Achieving Weight Loss Through Fasting
Achieving Weight Loss Through Fasting
Achieving Weight Loss Through Fasting
The Internet has recently seen an influx of discussion and debate regarding fasting as a weight loss technique. It is my impression that fasting can indeed offer noticeable assistance in terms of hastening weight loss and improving the general health of those undertaking such a measure. Intermittent fasting has been shown to provide several notable health benefits, including reducing body fat levels, improving sensitivity to insulin, reducing oxidative damage, repairing muscle tissue, and lowering blood pressure.
A potential reason for the ability of fasting to do all of these things is that as the body enters a fasting mode, and there is a limited amount of nutrients in the system, the body embarks on a series of restorative process which would not be triggered in the presence of large quantities of food. During a fast, your body is better able to repair tissues without making new cells through splitting. Your body requires much less energy to do this when fasting. The end result is the body adapts and cells get repaired and live longer. Studies on mice have shown that calorie reduction directly effects their life span. This study may be applicable to the human animal, as well.
There are two primary explanations for the fact that fasting for weight loss is so effective.
1. If little or no food is present in your body, fat burning is sure to follow. Your body will need to pull energy from its resources when there is not additional fat, protein and sugar flowing through the body from a meal. These include fat from your fat cells and carbohydrates from your liver and muscles to keep you going. Provided that your fasting does not go on indefinitely, it is possible to shed a large amount of fat without exerting great effort, by simply missing a meal or avoiding food altogether for a day or so.
2. This is a much easier approach to weight loss than cutting out all of your favorite foods. This might sound counter-intuitive but by not eating for a meal or two you have just dramatically reduced the amount of calories you would have normally eaten for the day. Thus, provided you do not overindulge, it is entirely permissible to eat some of your favorite foods and still have eaten fewer calories in total for the period in question.
You will need to consider how fasting fits into your daily life. It may not be for everyone, or at the very least good for every day. I have been able to successfully control my body fat using intermittent fasting. It has been very successful for me over the last few months.
I employ the following methods of intermittent fasting:
1. I just skip breakfast, which enables me to not eat for over 15 hours. I typically have dinner at 8:00 in the evening, and rather than eating breakfast when I wake, I simply drink some coffee and hold off on lunch until around noon. Then I don't binge or over eat for lunch. I simply eat a regular, sensible lunch. Because I leave my stomach empty for those extra hours, my body continues burning fat culled from my stores. I also eliminate 500 to 600 calories from my total for the day.
In addition to my fasting, I will often add in a brisk walk first thing in the morning to burn extra fat. Walking on an empty stomach is a great way to burn some stored fat calories.
2. While I still drink a morning cup of coffee or cups of green tea during the day, I also sometimes fast for a 24 hour period. Fasting for a full 24 hours is not nearly as difficult as you may suspect. Most of the time you are eating out of habit or for emotional reasons. Sometimes I even feel energized and think clearly by not eating for a day and still have a great workout without any food in my system. Certain research suggests that growth hormone levels tend to rise in those who exercise while fasting. The key is to make certain not to overindulge in food the following day. I am able to cut an entire day of calories from my weekly total. The whole concept is to eat normally the next day without binging in order to keep the calorie deficit in check for the week.
The Brad Pilon Eat Stop Eating Program is where I got the original idea to try intermittent fasting. The Eat Stop Eating Website is a great resource if you are seeking a program to follow for weight loss. You can find all the necessary information there. The system was updated and revised by Brad just a few weeks back.
Fasting to lose weight is just another tool to help you reach your body composition goals. Those who have eliminated breakfast on a given day or embarked on a full-day fast should get in touch with me. What, if any, effects did you experience when you did not eat? Were you able to shed a few pounds?
By Mike Cola
And originator of the Fitness Contrarian website
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/achieving-weight-loss-through-fasting-3698413.html
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