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Is there a benefit to intermittent fasting?

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It seems like everyone these days is obsessed with intermittent fasting. This new type of eating plan is an interesting one and requires quite a bit of dedication.

Basically what happens when you do intermittent fasting is that you follow a sort of 16:8 plan. This means that you do not eat for 16 hours a day and then focus on getting all your calories for the last 8 hours of the day.

This type of fasting has taken off and people are showing their dedication to following the time restrictions of their eating schedule. The reason that so many people have bought into it is that research has shown this type of eating schedule actually matches our body’s internal clock. So most people make it work by not eating before bed, throughout the night and in the morning. They then eat during the day, when they are awake and most active.

This type of diet is intriguing to a lot of people because there are no food restrictions that come with the diet—the only restriction being the time of day you can eat!

Most people who do intermittent fasting time their day so that they have dinner at least two hours before they go to sleep. When they wake up, they avoid eating anything until either a late breakfast or just at lunch. This means that people still have the flexibility to make the fasting diet work with their schedules and lifestyle for the most part!

While everyone seems to have jumped on this intermittent fasting craze, many still wonder if it really works? Well, here are all the intermittent fasting benefits that you need to know about!

  1. You make healthier food decisions

When you avoid eating late at night, you generally are no longer tempted with snacking! Snacking is one of the most dangerous eating habits if you don’t select natural healthy foods to munch on! With the late-night eating out the window, people are able to focus on getting their daily dose of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and healthy fats. And since you are eating when you are most active during the day, your body will naturally crave these sorts of food items! Of course, it also encourages you to drink more water. Especially since you can’t eat first thing in the morning, you replace that with drinking a glass of water that is calorie free. This means that your body will be more hydrated and high functioning. Plus, research shows that often we mistake our feeling of hunger for actual dehydration!

  1. You will lose unwanted weight

When you do intermittent fasting, you often end up increasing your metabolism. And when you boost that, it is easier for you to burn off calories! They have done heaps of studies on this concept and researchers have found that those who do this type of fasting lose more weight than if they simply focused on limiting their calories. They are also finding that it is easier for people to develop muscle mass and keep off the fat.  Another important aspect of this diet is that because you only have a limited period of time to eat your daily calorie intake, people don’t feel as hungry during the day. This means that there are fewer drops in blood sugar levels and fewer cases of severe hunger—because your body is pretty much being fed the entire time the sun is up! Say goodbye to those hanger issues!

  1. You can help your body fight off diseases

It is becoming more evident that those that do intermittent fasting are able to curb a long list of diseases that can harm their health. This includes things like diabetes, heart problems, cancer, and neurological diseases! The main reason for this is that generally, people tend to be more conscious of their health and lifestyle decisions, which in turn gives them less risk of getting these diseases. This is super important because, with less risk of disease, you have a higher life expectancy! This means that you can increase the length of your life just by changing the times during the day that you eat! Pretty impressive if you ask us!

Intermittent fasting is an exciting nutritional development that many people have adopted into their lives. It makes sense, we need the most food when we are the most active. And our body burns off the rest when we are sleeping. By focusing on making healthy food choices during the daytime in your eight hours of the allocated time, you will be able to ensure your body gets everything it needs without having to worry about gaining weight or increasing your risk of getting a disease. Tricks to help you be successful with intermittent fasting include drinking herbal teas, drinking lots of water, exercising during the day when you aren’t fasting and meditating during fasting.

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