What Type of Results Can You See From Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a term that includes several different forms of this type of diet that cycle between a period of fasting and non-fasting. There are many benefits to this type of diet including burning fat faster to get lean.
This type of diet has been popularized over the past few years in the fitness community by blogs such as lean gains, mercola, bulletproof exec and the documentary Eat, Fast and Live Longer.
It has caught mainstream buzz when actors such as Hugh Jackman and Dwayne Johnson used the diet to cut weight and get ripped for specific movie roles.
I’m interesting in seeing if I should give this a try. I pulled together some results to decide. This article will give you some background on the diet but if you are looking for an intermittent fasting blueprint to get started check this out.
The main thing to remember about fasting is that it is not a diet. It’s not about starving yourself, it’s about planning your meals so that you get the most out of them. It’s more about when you eat your meals not what you are eating.
Why Do Intermittent Fasting?
The main reason why you would do intermittent fasting is to lose fat or to get lean without dealing with fad diets or cutting a lot of your calories. It also allows you to keep your muscle mass while getting lean without cutting out all those great calories you want.
It’s one of the best ways to get rid of fat while keeping the body mass that you do want.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?
When you are enjoying a meal your body needs some time to burn the food that it consumes before it can get to your stored body fat. The great thing about fasting is that your body won’t have that meal to burn through. It’s going to start pulling from your stored fat, which is exactly what you want to happen. The same thing happens when you workout while you are fasting, your body is going to be free to burn off stored fast while you workout instead of what you just ate before coming in for your workout.
Will Men See Results From Intermittent Fasting?
Yes, they will. Men and women see different results however when it comes to intermittent fasting. When men fast they tend to have improved insulin sensitivity as well as the ability to drop fat quickly. It’s also common to have your cholesterol levels and blood pressure drop as well. Men see many benefits of fasting by losing fat while maintaining their muscle mass.
Will Women See Results From Intermittent Fasting?
Women do see results when fasting although it can appear slower than when fast. How much fat you will lose is dependant on the individual person, so it’s best to just give it a try and track your results. Both men and women will see a decrease in body weight and loss of fat. Women probably won’t experience any improvement in insulin sensitivity.
The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
- Your Day Becomes Simplified
Cooking three meals a day is not the most fun for someone with a busy schedule. Fasting makes your day far more simplified.
- Increases Insulin and Liptin Sensitivity
This reduces the risk of chronic disease from diabetes to heart disease
- May Reduce Risk of Cancer
Studies have shown that fasting during chemotherapy treatments can result in not only fewer deaths but a better cure rate. Fasting not only helps to reduce cancer risk but also cardiovascular disease.
- Fasting is Better Than Dieting
Dieting forces you to restrict your calorie intake and prevents you from eating a lot of the foods that you enjoy. When you fast your calorie intake remains the same when you aren’t in the fasting period. Dieting is hard to maintain over a long period of time, whereas fasting can be part of a lifestyle change.
The Drawbacks of Intermittent Fasting
- Can Reduce Cognitive Capacity
Some people can experience negative effects on mood, alertness and the ability to be distracted easily. Energy levels can also decrease.
- Missing Micro-nutrients
People who skip breakfast are less likely to get enough micronutrients in their diet. It doesn’t mean eating breakfast is necessary but be aware that you are getting enough nutrients in a day. One way to ensure you maintain enough micronutrients is while fasting during a workout period is to supplement with BCAAs.
- May Experience Over-eating
It may become easy to over-eat when you aren’t fasting because you tend to justify it due to the 16-18 hour period f fasting that you have to look forward to. This can of course lead to too many calories and feeling overly full throughout the day.
What You Can Expect From Intermittent Fasting
There are plenty of benefits to intermittent fasting that will help you lose weight and get a lean body mass. Men and women will most likely have different results when fasting; the only way to know how it will work for you is to try it.
Focus on being consistent in order to maintain the results that you want. Put in the work and you will see results, just like anything in life.
