"Hey, thank you for the cake, but I'm fasting now and haven't eaten since 4pm." People nowadays use all kinds of methods to lose weight. Some people join the gym and work with weights every day, some buy slimming tea or bulletproof coffee. Recently, "fasting" has become more popular. So what exactly is fasting? Does fasting mean simply starving? This time let us explore what fasting is all about.
The principle of fasting
The reason why fasting can lose weight is because the body does not eat for a long time, the secretion of insulin decreases, and the body increases the use of fat cells to consume calories, thereby achieving the purpose of losing weight. It is an act of endocrine control and is not as simple as dieting. The so-called 168 fasting means not eating for 16 hours out of 24 hours a day, and only eating for 8 hours. So fasting is not pure starvation, it has time for eating.
An attempt at fasting
If you want to try 168 fasting, you can choose not to eat for 8 hours before going to bed, or not for 4 hours before or after going to bed . But because modern life has social time after work, if you choose not to eat 8 hours before going to bed, you may not be able to attend the party after work. Therefore, for the author, I prefer not to eat for 4 hours before and after sleep, which means that I will not eat after 8 pm until 12 noon the next day. Wouldn't you like to skip breakfast? Yes, that’s right, it’s a trade-off. If you are a believer who insists on breakfast, you have to choose not to eat 8 hours before going to bed. There is also a more radical 52- day fasting method, which means eating normally 5 days a week and eating only one 500 -calorie meal or not eating at all on the other 2 days. However, this method is too extreme and difficult for most people to adhere to, so it is not recommended to everyone.
Things to note when fasting
First of all, not everyone is suitable for fasting. Friends with a history of diabetes are best to ask a doctor for evaluation before proceeding. Because blood sugar will be relatively low during fasting, it is best to stop immediately if you feel any discomfort, especially for women who are anemic and during their menstrual period . If you are really uncomfortable with it, you can adjust it to a 1014 fast (eating for 10 hours and not eating for 14 hours), or just fast for two days a week and eat normally on the other days. Another thing to note is that calorie control is also required during eating. It does not mean that it is okay to eat randomly during those 8 hours (I know a millionaire Youtuber said it is okay, but it is really not okay). If the caloric intake is greater than the daily requirement It is also possible to gain weight, which is why many people try to fast but fail because they do not control calories well.
final reminder
Because fasting requires a low threshold, it is a very popular way of losing weight for many people. If you simply rely on fasting without exercise, your muscle mass will not increase, and may even decrease, and your basal metabolic rate will also decrease, causing you to gain weight again after returning to a normal diet . Therefore, fasting can indeed see weight loss results in a short period of time, but it is by no means a panacea for weight loss. Maintaining diet control, regular exercise, and fasting are the only ways to get twice the result with half the effort!