Intermittent fasting; the new wave to weight loss.
Intermittent fasting has become a common trend with the millenials and other adults. Many have adopted this mechanism as a means to “kill two birds with one stone”; abstaining from food for spiritual purposes while at the same time to lose weight. You may ask, what’s intermittent fasting? Intermittent fasting is a pattern regarding one’s eating habits, which cycles between periods of fasting and eating that allows an individual to eat any food of their preference but at a specific time. It could be described more as an eating pattern than a diet.
How can one practice intermittent fasting and what time interval is best? Studies has shown that it is more natural to fast often than it is to always eat 3-4 or more meals daily. Here is a few list on how fasting affects our body system;
- Fasting increases the levels of growth hormones which translates into fat loss and muscle gain.
- It lowers insulin levels and make stored body fat easily accessible.
- It encourages the repair of body cells, initiates changes in gene function that leads to protection against certain diseases.
Fasting is practiced by most religions in the world. Therefore, any and every one can embark on this body, soul and spirit cleansing journey at will. The most common methods includes;
- Leangains protocol (16/8): it involves skipping breakfast and scheduling daily eating periods to about 8 hours while fasting for 16 hours in between.
- 24 hours method: it involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week, but eating moderately for the remaining days.
The various methods of intermittent fasting ought to produce weight loss results as long as the individual doesn’t eat too much during the eating period. Intermittent fasting is a trend to hold on to and run with, its benefits are worthy! Be patient with your body, find what works for you and ease into it one day at a time. Then repeat again and again, remember; persistently, consistent is the key to good results. We are rooting for you always!