittent fasting to your fitness routine.
The 16/8 Method: To put it out in simple words, 16/8 refers to the division of the house of the day for fasting and nonfasting. You need to fast for 16 hours, and you can go within the rest 8 hours of the day. After having a meal at eight at night, your next meal should happen only after 12 noon the next day. And to keep a balance in satisfying your sweet cravings, you can have a slice of sugar free cake that you can order via cake delivery in Bangalore because an immediate give up of tasty dishes can be little toll-taking on mental health.
The Alternate Days Fasting: This method of intermittent fasting goes by its name! The person practising it has to keep a fast for one whole day and can eat on the next day and then again fast on the next day. The fasting here doesn’t mean that the person should stay hungry. Food items like fresh fruits, salad, and boiled cereals can be consumed but in a limited quantity.
The Weekly Fast: Also goes by the names like 24-hour fasting and eat-stop-eat method, the weekly fast is the one that people in Indian households have witnessed a lot. You need to keep a fast for the whole day once a week, and it includes no meal (breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner). Try to keep yourself at bay by drinking lots of water. Fruits and fruit juices can be consumed.
The 12-Hour Fast: Do not fast for 12 hours of the day, and do fast for the other 12 hours of the day! That’s what the 12-hour fast method of intermittent fasting asks you to do. It is just another way of the 16/8 method. Most people include their sleep cycle in the 12 hours of fasting and keep the other 12 hours between their breakfast and dinner.
The 5:2 Method
To be very precise, 5:2 is just an advanced level of Weekly Fasting. As a week is seven days, you need to decide the 5 days that you will be eating and 2 days when you keep the fast. There is no hard and fast rule about which days are for fasting and which are not. You can pick the days at your convenience.
The Warrior Fasting: It is exactly the kind of vibe it gives! Before you read ahead, one should only opt for Warrior fasting after having tried the above-mentioned ways of intermittent fasting. This method requires fasting throughout the day and only a 4-hour period to eat. You can consume a big, heavy meal, but it should not be fatty and unhealthy in any way. If you haven’t fasted till now, do not try Warrior fasting, as it can make you feel down on energy.
There is a slight acceptance of consuming your favourite dessert or snack while you’re on intermittent fasting. But having fatty, unhealthy foods and packaged food items in the nonfasting part should not be done.
Experts also suggest that energy foods should be included in the diet, and one should keep his/her body hydrated.