Fasting to Burn Fat

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Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent Fasting or IF for short is not a diet or starvation process. It is an eating pattern. When one fasts and also reduces their calorie intake, it can lead to a healthier and prolonged life. Take note that our ancestors before us were gatherers and hunters. They did not have meals all the time and what they ate were based on what was available. With that being said, it means that our bodies are actually also designed to go for a few hours without eating. It can survive without having three square meals a day. Living the IF Life has many benefits which will be explained down below.

Health Benefits

1. You keep yourself full. Some people think that fasting or dieting for that matter is equal to starvation. However, when Intermittent Fasting is done, Ghrelin which is a hormone that signals hunger adjusts to the new way of eating of the body which is why you will not feel hungry.

2. You will have better focus and improved concentration. When fasting, catecholamines, which is another hormone of the body is produced more. Therefore, the end result is that you will be more focused on what you are doing.

3. You will have more energy. Since you will not eat as much, there will be less wavering of blood sugar levels. This means that real energy will be more consistent. Plus, you lessen the risk of getting diabetes. You can also exercise while you are on fast which will actually boost your body's potential to burn more fats. A growth hormone is increased when you fast which help burn calories.

4. You burn more fat which means weight loss. Since you eat less and are taking in fewer calories, your body will turn into body fat to burn for energy instead of taking the energy from the food that is otherwise eaten on a regular basis if you are not on Intermittent Fasting. This also means that your body will show more of fits lean muscle mass. On a side note, if you are fasting for about 16 hours, your body is already consuming body fat.

5. You will also be able to benefit from the following:

• Less glucose in the blood and better insulin levels

• Less inflammation

• Protection against diseases such as heart disease, Alzheimer's, and cancers

How to Start

Seeking the help of a professional is advisable before you start fasting. However, you can start by choosing a day to skip breakfast. You can choose to have water or tea in lieu of breakfast. As you progress, try to go further by skipping lunch. If you feel that you need to eat or are feeling anxious, you can take a normal sized meal.

Keep in mind that IF means that you take a break from eating so that your body will be able to produce hormones which can have a better effect on your cells for a better and longer life. Visit http://www.shapetrainer.co.uk/ now, for more information about the benefits of intermittent fasting and how to do it properly and effectively!

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The Fasting Diet - Fact or Fantasy

You may or may not have heard of the fasting diet but essentially what it is when you do alternate days of fasting and the others just eating normally.

It's been on the news recently as a chap by the name of Michael Mosley has used the method to lose a stone in five weeks for a Horizon documentary. That in itself is a massive achievement. Losing a stone would be enough to notice a difference and would be a great motivator to keep going to reach your target weight.

A strong word of warning, to anyone reading this, particularly those that are pregnant or diabetic, please seek medical advice before trying the fasting diet. Michael was monitored by a medical team while he was doing this. Proper tests have yet to provide proof that a fasting diet is beneficial in any way.

Anyway, what Michael did was a 5:2 fasting diet whereby you eat normally for five days out of seven and fast for the other two i.e. normal eating for 3 days then fast for one, then normal eating for 2 days and fast for one, or vice versa. Now by fasting it doesn't mean don't eat at all. It means eating enough of the right stuff to get you through the days you are fasting. In essence keeping the amount of calories you consume to around 500 for a female and to 600 for a male.

Eating the right stuff is a difficult one to quantify as this is all unproven. Personally I need some carbs otherwise I feel a bit weak and wobbly (as my mom would describe it). So I found a balance of a small bread roll, eggs, meats such as ham, poultry and fish and plenty of salad and veggies kept me going nicely. I coupled that with drinking plenty of water.

What I found was that on the fasting days even though I'd eaten less I felt more energized and mentally alert and after a short while, much to my surprise, I actually looked forward to those days.

