Losing weight has never been easy, and dieting is also a struggle. Many obstacles will prevent you from reaching your ideal weight. No matter where you are on your weight loss journey, maintaining your ideal body weight is challenging. If you’re overweight, even a few pounds lost will make you feel better, so any move in the right direction is beneficial.

Luckily, there’s this thing called intermittent fasting that can help you with your dilemma of losing weight. We will discuss what is intermittent fasting, how it works? And why you should try it.

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Life is all about finding the right balance. The yin and the yang, the good and the poor. The same is true when it comes to food and fasting. After all, fasting is just the opposite of feeding. You are fasting if you are not eating.

Intermittent fasting is a way of feeding, not a diet. It’s a method of preparing your meals so that you get the best bang for your buck. Intermittent fasting does not alter your eating habits; instead, it changes the timing of your meals. At the most basic level, intermittent fasting helps the body use its stored energy by consuming excess body fat.

It’s essential to note that this is natural, and humans have evolved to fast for shorter periods – hours or days – without suffering adverse health effects. Food energy has been processed in the form of body fat. Your body would actually “kill” its fat for energy if you don’t eat.

How does it work?

Once we eat, we absorb more calories than our bodies can use right away. Any of this energy would have to be saved for future use. Insulin is a hormone that aids in the storage of energy from food.

Furthermore, intermittent fasting works by extending the time between when your body burns through the calories consumed during your last meal and starts burning fat.

There are many ways to incorporate intermittent fasting, but they all revolve around eating and fasting regularly. You should, for example, only eat for eight hours a day and fast the rest of the time. Alternatively, you might opt to eat just one meal a day for two days a week. 

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

This eating plan requires people to fast for 16 hours a day and consume all of their calories for the remaining 8 hours. A common form of fasting is 16:8 intermittent fasting, also known as the 16:8 diet or 16:8 plan. The 16:8 program helps with weight loss and fat loss and prevents type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases.

Here are other health benefits of intermittent fasting.

Lower Cholesterol

Cholesterol isn’t bad in and of itself. Your body needs cholesterol for the development of hormones, vitamin D, and digestive fluids. Cholesterol also aids in the healthy functioning of the organs.

Having too much LDL cholesterol, on the other hand, can be a concern. Over time, high LDL cholesterol can cause artery damage, lead to heart disease, and increase your risk of stroke. If you are looking for something to lower your cholesterol, then you must try intermittent fasting.

Intermittent fasting, when done effectively with endurance exercise, alternate-day fasting can help lower total and LDL cholesterol. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, LDL cholesterol is the “bad” cholesterol that can increase your heart disease or stroke risk. 

Furthermore, researchers have discovered intermittent fasting decreased triglycerides in the blood, which can cause a stroke, heart attack, or heart disease.

Weight Loss

Many people who attempt intermittent fasting aim to lose weight. The good news is that any form of intermittent fasting has the potential to help you lose weight. People who eat for a certain amount of time will help them cut back on their calorie intake. It can also assist in the acceleration of metabolism.

One thing you can do is try intermittent fasting. In general, intermittent fasting allows you to eat fewer meals. You will consume fewer calories unless you compensate by consuming even more during the other meals. Intermittent fasting also improves hormone function, which aids weight loss.

The amount of weight loss tends to be identical to what you’d anticipate from any calorie-restricted diet, and depending on how many calories you consume per day, you can also gain weight. After all, the diet does not forbid the intake of high-calorie foods.

Prevent Cancer

Just merely hearing the word cancer is scary. It is a dangerous disease that can cause death if neglected. In reality, cancer can cause fatal damages to our immune system. If you’re looking for something to prevent cancer from coming into your body, one good thing to try is intermittent fasting.

Intermittent fasting has been shown in some studies to reduce cancer risk by lowering lymphoma growth, restricting tumor survival, and slowing cancer cell spread. However, the experiments that indicated a cancer benefit were all animal studies, and further research is required to validate a human benefit and explain the mechanism behind these results.

Improve Brain Functions

A saying says that what is good to our body will often do good in our brains. Intermittent fasting increases the number of metabolic characteristics that are linked to brain health.

Reduced oxidative stress, inflammation, blood sugar levels, and insulin resistance are all part of this. It also raises a brain hormone called a brain-derived neurotrophic factor, whose lack has been linked to depression and other mental illnesses.

Improve Heart Health

One of the most deadly diseases on the planet is heart disease. On the other hand, intermittent fasting has been shown to increase heart disease risk factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and inflammatory markers. 

Furthermore, various health indicators (also known as “risk factors”) have been linked to an increased or decreased risk of heart disease.

Takeaway

There are various plans and services available to help you take care of your body and mind. However, because of the many false statements that accompany our society, you must be wary about which activity you can follow. Often, before trying anything like intermittent fasting, consult a doctor to see if it is suitable for your current situation.