By If you’re sick of dieting and have been most of your life — then you really need to read this!
You may have heard from many friends and family members who’ve tried fasting and are the product for its success. The popularity and growth of fasting and other techniques used to enhance its efficiency — have exploded. I love fasting how simple, easy, and cost-effective it is compared to other nutritional plans. The biggest plus is that anyone can integrate it into their daily lifestyle without too many disruptions. Believe me, when I say, I’ve tried many diets over the years and have been through the most stringent one of all — the bodybuilder’s competitive diet for women. Many of you may not realise just how hard this diet is, and the consequences for long term success is minimal. It’s not a sustainable nutritional plan that many millions of people can follow. Fasting is a whole other ballgame! Not only is it easy, but it also saves your bank account (and the planet, really). There are many reports online that warn women of the hormonal fluctuations brought on by fasting. However, it certainly does affect men and women in entirely different ways. Whilst I’ve not experienced adverse hormonal fluctuations with fasting, perhaps it’s something you worry about or have experienced. There is but one study (that I’ve seen so far) which showed blood sugar control worsened in women after three weeks of IF. The same did not happen with men (1). There may also be some menstrual cycle shifts with fasting. Perhaps it can become as simple as a late or early period. This results from female bodies being extremely sensitive to caloric restrictions, mainly because of our evolutionary makeup. It’s generally very challenging for most women to lose weight. I would take this advice with a grain of salt, as we may not be similar to rats. However, human studies should be a clear indication of research to uncover the scientific evidence. If you are worried about hormonal fluctuations or the onset of irregular periods and infertility, consider fasting for shorter periods (16 hours) or fewer fasting days per week. It’s a great starting point towards discovering the shifts your body does make, then extending the fasting periods as your confidence grows.When In doubt, ask for the advice of your health expert. Generally, fasting has been a practice for many years yet doesn’t seem to do a substantial amount of damage to humans. Instead, it increases your lifespan and health markers.
Here are my five reasons why women should embrace fasting as one of the best long term fat loss strategies.
One: Weight loss without too much effort — including belly fat
If you practice IF correctly, over time, that regular consumption of fewer calories will help you to eliminate body fat without a lot of strenuous effort on your part. That includes removing endless needs to exercise or restricting the foods you naturally love and crave. One review showed IF reduced bodyweight 3–8% in overweight or obese adults over 3–24 weeks. In addition, their waist circumference was further reduced by 3–7% over the same period (2). That proves IF is a great way to target overall body fat, as well as eliminating that dreaded belly fat we all seem to worry about. It’s important to point out that IF is best adapted as a lifestyle strategy so that you can benefit long term & maintain your weight loss and health goals. The amount of weight you lose depends on the calories you consume and how well your body adapts to fasting and starts using body fat as an energy source. It takes a little bit of time and effort to tweak your nutrition and add effective exercise to the mix. You can still attain marvellous results with just fasting alone and perhaps walking every day.
Two: Helps you reduce your overall caloric intake & decrease your appetite long term
Some of you may be laughing at this because of your prior dieting experiences. I, too, know what it’s like to resist temptations and say no to every single event because I was on a so-called “diet.” However, fasting is very different because it gives you greater flexibility regarding your fast and feast times. Say, for instance, you are planning dinner with friends and want to have dessert? If you are fasting, change your fasting times. You may want to skip breakfast and lunch that day or decide that this is a whole day of eating for you — and starting over the day after. What’s so unique about IF is that it helps you to eat less naturally! I know what you’re thinking — that without food, you’d be starving. Well, let me tell you this is not the case at all. You may like to try this on yourself once you get into the habit of fasting. You will find that when your eating window opens for a feast, that ravaging hunger will perhaps never rear its head at all. This is because our bodies naturally use what it needs when that’s necessary.
Three: Decreasing insulin to become more of a fat-burning machine!
Think of it this way, when we eat, insulin levels go up. When we fast, it drops. It makes perfect sense then; if we eat more than we need, our fat cells keep getting bigger. When you don’t eat (when you fast), you give your body time to lower insulin levels and reverse the fat-storing process. Decreased insulin ensures your body begins to tap into fat reserve’s to use as energy. We give our fat cells the chance to release sugar to be used. A word of warning here is that some people may experience a loss of salt in their blood, or perhaps blood pressure can drop too low. The way to combat this is regularly drinking low caloric hydration fluid. Monitor what happens to your body, as it may mean fasting for shorter periods. If you have diabetes, please check with your doctor.
Four: Boosts growth hormone
It’s the magic hormone most bodybuilders (and celebrities, mind you) pay big bucks to get. It is sort after because HGH causes your metabolism to stay in a fat-burning zone while maintaining muscle. That’s how you can get that “ripped” type look. Unfortunately, as you age, this hormone decreases, and that, therefore, increases body fat. Fasting helps to counter effect this problem a lot of us oldies have, which is excellent news. I can do one up on that by saying that HGH clears out our body’s old junk proteins and cellular parts. It’s the same as giving our cells a spring clean every single day. The old stuff needs to disappear before anything new can grow. So, to put it simpler, this is a big part of reversing the ageing process.
Five: It helps boost your metabolism long term
Fasting for short periods can ignite your metabolism, and it’s more effective than caloric restriction over time. Ever wondered why your caloric restriction diet didn’t work, and you just felt hungry, tired and craving the worst foods? Well, that’s the usual side effect when you cut calories — but this is not the case with fasting. By preserving your muscle mass, you still have the benefits of burning fat, and not at the expense of muscle. Boosting your metabolism isn’t subject to your fasting times — it’s got a lot to do with the following day to day activities:• If you lift weights• If you have exercised and pushed yourself• If you do incidental exercise activities• If you eat a whole foods diet that’s rich in vegetables Every little bit counts when it comes to boosting your metabolism. Use one or use them all and see how much you can boost your fat-burning results. There are so many more benefits to fasting. I do hope that you take it on board and see what it can do for your weight loss goals and health.