Intermittent fasting is just going for several hours without eating. It’s a hormonally friendly action that triggers the primary fat-burning hormone and forces your body to use up your stored fat. When people hear the word ‘fasting’, they think that they have to go on a hunger strike rather than a diet. But intermittent fasting uses strategic timing to cut caloric intake and burn fat faster by passing on meals we didn’t need to eat in the first place.
For example, we have been led to believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day as a result of an old marketing campaign by breakfast cereal companies. But when you eat in the morning, even if you’re not hungry, you stop the fat burning process. Your body is not starving, it’s just eating up your stored fat – and that’s what we want, right?
The hormone that forces your body to burn fat is called Human Growth Hormone (HGH). It helps with healthy ageing and is the primary fat-burning hormone of the body, and it gets triggered by the practice of intermittent fasting. Put intermittent fasting into action by adjusting your eating cycles. This fantastic pattern of eating will force your body to burn fat and avoid weight-loss plateau since you’re continually changing your habit of eating.
Intermittent fasting is not a diet, it is a lifestyle, and hence, you should plan it strategically with gradual progression. These are our two commonly suggested methods;
Plan A
- First 5-7days Fast for 12 hours: Eat for 12 hours 3 meals a day (no snacking)
- Next 5-7days Fast for 13 hours: Eat for 11 hours 3 meals (no snacking)
- Next 5-7days Fast for 14 hours: Eat for 10 hours 3 small or 2 large meals
- Next 5-7days Fast for 15 hours: Eat for 9 hours 2 Meals a day (no snacks)
- Next 5-7days Fast for 16 hours: Eat for 8 hours 1st meal Large 2nd meal small
Plan B
- Day 1 Fast 12 Hours Feed 12 Hours Frequency of Meals 3 Meals a Day
- Day 2 Fast 16 Hours Feed 8 Hours Frequency of Meals 2 Meals a Day
- Day 3 Fast 20 Hours Feed 4 Hours Frequency of Meals 1 Meal a Day
- Day 4 Fast 12 Hours Feed 12 Hours Frequency of Meals 3 Meals a Day
- Day 5 Fast 16 Hours Feed 8 Hours Frequency of Meals 2 Meals a Day
- Day 6 Fast 20 Hours Feed 4 Hours Frequency of Meals 1 Meal a Day
- Day 7 No fasting, Strategic cheat day
Foods to focus on are all matter of non-starchy vegetables and greens (these should be eaten in copious amounts), healthy high-fat foods such as eggs, nuts, avocados, and even cheese, and proteins.
This intermittent fasting is not a low-calorie starvation plan, and we don’t recommend low-fat foods. You are simply switching your body into fat-burning mode and letting your body run on fat fuel, which is a healthy thing.
INTERMITTENT FASTING FOR MEN & WOMEN
MEN
Contraindications:
- Underweight individuals, Malnourished or having Diagnosed eating disorders.
- Men tend to benefit the most from more extended fast
- Men can fast between 18-22 hours 3-5 days of the week.
WOMEN
Contraindications:
- Women who are in the stage of pregnancy, breastfeeding, diagnosed eating disorders anorexia, Bulimia, or malnourished.
- Women can safely fast between 14-16 hours 3-5 days of the week if they do not have the contraindications as mentioned above.
- Women diagnosed with High levels of Insulin, Insulin resistance (pre-diabetes), Diabetes, Hypertension, Fatty liver, or plateaued weight loss may benefit from a prolonged fast of up to 18-20 most days of the week.