Intermittent fasting (IF) method of fasting once or multiple times per week for a period of time (usually around 12-48 hours) is the method that we will be discussing today. Because of the high intensity of the fasting period, it is important to ensure that you are well-prepared to do so.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
As mentioned earlier, intermittent fasting is a popular way of fasting that involves only eating a small amount of food during the day, usually around 500-800 calories, but eating very little or nothing at all at night. The goal of intermittent fasting is to provide a concentrated burst of energy, usually in the morning before the start of the working day. You can begin with a short fast of just one meal, and gradually work up to a longer fast of 2-4 hours, which is often the duration of most people’s work day.
How and Why of Intermittent Fasting
Fasting or starving is one of the oldest forms of health practice, and it has been used for thousands of years by people across cultures. It has been used for many purposes including weight loss, enhanced brain function, and enhancing athletic performance.
While fasting for a specific amount of time, it’s important to understand that you are still consuming fewer calories than you would normally eat in a day, but in a more concentrated and sustained manner. The key benefits of intermittent fasting, which are the benefits you get from fasting, is the ability to break the usual pattern of eating that occurs throughout the day.
When we eat a meal, we typically eat for a couple of hours and then have the rest of the day to eat whatever we want. However, because the body is designed to only operate in a certain range, it will not respond well to a sudden shift from one state to the other. When the body is not eating, it will begin to break down stored nutrients, and it will begin to burn the stored fats and sugars in the body. This is also why we experience such severe cravings during the fasting period.
Because of this, when we begin to eat again, we will experience the “hangry” feeling, which means that we will be hungry and irritable. Because of this, the body will crave foods that are high in calories, so it will begin to crave the foods we have eaten while fasting.
This is why we see so many people binge eating when they begin eating again after they fast. Because of this, the best time to fast is usually in the morning before we start our working day. This way we can begin with a quick burst of energy and begin the day on a positive note.
Intermittent fasting is often confused with other forms of fasting such as alternate day fasting, and it is similar in that we are still fasting, but we are doing it in a more controlled manner and we are also eating when we are hungry.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting has been proven to help enhance athletic performance, especially during the intense periods of training. Athletes, whether they are amateur athletes or professional athletes, have been fasting for various periods of time for thousands of years, and the same benefits can be experienced by any bodybuilder.
The benefits of intermittent fasting can be even more enhanced if you do intermittent fasting alongside a carb-based diet. For example, intermittent fasting can be done in conjunction with carb-heavy intermittent fasting. The goal is to ensure that you are not consuming too many carbs during the day, but to ensure that you are consuming enough carbs.
Following are some of the prominent benefits that we can gain from intermittent fasting:
- Weight loss
- Enhanced mental performance
- Enhanced athletic performance
- Improved digestion
- Increased energy
- Improved skin health
If you are interested in learning more about intermittent fasting, you can find many articles about intermittent fasting that will give you a better understanding of the topic. You can also find out about the different types of fasting that are used, such as: alternate day Fasting, 5:2 fasting and bulletproof fasting. You can also check out the useful video below on intermittent fasting.