Over the past few years, intermittent fasting has become very popular. Some say that it is the perfect diet if you want to get lean and not give up your favorite foods. However, some people warn against intermittent fasting, highlighting several disadvantages and possible side effects.
If you are wondering what is actually true and whether you should go with it when trying to get lean, here we’ll shed some light on this popular diet.
First of all, what is Intermittent Fasting?
It is a pattern of eating, which revolves around periods of eating and periods of fasting. Unlike other diets, this fasting doesn’t come with strict food recommendations. You can eat much of the food you like, as long as they are healthy and you only eat during a certain period.
Different types of Intermittent Fasting
- 16:8 Intermittent Fasting
This is the most common type of fasting. In this type of intermittent fasting, you eat for 8 hours and abstain for 16. Well, you will most likely sleep for 8 hours, so you consciously abstain for only around 8 hours.
Most people prefer to eat between 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. you are free to play with the interval to figure out which timing suits your lifestyle best.
During the fast, you can drink water and tea or coffee (unsweetened and without cream).
- 5:2 Intermittent Fasting
In this type of intermittent fasting, you eat for five days a week and restrict your calories to 600 for men and 500 for women during the other two.
It is better to choose 2-3 days gap between the fasting days. For instance, you could fast on Wednesday and Saturday, and follow your eating routine during the other days.
If you want to try intermittent fasting to get lean, discuss it with your personal trainer London, as they will be able to give you better advice on that.
Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of Intermittent fasting when getting lean.
- Makes you Aware of when you’re Eating
Since you will consciously restrain yourself from food for a certain amount of time, you will pay more attention of when you are eating.
- More in Touch with your Hunger
You will get more in touch with your body and hunger when fasting for a certain period. You may start to identify unhealthy patterns, such as emotional eating. It’s because in that fasting period if you get frustrated, angry or bored, you can’t resort to food as a coping mechanism.
Now, in time, you will recognize when your craving for a particular food is something other than hunger.
- Assist in Losing Bodyweight
Intermittent fasting is a diet, and if done correctly, it helps you lose weight. Because you will be skipping a meal, or an entire day of eating, depending on what type of diet your practice, you will naturally limit your calorie intake.
For some, it will be enough to lose excess body weight. Also, if you start working out and focus on healthy eating, you can be certain that you will start losing the extra fat.
The Bottom Line
Now, intermittent fasting is a great diet option if you want to get lean, but you have to do it correctly. Although intermittent fasting is not ideal for everyone, it certainly has several advantages for many people as long as it is done in the right way.
Intermittent fasting does have its risk, such as losing muscle instead of fat and feeling slugging. So, in order to the advantage of this diet, make sure you talk to your personal trainer.