About every second German weighs too much. A quarter of all adults are even severely overweight. There are many forms of diet, but long-term weight loss is rarely possible. In recent years, a form of nutrition has become established: intermittent fasting. This trend offers some advantages and clearly stands out from other well-known diets.
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The principle explained
With intermittent fasting , you deliberately set times when you do without food. The time for eating during the day is limited to a few hours. During the fasting period one does not consume any food or high-calorie beverages. The duration and frequency of fasting differs depending on the method chosen.
Various methods at a glance
Three different methods have proven their worth for intermittent fasting. The 16:8 method limits food intake to 8 hours a day. In order to do this, you do without dinner or breakfast. With this method, you eat 8 hours a day and fast for the remaining 16 hours. 16:8 intermittent fasting is currently the most popular method. Beginners can reduce the fasting period at the beginning and, for example, only go without food for 12 hours. Once you get used to it, you can reduce the meal times.
The 5:2 method is characterized by the fact that you do not eat at all for two days a week or eat a maximum of 800 calories during this time. In the 1:1 variant, a fasting day and a nutrition day alternate. All methods are based on changing your eating style during intermittent fasting and eating a healthy and balanced diet. It is important that you keep an eye on your calories and don’t overdo it.
What is important when it comes to losing weight
Losing weight only works if you consume fewer calories than you expend. In order to learn how much you should eat to lose weight, you should know your basal and performance metabolism. The values can be easily calculated on the Internet. If you want to use intermittent fasting to lose weight, you should pay attention to the calories you eat.
Because this form of nutrition is also not successful if you rely on high-calorie and unhealthy meals during food intake. The goal is to make a conscious choice about the food you choose and not let cravings and cravings guide you.
Health Benefits
Why is intermittent fasting so popular? During the fasting phase, the gastrointestinal tract comes to rest. During this time, the insulin sensitivity of the cells increases and blood sugar is broken down more quickly. Intermittent fasting is therefore recommended in diabetes prevention. If you decide on a balanced, healthy diet, you can effectively lower your blood pressure, lose excess weight and reduce blood lipid levels.
This comes with a variety of health benefits. The risk of a stroke and a heart attack decreases. Fat metabolism disorders and even tumor markers are also demonstrably reduced. However, the health benefits of intermittent fasting only come about in conjunction with a healthy diet.
Intermittent fasting has many health benefits. It’s not a diet, it’s a long-term diet. In connection with a calorie deficit and a balanced diet, intermittent fasting has a positive effect on health risk factors.
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