In this article, we'll explain everything you need to know about intermittent fasting: its benefits, the different types of fasting, and help you figure out where to start. Read our tips to help you create the diet best suited to your needs and one you'll be able to maintain over the long term.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a diet in which you abstain from consuming calories for an extended period of time. Typically, this period lasts between 12 and 40 hours.
What are the different intermittent fasting programs?
There are several ways to practice intermittent fasting, all of which involve dividing the day or week into periods of eating and fasting. During the fasting periods, you either eat very little or nothing at all.
Each program has its advantages and disadvantages and will be more or less adapted to your profile if you are a beginner or if you are used to it:
The 16/8 diet.
This program involves fasting every day for a certain number of hours and eating during the remaining hours. A popular example is the 16/8 diet. This involves fasting for 16 hours every day and eating (2, 3 or more meals) over an 8-hour period. This is the simplest form of fasting to start with and the easiest to maintain on a daily basis. Very simply, you can skip breakfast and eat all of your calories in the two remaining meals of the day (lunch and dinner). So if you eat dinner at 7:30 p.m., you will fast until 12 p.m. the next day, which makes a total of 16 hours of fasting. The idea here is to give your digestive system and your entire body a rest period where it is not stressed.
If you're interested in adopting this method and are new to intermittent fasting, start by delaying your breakfast time a little later each day, gradually working your way towards eliminating it altogether.
The 5:2 diet.
The 5:2 diet involves eating as you normally would 5 days a week and then limiting your calorie intake to 500-600 for the remaining 2 days. This intermittent fasting diet can be more difficult to adopt because you need to be sure you can find 2 days a week that work for you to eat less, and you also need to have a good foundation in nutrition and diet to be able to restrict your calorie intake to a small amount, so you need to be aware of how many calories you are ingesting.
The Eat stop Eat.
Eat Stop Eat involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. This is also a more restrictive and complex diet, and is not recommended for beginners, as it involves starting directly with 24-hour fasts. This can be too big a change all at once, and your body and metabolism may have difficulty adapting. You will then experience some fatigue and exhaustion, as well as an unpleasant feeling of hunger at first.
Two-day fasting.
With alternate-day fasting, the goal is to fast every other day. This type of intermittent fasting is much more complex and difficult than the 16/8 method.
How do I choose my intermittent fasting program?
It's best to seek guidance from a healthcare professional who can guide you based on your goals, your profile, and your eating habits. You should choose a program that fits easily into your daily routine, that won't require too much effort, and that your body can tolerate without any problems.
The 16/8 method is still the most widespread and the easiest to maintain over time. Once you've adopted this fast, you can try other methods from week to week, documenting your experiences.
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting?
May promote weight loss and metabolic health
Fasting or abstinence from food often creates a calorie deficit, meaning your body has fewer calories than it needs to maintain its current weight. This can help with weight loss.
Intermittent fasting methods like the 16/8 method are a type of intermittent fasting that has been directly linked to weight loss. While this isn't necessarily the primary goal of intermittent fasting, when you skip breakfast, for example, it can often be quite difficult to consciously report all of your calorie intake over the remaining two meals, so you'll end up eating less than usual without necessarily realizing it.
However, research says that intermittent fasting is as good as—no more so than—other diets that also rely on limiting your daily calorie intake.
In addition to naturally eliminating calorie intake during the fasting period, intermittent fasting can promote weight loss by regulating your appetite. It will increase the feeling of fullness while suppressing the sensation of hunger.
This diet has also been linked to improved overall health, such as:
- lower blood pressure
- improve blood sugar
- repair damaged cells
- protect brain health
Can be a lasting lifestyle change
While intermittent fasting may seem complicated and intimidating at first, it's often simpler than it seems. Because you're planning fewer meals, the fasting regimen can even help simplify your day.
Additionally, intermittent fasting (16/8) doesn't require calorie counting or tracking macros. Furthermore, you don't have to drastically change the basics of your diet; you can still eat the foods you love and aren't forced to include foods you don't enjoy.
Works well with a nutritious and complete diet
As mentioned above, intermittent fasting doesn't require you to buy special foods or deviate much from your usual diet. Intermittent fasting focuses more on the timing of your meals than what you eat, and is generally easy to implement in conjunction with your current diet.
If you're already eating a balanced diet but are looking for other ways to continue improving your overall health, intermittent fasting might be an avenue worth exploring.
Mind you, this isn't to say that the foods you eat don't matter. There's no doubt that you'll get the most out of intermittent fasting by eating a variety of nutritious foods and limiting overindulgence.
Are there any contraindications to starting intermittent fasting?
While intermittent fasting is generally considered safe, it's best to exercise caution when beginning this new eating routine.
Some disadvantages of intermittent fasting are:
- a feeling of hunger.
- nutrition that is not based on intuition.
- mood swings.
Also, restricting your calorie intake for a prolonged period can be dangerous for:
- children and adolescents
- pregnant or breastfeeding women
- people with certain illnesses such as diabetes (since fasting through deprivation of food for periods has effects on insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar)
- people taking certain medications
- people with a history of eating disorders
Before embarking on an intermittent fasting-type diet or making any other drastic changes to your diet, consult a trusted healthcare professional to help you get started safely.
IN SUMMARY.
Intermittent fasting is an eating routine that alternates periods of eating and fasting. There are many different methods for doing this, but the most popular is the 16/8 form of intermittent fasting, which involves alternating 16 hours of fasting with 8 hours of eating. It is often considered the simplest, most sustainable, and easiest to adhere to.
To choose the most suitable diet and to be sure that intermittent fasting is right for you, we invite you to consult a doctor who will be able to guide you as best as possible.
