There are a lot of reason’s why people find it difficult to maintain committed to their diet plans. Eating healthy is not always easy, and science dictates that it’s not really our fault.
People of today are always on the go, and we only decide what we are going to eat when its a bit too late to say no to what is readily available. Typically what is quick and accessible are foods that are unhealthy and highly processed. Another factor is that these types of food are delicious.
Our taste buds have been engineered to crave high-calorie, high-fat foods (that we used to need for energy-hunting, gathering, exploring), and now we’ve created food that tastes even better than nature’s, which makes lettuce a hard sell when compared to a juicy burger.
Where diets can complicate life, intermittent fasting may simplify it. Where diets can be expensive, intermittent fasting can be free. Where diets can take time, fasting saves time. Where diets may be limited in their availability, fasting is available anywhere. And as discussed earlier, fasting is a potentially powerful method for lowering insulin and decreasing body weight.
Intermittent fasting simply means that you fast for the majority of the day, and set a window of time when you are allowed to eat. Once you get over the initial adjustment of breaking into a new eating schedule, you will find that this way allows your body to work at an optimum level.
Our earliest ancestors were hunter-gathers. They would spend the day burning energy to attain their single meal that would power them to the next day. It is proven that the average hunter gatherer had better muscle to fat ratios than the average person today.
Here are some benefits of intermittent fasting:
- Weight and body fat loss
- Increased fat burning
- Lowered blood insulin and sugar levels
- Possibly reversal of type 2 diabetes
- Possibly improved mental clarity and concentration
- Possibly increased energy
- Possibly increased growth hormone, at least in the short term
- Possibly an improved blood cholesterol profile
- Possibly longer life
- Possibly activation of cellular cleansing by stimulating autophagy
- Possibly reduction of inflammation
The only restriction involved is fasting for a period. The longer the fasting period, the higher the benefits. This is not starvation! What makes intermittent fasting effective is its sustainability. There are not restrictions on the food you consume. Automatically, your daily caloric intake drops down with this type of set up. The most common types of fasting done are the 12-12 (12 hours of fasting and 12 hour window to consume food), the 16-8, and for those who are more bold, you can opt to do a 18-6. During hours of fasting the only permitted intakes are water, black coffee (without sugar), or any zero calorie beverages.