In today’s fast-paced world, most of us search for easy and fast methods to lose weight and stay fit. The sedentary lifestyle, which is limited to a routine of home-to-office & office-to-home, does not allow much free time to engage in workouts. Managing time and food in these circumstances can become a laborious task!
A logical solution to this can be to choose and fix regular timings to consume whatever food is available. Many of us may be already following this regimen; however, many of us are missing out on the fact that if we make a few more modifications to this process, we end up at Intermittent Fast—one of the healthiest and most efficient ways to lose weight!
Intermittent fasting with well-balanced and nutritious meals can become a powerful blend for reducing weight loss within limited periods. Moreover, if done properly, intermittent fasting can help maintain energy levels, help balance blood sugar levels, and even help muscle retention.
Throughout this blog, our goal is to help you enforce a practical and intermittent fasting diet plan that can be implemented into your busy schedule easily.
Understanding Intermittent Fasting
In general, intermittent fasting is seen as a diet method where the focus is on when to eat over what to eat. However, throughout this blog, we will go through various healthy and nutritious meals that can be consumed while following intermittent fasting.
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
To be precise, intermittent fasting, or IF, is a dieting method where individuals fast for extended periods and consume food during specific fixed periods. Intermittent fasting involves either complete or partial abstention from the consumption of food, depending on the calorie quota. Studies have shown that intermittent fasting is relatively simpler to adapt to and maintain compared to other dieting methods. Moreover, you can experiment with different intermittent fasting patterns of set schedules to determine an IF diet with which you are comfortable and can adjust.
In the case of an individual who eats 3 meals a day, including snacks, and tends to not indulge in exercising, their body essentially utilizes the calories from these foods for daily energy requirements. The excess calories are stored as fats and over time, without proper action to burn the extra calories, it can build up and lead to weight gain and further obesity.
Intermittent fasting works by not allowing these excess fats to exist even when there are no external actions taken, such as exercise, to burn these calories. When the body is abstained from food over a period, it activates a process called metabolic switching, where it starts burning the stored fats to attain energy.
Intermittent Fasting Methods
There are many methods to implement IF, they are generally termed Intermittent Fasting Plans. Let us have a detailed look at these various intermittent fasting plans:
16/8 Method – The 16/8 method involves limiting the window of time to eat to 8 hours and further fasting for 16 hours. For example, you may choose to eat 2 meals during a time period of 8 AM to 4 PM and fast from 4 PM to 8 AM the next day. This diet should only contain nutritious foods and beverages and you must make sure to exclude snacks and beverages that can add more calories.
5:2 Diet – The 5:2 diet involves the continuation of normal food consumption as you prefer for 5 days of the week and bringing a drastic calorie reduction on the 2 days, which are not to be consecutive and should be set in-between. On the days you choose to fast, make sure to only intake foods that adhere to a limit of 500-600 calories per day.
Eat Stop Eat Method – The Eat Stop Eat method involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week. You may choose to fast from breakfast to breakfast the following day or start from dinner to dinner the next day. On usual days you can consume normal foods you eat and on fast days you should make sure to only consume water and other non-caloric beverages or edibles.
One Meal a Day – One Meal a Day involves the consumption of exactly one meal per day and fasting through the other hours. Make sure to plan a well-balanced, nutritious meal that can sustain you throughout the day. The remaining hours must only include the consumption of water and non-caloric beverages such as coffee and tea.
Warrior Diet – The Warrior Diet consists of fasting for about 20 hours per day with the remaining 4 hours of eating period. Make a note that the 4-hour consecutive eating window has to be managed with a well-planned big meal or consumption of small amounts of fruits and vegetables that meet your calorie counts. It is advised to stay properly hydrated while following this IF diet.
Spontaneous Fasting – Spontaneous fasting method is a more flexible method of intermittent fasting where you get the freedom to choose when you want to fast. In case you feel hungry or tired before mealtime, it is suggested to eat a required amount of foods that can help sustain your needs. The important point here is to not go over the recommended caloric count and to eat healthy foods whenever you are hungry.
