Hello friends! Today I am telling you how to lose weight fast, the benefits of fasting, your fasting options, and what order to eat food in when you break a fast.
This is going to be fun! Let’s jump right in.
My thought: Fasting isn’t the right solution to be fit. Workout is needed to be perfect physically. To do balanced workout and monitoring it, fitness tracker is important. Best quality waterproof fitness trackers review can help you find out the perfect one for you.
The Sad Truth
I love fasting! We are all so bombarded with “consume this, no just kidding, this is better consume this.” We live in a society where the food industry sees us nothing more than “consumers”. Instead of being viewed as hard working people trying to make better health decisions to elevate our human experience, we are consumers who will unknowingly fund some big shot’s new vacation home.
Did you know that there is scientifically no benefit to eating several small meals a day? Your metabolism does not actually “speed up” or “slow down”; that’s impossible.
Yet, we are all told to eat small meals frequently throughout the day to consume more frequently.
Why is that? The truth is the food industry has been proposing and paying for the studies that come up with these conclusions.
Why would scientists agree to that? Well because after they complete the study, the same food company give them huge grants to fund real scientific studies. Disgusting I know.
Just a reminder: I only review reliable, scholarly and peer-reviewed articles friends! I do extensive research before sharing my findings with you and I am only here to help spread the truth, not to make money at your expense.
Fasting gives us our power back. Once we bind our heads around the fact that we do NOT have to eat every day, let alone every 3 hours, we have the power. If you get “hangry” (so hungry you get angry), you are going through carbohydrate and sugar withdraws; your body does not actually NEED food at that moment, instead, your food/drink addiction wants it.
A healthy human not being able to go that long without food doesn’t even make sense. We would be extinct.
Fasting VS Dieting – The Science
Dieting typically means restricting your calories for health or weight loss purposes.
Benefits of dieting (daily restriction of calories):
Daily caloric restrictions have been shown to extend your life and prolong your health.
There have not been any studies that compare the effects of reducing daily calories by daily limitation or by intermittent fasting periods. Since intermittent fasting reduces your calorie intake by, on average 25%, I suspect there wouldn’t be much different. But again there are not yet any studies to know for sure.
Intermittent fasting (IF) is alternating between periods of starvation and periods of healthy eating. This is to say that when you are not fasting you are eating regularly and not restricting your calories.
Intermittent fasting is just a pattern of eating. During the following fasts, you are encouraged to drink a lot of water to help flush out the toxins you have built up but you (in most of them) can have coffee and tea as well.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting When Compared to Dieting:
- Reduced incidence of cancer.
- Increased insulin sensitivity (reducing risks for type 2 diabetes).
- Reduced risk of metabolic syndrome.
- Allows the digestive system to rest; during this time the body works to cleanse and detox itself.
Types of Fasting
Here are the main types of fasting for weight loss or health maintenance. I am not including all the different types of religious fasting for simplicity sake.
True Fasting
True fastings are those that involve an actual break from eating. The following is a quick rundown. I chose not to describe each in detail as this post would be ridiculously long. However feel free to explore if you come across a diet that sparks your interest! I am currently working on posts that explain each one in detail.
Leangains by: Martain Berkhan – also known as the 16/8 method
This one best suited for the self-proclaimed gym rats. Women fast for 14 hours a day while men fast for 16 hours a day, every day. This diet includes suggestions on what macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, etc.) to consume on different workout days.
Eat Stop Eat- by Brad Pilon
This diet calls for a 24 hour fast once or twice a week. This method is very flexible, suggesting how to transition into 24-hour fasts instead of an all-or-nothing approach, and allows you to eat the foods you want. This is personally not the method that I have stuck with but I highly recommend the book regardless!
Pseudo Fasting
Most “fasting” out there are not technically fasting as they allow food consumption during fasting periods. For distinction, I am calling them pseudo fasts.
Warrior Diet- by Ori Hofmekler
The warrior diet involves eating a few raw fruits and veggies during the day and one big meal at night. The philosophy is based on the fast that humans have always been nocturnal beings. This is why eating makes you sleepy; our bodies are programmed that way.
“When you eat makes what you eat matter.” The recommended foods go along the lines of paleo eating and nutrient sequencing. But you can eat any food you want!
Sorry, I know this is really vague, this is the method that I personally live by so there are lots to tell you if you are interested.
Final Thoughts
That wraps it up! Again, I love fasting. I love not having to think about food all the time, and honestly, I am not hungry all the time similar I used to be. Please take caution and progress slowly into a fasting method. You want it to be sustainable over the long term after all! Remember it is all about progress, not perfection. Tracking fitness level is also important.
I am going to work next on posts outlining each method described above. If there was a particular method you want more information on please to leave me a comment and I will try to move quicker on that one for you!
