Intermittent Fasting to Lose Weight

Intermittent fasting is a broad umbrella term for a number of different meal timing cycles which regularly cycle between strict fasting and consumption of food only a few times per week. Many methods of intermittent fasting involve alternating-day or alternate-time fasting. Others are time-limited (cycle: four weeks) intermittent fasting. A third variety involves frequent consumption of certain kinds of food (e.g., fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grain breads) during certain intervals in the day, and another variety of intermittent fasting includes a consumption of only liquids. No foods are fasted during these intermittent fasting patterns.

The primary goal of intermittent fasting is to create an environment in which your body can use up its fat stores as quickly as possible. By creating this environment, you force your body to look for alternate sources of energy. By replacing the traditional dietary sources of calories with alternate sources of energy (such as using up stored fat stores), the amount of calories you consume during the day will decrease significantly. As your calorie intake goes down, so will the amount of calories you burn at night. This process is very similar to how your body burns fat during rest: Your metabolism burns calories at rest, and then burns those calories during the day. So, by altering the way you eat on a regular basis, you can trick your body into reducing the rate at which it burns fat.

Many people have different ways of planning their intermittent fasting meals. Some simply consume the same amount of food over again; others divide their meals up into “blocks,” or even multiple-meal cycles. And, of course, many intermittent fasting fanatics enjoy eating “lose weight” foods. Although these foods are not considered to be “fast”, they still trigger your body to burn fat – just not like a normal fast.