Foods to Include in Intermittent Fasting
While planning to follow intermittent fasting, you should plan your meals appropriately. This means organizing and preparing the meals beforehand. We suggest adding foods that can fuel you throughout the fasting period and keep you sustained. Here are some foods that can be included in your intermittent fasting diet:
Lean Proteins: Lean proteins help in maintaining muscle mass. They consist of foods such as eggs, fish, chicken, and tofu ( for vegetarians).
Whole Grains: Whole grains work to keep your digestive system healthy as well as to provide appropriate amounts of energy. They include oats, barley, and brown rice.
Fruits and vegetables: Fruits high in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants can help provide needful energy as well as healthily satisfy the craving for sweets. Non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, cauliflower, and broccoli can provide healthy amounts of vitamins, minerals, and fiber and stay within the limited caloric amounts.
Hydrating Beverages: Staying hydrated is of the utmost importance while intermittent fasting. Make sure you drink good amounts of water and are well-hydrated throughout the day.
Healthy Fats: Nuts, seeds, olive oil, and avocados are some of the sources of healthy fats. Healthy fats can provide good amounts of energy and satisfy your hunger for longer periods.
Foods to Avoid in Intermittent Fasting
While we have already looked at foods to include in intermittent fasting, the list of foods to avoid while intermittent is longer! Highly processed foods are a big no. Sugar foods follow as they can cause high blood sugar, followed by bouts of hunger. Refined Carbohydrates should be avoided at any cost as they convert to sugar at the end of digestion. Eating oily and fried foods can result in the consumption of unhealthy fats.
Alcohol and beverages that contain artificial sweeteners can disrupt and act negatively on intermittent fasting. While they do not directly affect the fasting process, they can affect your body’s ability to maintain steady energy. Even smoking cigarettes negatively impacts the intermittent fasting process by disrupting the body’s metabolism.
It is highly recommended to stick to healthy and green foods while avoiding beverages and smoking to fully reap the benefits of intermittent fasting. Healthy choices can act in your favor and condition the body’s metabolism to work properly to provide proper and sustainable energy levels.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting has a lot of benefits. It is one of the healthiest ways to lose weight and, at the same time, positively affects your body as well as your brain. Studies show how IF can positively affect your organs and help in fighting chronic diseases and even certain types of cancer. Let us look at some of the benefits of intermittent fasting acknowledged by the medical community:
Weight Loss: As we have observed above, intermittent fasting helps reduce calorie intake and promotes fat burning, making it an effective strategy for weight loss. An increase in physical capabilities and performance was also noted in those who followed IF.
Diabetes: As IF works to fight obesity, in the same process, intermittent fasting can help diminish the amounts of fasting glucose and fasting insulin in the body while working towards reducing insulin resistance and decreasing leptin levels.
Heart Health: IF can help in improving blood pressure and in the reduction of cholesterol levels, therefore promoting heart health.
Cancer: Intermittent fasting has been observed to reduce the ill effects of chemotherapy and increase its effectiveness.
Brain Health: According to studies, intermittent fasting helps in the production of a protein named BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) which helps in areas of brain health, learning, and neuroplasticity and helps in fighting the brain against diseases. The study also showed how IF boosted memory and thinking.
While these are some of the benefits of IF, current research suggests that numerous other potential benefits of intermittent fasting are being explored through ongoing studies and research.
Intermittent Fasting with Qua Nutrition
With years of experience in the nutrition and dieting industry, Qua Nutrition is dedicated to curating personalized nutrition plans designed to meet your individual health goals and requirements. Our well-experienced dietitians and nutritionists provide guidance and support to help you succeed in your intermittent fasting journey.
Whether your goal is weight loss, improved metabolic health, or overall well-being, our specialized nutritionist team offers extensive support throughout every step of your fasting journey. From crafting an intermittent fasting schedule that aligns with your lifestyle to ensuring your meals are nutritionally optimized, Qua Nutrition is committed to helping you achieve sustainable and lasting results. Take the first step towards a healthier you with Qua Nutrition. Contact us today!
