The 5:2 intermittent fasting plan model involves eating as normal for 5 days of the week, and adhering to a maximum of 500 calories for the other 2 days. The alternate model plan involves eating normal one day and eating a lot less the next; and the one meal a day model plan involved eating only one meal a day.
16:8 model plans involve eating as normal every day, but only eating within a specific eight hour window. 16:8 carries all the benefits of the other plans without having to starve yourself or avoid specific foods, however following a healthy diet while fasting intermittently as well as participating in high intensity, human growth hormone boosting exercise regimen will help to attain optimum benefits.
It is important to listen to your body, the 8 hour eating window of the 16:8 model plan can be whatever time frame fits in and works best for your personal schedule, the best part about fasting intermittently is said to be that the faster can eat as much or as little as the person chooses during this window, making it one of the simplest and most effective dietary options available.
“Skipping breakfast is completely okay. Since fasting decreases your hunger hormone ghrelin, you’ll be able to stay satisfied well into lunch,” says Will Cole, D.C.
For most people gradually working up to the 16:8 fasting regimen will suffice such as starting to fast for 8 hours, the moving that to 10, then 12, to 14, until reaching 16 hours. However, some are sensitive to dietary changes so it is important to check with your physician about the best approach.
While 16:8 fasting food is prohibited outside of the 8 hour window, but non-caloric drinks such as water, unsweetened tea, black coffee, and exercise are not. If your body can handle exercising outside of the eating window it will accelerate many benefits including fat burning; easing into a routine may help especially if not accustomed to fasting.
According to Allison Young, “Not to be confused with traditional dieting, which revolves around counting calories and forbidden foods, intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating schedule where you go without food for a certain amount of time – and science has its back. As well as helping you lose weight, studies show that intermittent fasting can curb cravings, improve blood sugar control, lower inflammation, delay aging, and lower risk of disease. As if that weren’t enough, it’s also been linked to better sleep, more diverse gut bacteria, and improved mood.”
“Every person is different, so some people may not be able to handle exercising during the fasting window and may do better exercising some time after their eating window or right before so they can replenish their energy right after. However, if your body is used to fasting, it shouldn’t affect your energy levels when it comes to exercise,” notes Cole.
