Intermittent Fasting

What is intermittent fasting? Does it have health benefits?

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where people limit their food consumption to certain hours of the day.

It is important to maintain a healthy and balanced diet during unrestricted eating periods and limit yourself to water and zero-calorie drinks during fasting times.

Intermittent fasting health benefits:

• Improving metabolism
• Lowering blood sugar
• Aiding in weight loss
• Improving sleep
• Reducing inflammation

However, it is always recommended to consult with a dietitian before starting any restrictive eating plan.

Intermittent Fasting Methods

There are several different ways of doing intermittent fasting — all of which involve splitting the day or week into eating and fasting periods.

The most popular, simplest, and easiest way:

Daily time-restricted fasting: Eat normally only in certain hours per day, for example eat within an eight-hour window each day.

Also, it can be divided into 12 hours eating period and other 12 hours fasting periods, fasting hours can be more up to 14, 16 or even 20 per day.

To get the best results of intermittent fasting, it’s better to change fasting hours each day one time 12, once 16, once 20 hours, not sticking to same routine everyday for long time.

By reducing your calorie intake, all these methods should cause weight loss.

If you have a medical condition, you should consult with your doctor before trying intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is certainly NOT for everyone.

If you’re underweight or have a history of eating disorders, you should not fast without consulting with a health professional first. In these cases, it can be downright harmful.

Who Should Avoid It?

If you have issues with fertility and/or are trying to conceive, consider holding off on intermittent fasting for now. This eating pattern is likely also a bad idea if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.

Women and intermittent fasting!

Intermittent fasting may not be beneficial for women for prolonged periods, because it may cause hormonal imbalances.

However, it’s crucial to approach fasting with caution and listen to your body. Women have unique nutritional needs. Some women may experience disruptions in their menstrual cycle or hormonal imbalances if fasting is too restrictive or prolonged.

Some women reports that menstrual period stopped when they started doing IF and went back to normal when they resumed their previous eating pattern.

It’s essential to prioritize your overall health and well-being. If you’re considering intermittent fasting, we at healthyU recommend starting with shorter fasting periods (12 hours(.  Because prolonged fasting may not be suitable for everyone.

So, you can get the benefits of intermittent fasting without taking risk.

Tips for maintaining intermittent fasting

• Staying hydrated. Drink lots of water and calorie-free drinks, such as herbal teas, throughout the day. You can consume Nisreen’s day tea to enhance your metabolism and get antioxidants, and Nisreen’s night tea to relieve your stomach upset, gases and to be more relaxed.
• Avoiding thinking about food. Plan plenty of distractions on fasting days/times to avoid thinking about food.
• Choose carefully. Alwaysselect nutrient-dense foods that are rich in protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Examples include beans, lentils, eggs, fish, nuts, avocado, and unprocessed meats.
• Eating high-volume foods. Select filling yet low-calorie foods, which include popcorn, raw vegetables, and fruits with high water content, such as melon, cucumber…
• Increasing the taste without the calories. Season meals generously with garlic, herbs, spices, lemon, or vinegar.
• Support your diet with protein sources like healthyU products, meat, chicken, fish, egg, dairy products… to get enough protein that helps you burning more calories and maintaining muscle mass.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I Drink Liquids During the Fast?

Yes. Water, coffee, tea, and other non-caloric beverages.

2. Can I Workout While Fasted?

Yes, fasted workouts are fine.

3. Will Fasting Cause Muscle Loss?

All weight loss methods can cause muscle loss, which is why it’s important to lift weights and get enough protein (such as healthyU products -high in protein) to maintain muscles.