By If your goal is to lose weight fast and get your health back, then fasting is not only the fastest way, it’s also the most effective strategy around. My advice is coming from a woman that has spent many years succeeding and failing with many diets. I have gone through the paleo, keto, low carb, high carb, high protein, raw diet and many more (which I can’t even remember now!) When you first begin a new way of eating, it can work well – especially when you integrate exercise with it. The problems start to arise when those eating restrictions in diets become too hard to handle daily. If you mix that with too much cardio day in and day out, it’s a fat gain recipe for disaster. I can say that with great certainty because it was the standard way of life for me. After a great conversation with one of my best friends, I decided to begin intermittent fasting with her advice daily. I figured there was nothing to lose apart from my bloated belly, body fat and perhaps becoming somewhat healthy again. When I started fasting, I also gave up the excessive cardio. You can probably suspect that things go wrong before the good stuff starts to happen, which was the case for me. If you’ve been dieting for a while, restricting food groups & exercising excessively, your body will probably go through a period of extreme resistance. That means you won’t lose weight and in fact, you may look even more bloated and retain water more than ever. Let me assure you; this is all ok. I know that at first, you may feel that you made the worst decision possible – but stick with me here. As I said before, after dieting as I did, and coming from a competitive background in which I was an extremely low body fat for years, your body will completely freak out. BUT, it would help if you allowed it time to recuperate and allow the transitional shift of your hormones to start kicking back into gear. This is when people assume fasting doesn’t work, or that they are doing something completely wrong. Just give your body a chance to get to that place. For me, it took about three months, and I was ok with this. I tried a few different things during this period, from carb cycling to eating the lest possible caloric protein available, shrinking portions slightly and fasting for more extended periods. Eventually, those little strategies worked, and I began to lose weight, quite rapidly in fact.I believe fasting works for everyone, and it’s so easy and manageable that you can use it for life, and be able to eat the things you want and still experience peak health. Although it’s not for everyone, it pays to try it out and see what it can do for you.
5 top intermittent fasting tips for extreme fat loss
- Fast according to your circadian rhythm. I won’t go into this in extreme detail, but I urge you to fast when you have the lowest appetite level. Some people find it easier to skip breakfast than dinner. Find out what works best for you. I prefer skipping dinner, as I’m the most hungry during the first part of the day. My appetite naturally diminishes in the evening. That what your circadian rhythm is, it caters to your bodies natural tendencies. This makes fasting manageable and a lot more wholistic in nature – leading to success and long term maintenance.
- When fat loss stops, increase your fasting time. This can be challenging, but I challenge you to fast for more extended periods than lower your food consumption. Some people do well with 16 hours of fasting, whilst others can go 20–30 to experience their peak fat loss. That’sThat’s not to say you should always do this but throw in a couple of those extended fasts during the week. To make it work, do it when you have a rest day or are doing a low level of activity.
- Eat low-calorie protein for a week or two. This is an old bodybuilding trick I used, which still works today (the only mind you!) When I am going through a plateau period, I like to spend one to two weeks eating very low-calorie protein sources. To give you an example, perhaps for one week I will have a lot more egg whites and white fish than usual. Then, to throw my metabolism off balance, I would add a high-fat protein source like salmon or chicken with the skin. This is a great way to peak your fat loss and move through that plateau. I will usually do this for a week or so, depending on my goals.
- Train in a fasted state. Did you know that training in a fasted state will produce a higher response of HGH, and increase your fat-burning potential, as well as your ability to build muscle mass? If your goal is to create a lot more muscle, this is not a good strategy. It’s specifically for those who want to achieve lean muscle mass and build strength. If you’re going to build more muscle than anything else, make sure you train after your meal – preferably a couple of hours after.
- Low-intensity cardio. I always use low to very moderate-intensity cardio – but never long-duration exhausting cardio. Make it relaxing and moderate. Your body should be doing all the work with your diet, and you don’t need to expend energy and stress your nervous system with excessive exercise. Save your life energy for the things you love, and train with weights. That way, you will build muscle and make yourself even more of a fat-burning machine.
Those points are a general breakdown of what I do when fasting. There is no right or wrong, and I’ve tried and tested many alternatives. I believe these will work for anyone willing to try them during their fasting journey. Let me know how you go with this -I’m always keen on connecting with fellow IF followers.
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