Intermittent fasting can be done in various ways as there’s no single plan that everyone can use and be sure it will work. You can get good results if you try multiple ways to discover what works well and suits your preference and lifestyle. It can be problematic if you start fasting for an extended period and the body is not prepared for it.
Some diets may not suit each person if you are prone to disordered eating. The following approaches have the possibility of exacerbating your unhealthy relationship with food. If you have health conditions like diabetes, you should consider talking to your doctor before you start fasting.
Also, if you want the best results, it’s vital to eat a balanced diet on the days you’re not fasting. You can also opt for professional help if necessary; a person can seek professional help to avoid pitfalls when you’re fasting. This article offers sensible tips to avoid making mistakes that can derail you from achieving your desired weight.
Avoid overeating
If you know you’re ready to start fasting, you should not load up and start consuming many calories the way you would do during regular days.
Look for ways of suppressing hunger during the fasting period
You can achieve this by eating high-fiber foods, such as vegetables. You can also chew the high-fiber gummies since they can help. Also, take your time to drink a lot of water because you may confuse being thirsty and hungry. During the fasting process, you can prefer taking black coffee or even cinnamon because this kind of beverage may be having some appetite-suppressing effects.
The other way that can help you suppress hunger is through watching less tv, and despite sounding strange, in most cases, while you watch tv, it’s possible to get bombarded with a lot of food ads. It may make you feel hungry when in the real sense, you are not. Always remember that when you’re fasting, the best thing that may happen to you is being a little hungry because it can be a mind-body connection that will help you start recognizing fullness. The other thing is to avoid alcohol and beverages made with cereals and replace them with green juice.
Pick the fasting time that is suitable for you
Considering this may be so adaptable, and for you to be successful in this case, it’s advisable to start by choosing a style which you think will fit you well. Different ways can help you follow it, for example, the 16:8 method or the method of 20:4. The first method shows how to fast for 16 hours a day and have an 8-hour window to eat. Also, the other process involves fasting for 20 hours then eating for the additional four hours.
You can choose how to start or finish this method as you may decide to have a break, maybe from 12 pm to 8 pm. In cases where breakfast may be more critical, then you should consider avoiding your evening snacks, and everything will work better.
Start by cutting off the late nights eating
You can make a notable and huge difference through this. First, of course, you can eat at night, but you can avoid a lot of calories intake because most people tend to eat cookies at night or maybe chips. Thus, it would help to start eating early to avoid going to bed with a full stomach.
Try to stay busy most times
Staying busy can help you distract yourself, especially from what you might feel like hunger. You should avoid eating unnecessary food because you’re bored. It may happen in cases where you have nothing that will help keep your mind moving, so you start thinking you are hungry.
You can start by looking for a new hobby that will keep you busy. The pursuit can be listening to podcasts, reading some books, or doing the house chores. You can also opt to dance or start working out.
Promoting a healthy lifestyle will help you, especially at this time, as setting aside maybe some 30 minutes to do activities will be a good distraction from eating all the time.
If you find a hard time thinking about food, you need to start reassessing your task at hand. You can do this by taking a mental break and changing your daily routine. In short, the critical point, in this case, is always staying busy to avoid the thoughts of food lingering in your mind.
Eat when necessary
When you decide to follow the 16:8 fasting method, fatigue, and intense hunger should not be a big issue. But, in cases where you may be feeling lightheaded, you need to listen up because your body may be trying to tell you something. For example, you may have low blood sugar and need something to eat, which is perfectly okay.
Besides, fasting involves removing some food and not totally starving yourself. So, there is no need to beat yourself up. Instead, you can opt for a protein-rich snack, for example, a slice of turkey breast or a hard-boiled egg, as this will help burn fats. Afterward, you can go back to your fasting if that can help you.
Try listening to your body
It’s vital as you also need to watch for different symptoms like being dizzy, fatigue, anxiety, and even stress. In cases where you tend to experience this, you can break your fasting. These signs may be showing you that your body is in starvation mode and maybe needs nourishment. Also, in cases where you start feeling colder than usual, it’s a sign that you need to stop fasting.
It would help if you were patient since your body is likely to take some time to get used to fasting, and in most cases, it’s possible for you to feel hungrier and weaker compared to how you usually think. However, when having these sensations, there is no need to flip out, and in cases where the symptoms persist, like dizziness, you can ditch the diet and find something that can help you meet your needs. All in all, there is no number of pounds that can be worth getting sick.
Restrict the amount of calories intake
You can reduce your calorie intake, which means you should be eating less than 1200 calories when fasting. You should reduce the intake during the fasting period because if you want a healthy lifestyle, you should try doing it and see if it will work for you. When slowing your metabolism too much, you can lose muscle mass instead of increasing it.
Give it time
The essential thing you should do is give intermittent fasting time. You will not wake up in a day and find you have lost some pounds. No, it may take a while. However, extreme weight loss will get noticed if you give it time.
Your body may be taking a lot of time adjusting to it, and in this case, your mental states may take time to make something a habit. If you decide to give intermittent fasting a try, try giving it a whole month before deciding if you will keep doing it or not.
Adapt to your workout routine
You can exercise when fasting, as you also need to be mindful of your movements and the time you do it. You can start by exercising maybe in the morning since you may be having more energy.
Conclusion
Intermittent fasting is not hype since it has been designed appropriately to help evaluate your health and lifestyle and accelerate your weight loss. However, if you are unsure how intermittent fasting works, you can call your doctor, especially when you have health conditions because your doctor can create a good plan for you.