Let's do the math

On the basis of a 5:2 fasting diet cycle you will effectively reduce your calorie intake by around 3000 to 5000 per week depending on whether you are a male or female. The diet is supposedly effective on a primitive level as it replicates the 'cave man' famine and feast for want of a better description. By which I refer to when as cave men we would have hunted and captured our prey and eaten well for a few days then survived on a lesser volume of food until the next hunt. It kind of makes sense when you think about it.

It could be argued that if we reduce our calorie intake by 3000 to 5000 per week we will lose weight anyway which I have no doubt we would. That would mean cutting down all week though which is when the denial is a daily chore and so hard to maintain. The great thing about the fasting diet is that for the best part of the week we can eat normally and that the pains of denial are only for two days which we can all cope with.

I have tried the fasting diet myself and found that it did work and that I steadily lost over half a stone in a month. Not fantastic for those that want miraculous results as quickly as possible but none the less easy and achievable weight loss for very little effort or pain. What I will do in future is reduce it to a 6:1 fasting diet so that I eat normally for six days and fast for one.

My only initial concern was that it may induce the yo-yo effect with my weight in that my body would learn to grab hold of fat on the days when I wasn't fasting otherwise known as starvation mode. I was delighted to note this wasn't the case and the weight has stayed off.

Needless to say some form of regular exercise will also help the weight loss. And when I say exercise I don't mean going to the gym every other day because personally I find that as interesting as watching paint dry. What I mean is a half hour brisk walk twice a week by walking to the shop for bits and pieces or getting off the bus one stop sooner on my way to work.

If you do try this you can leave a comment on my blog where you'll also find other tips and links relating to weight loss.

It goes without saying that before you embark on any major changes to your diet or lifestyle you should seek medical advice.

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Rapid Weight Loss: Risks of Fasting To Lose Weight

Given the risks associated with excessive weight gain, it is not surprising that most people around the world are trying to lose weight. This, in addition to the fact that media campaigns have succeeded in making being thin the "in-thing", has made people to scramble for almost any fat loss diet that is rumored to work. There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to get in shape through the use of weight loss diets and fat loss workouts. In fact, studies show that there are many benefits that come with losing weight, some of which include better sex, longer life and great self-esteem among other things. However, in trying to lose weight faster, some people usually opt for methods which are not only ineffective but which sometimes put their lives in danger.

People who use fasting as a fat loss technique usually believe that since food is to blame for excessive weight gain, then avoiding food is the best shortcut to a leaner and fitter body. While this weight loss theory might seem to make sense, it is totally wrong since it overlooks a fundamental principle. This principle is that the body needs food to properly function. This therefore means that totally depriving the body of food through fasting is a sure way of negatively affecting the proper functioning of your body.

Most weight loss nutritionists usually advocate for people who want to lose weight to limit their intake of foods that contain a lot of sugars. This does not however mean that the body does not need carbohydrates. This is so because foods rich in carbohydrates are a major source of energy for the body and thus are necessary. Totally depriving one's body of carbohydrates is bound to lead to health complications. A person who takes fasting to an extremity is thus bound to experience fatigue, dizziness, nausea and may even run the risk of settling into a coma.

Fasting to achieve rapid weight loss is risky and thus a method that should be avoided due to the fact that it can result in an altered metabolic rate as one's body tries to adapt to the consistent deprivation of food. This altered metabolic state may thus result in excessive weight gain when the person returns to his or her normal diet. It is thus a method of weight loss that is not sustainable and which may have a negative impact on your attempts to lose weight.

Fasting for weight loss may also result in one being malnourished. This is so because food is a source of essential vitamins and other nutrients that the body needs to properly function. The lack of antioxidants and other essential nutrients that help to maintain the body's immune system may lead to one's body being susceptible to diseases and infections.

Stewart is an author, writer and coach on Rapid Fat Loss and writes on The Best Fat Loss Workouts. His efforts have been instrumental in helping thousands of men and women to not only lose weight healthily, but to also live healthier and happier lives. Click on the links for more from him.

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