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There are several diet plans that promise significant weight loss within a short period of time. One such popular weight loss diet plan is ‘Intermittent Fasting,’ which means that you do not eat for some time each day or week. Healthline states that intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where people limit their food consumption to certain hours of the day. Some research suggests that it may have benefits beyond weight loss, like improved brain and heart health.

Methods Of Intermittent Fasting

There are several ways to practise intermittent fasting for significant weight loss. All of those involve splitting day or week into eating or fasting and during these periods, you eat very little amounts of food or nothing.

16/8 Method: Also known as ‘Leangains Protocol’, this method of intermittent fasting involves skipping breakfast and restricting your regular eating period to eight hours, such as 1-9 PM, which lets you fast for 16 hours in between.

Eat-Stop-Eat: This method involves fasting for a complete 24 hours, once or twice a week.

5:2 Diet: In this intermittent fasting method, you can only consume 500 - 600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, and eat normally for the rest of five days.

Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting

1. Aids Weight Loss

Intermittent fasting makes you consume fewer calories, which helps in enhancing your hormone function to facilitate weight loss. Healthline reported that intermittent fasting can help you eat fewer calories while boosting your metabolism slightly. It’s a very effective tool to lose weight and visceral fat.

2. Reduce Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

Many studies suggest that intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance, which lowers blood sugar levels, lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes. According to Healthline, intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance and lower blood sugar levels, at least in men.

3. Heart Health

Intermittent fasting is known to be beneficial for lowering blood sugar levels, blood pressure, blood triglycerides, and total and LDL bad cholesterol. Healthline reports that intermittent fasting can improve numerous risk factors for heart disease, such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and inflammatory markers.

 

(Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment.)