The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Utilizing and burning stored body fat to produce energy throughout your day can aid in a more productive lifestyle, but it can also benefit your overall health and wellness. How can you convince your body to pull from its own stored fat, though? How can you get out of your daily slump?
Intermittent Fasting.
Yes, fasting is an old tradition that seems to be making its comeback in today’s weight-loss trends; however, there is significant research showing us that science may support a smart and safe version of abstaining from food. Instead of purely starving the body, recent studies show that intermittent fasting and planned calorie restriction triggers a complex series of intricate events, including activation of cellular stress response elements, improved regulation on the cellular level, and positive alteration in hormonal balance.
Throughout a fast, your body initiates important cellular repair processes and changes hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible. Blood levels of insulin drop significantly, which signals fat burning. Muscles grow and the blood levels of growth hormone can increase tremendously. The body is believed to be able to fight off illness faster and work toward cell repair, which leads to a longer life. The hours spent fasting provide the body needed time for cells to remove waste products.
The enhanced hormone functioning that takes place during an intermittent fast triggers weight loss. Short-term fasting increases your metabolic rate by 3.6-14%, helping you burn even more calories, which aids in a quick weight loss. But the key is balance, and you must understand that any weight that is shed can be easily gained if you do not follow through with lifestyle changes. Remember that if you are sick or feeling off in any way, listen to your body and give yourself some slack on the day’s fasting goals.
Intermittent fasting has also been shown to improve numerous risk factors, including:
- blood pressure
- total and LDL cholesterol
- blood triglycerides
- inflammatory markers
- blood sugar levels
Transitioning into the fasting period can be done gently:
- Stop eating at night at a specific time – such as 7pm, at least 2-3 hours before bedtime.
- Wait a full 12 hours to break your fast. (the majority of the time was spent sleeping.)
- You’ve had 2-4 hours of non-eating before bed and maybe 1 or less hours when you arise
- Once you make it a habit, extend your fasting period until you hit the best balance that works for you. (18 hours shows the greatest researched benefits.)
Remember that if you are sick or feeling off in any way, listen to your body and give yourself some slack on the day’s fasting goals.
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