How to do intermittent fasting? Can it help you lose weight?

How to do “intermittent fasting”? Can it help you lose weight?

Summer is the season for weight loss, and all kinds of "body PK" are constantly staged in the streets and alleys. Summer is also a good season for exercise. The human body's metabolism is vigorous, and the calories taken in are relatively easy to be consumed, which reduces the conversion rate of fat. At this time, weight loss can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Weight loss mainly relies on diet management and physical exercise, plus behavioral intervention. It is said that "30% exercise and 70% diet", which shows that diet is more important than exercise. However, whether it is a high-protein diet or a low-fat and low-carb diet, few people can stick to it and achieve significant results in weight loss.

Today I will introduce to you a “intermittent fasting” method that most people can stick to.

Emphasis on rhythm

Pay attention to when to eat

The "Guidelines for Medical Nutritional Treatment of Overweight/Obesity in China (2021)" points out that "light fasting", also known as intermittent energy restriction diet, is a diet pattern that fasts or gives limited energy intake within a specified period of time according to a certain rule. "Light fasting" originated from religious Ramadan, such as the Muslim Ramadan and the Chinese Taoist Bigu.

Modern "light fasting" is different from long-term dieting. It is more rhythmic and focuses not only on what to eat, but more importantly, when to eat. "Light fasting" can be seen as a way of eating, which is a time arrangement that cycles between fasting (or reducing calorie intake) and non-fasting.

What are the dietary patterns of "intermittent fasting"? According to the different intervals, there are several popular and clinically proven ones:

1. Alternate-day fasting

That is, eat food one day and drink only water the other day. Of course, it is not as simple as "eat a lot one day and don't eat at all the next day". There are also rules about what to eat on fasting days and relaxation days. Generally speaking, restrictions can be relaxed on relaxation days, and you can eat delicious and comfortable food, but you should not eat high-calorie foods at will. It is best to eat high-nutrient-density foods, including whole grains, protein, high-quality fats, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc. There are two ways to implement fasting days: one is strict fasting, without consuming any calories, only drinking water and unadded tea or black coffee; the other allows the intake of about 25% of the energy, that is, about 500 kcal of food, mainly high-quality protein and fruits and vegetables.

2.5 2 light fasting

Among the 7 days of a week, randomly select two non-consecutive days and only consume 25% of the usual energy, which is about 600 kcal for men and 500 kcal for women. The remaining 5 days are relatively normal. This diet control weight loss method is currently a reliable weight loss method recognized internationally. my country's latest authoritative weight loss guide "China Obesity Prevention and Control Blue Book" also recommends this method. The book points out that "5 2 light fasting" can improve body weight and metabolism without serious adverse reactions. Scientific "light fasting" is not only to control total calorie intake, but also to ensure nutrition as much as possible, to ensure that staple food, meat, vegetables, eggs, milk and other types of food are consumed, so as to effectively avoid nutritional imbalance. Of course, you must choose "three lows and one high" foods, that is, low-fat, low-calorie, low-GI (GI: glycemic index), high-protein foods, and at the same time ensure sufficient water intake. You should eat normally on non-fasting days, because eating too little will reduce the basal metabolic rate, which will affect weight loss.

3. Time-restricted fasting

During the day, you can only eat at a specific time, such as the very popular "16 8 light fasting", which means eating only within 8 hours and not eating at other times. For example, you can have brunch in the morning (around 10 o'clock), eat normally at noon, and finish dinner early (before 6 o'clock). When choosing food, you should also pay attention to choosing more healthy food, avoiding fried and high-sugar foods, reducing the intake of salt and MSG, drinking less soup, and not eating snacks, otherwise it will be difficult to see results.

There is no obvious difference between these methods, but exercise is essential to achieve weight loss. You can reduce exercise on fasting days, and combine exercise on non-fasting days, especially resistance exercise, to reduce muscle loss and achieve the goal of "losing weight faster and healthier".

Dialectical view

Under the guidance of a doctor

The key to losing weight is persistence, and the same is true for "intermittent fasting". Due to individual differences, whether "intermittent fasting" is good or not needs to be viewed dialectically. Before starting "intermittent fasting", please pay attention to the possible negative effects it may bring, and it is recommended to do it under the guidance of a doctor.

① Gastrointestinal diseases: Long-term fasting and low-calorie diet can cause the villi of the gastrointestinal mucosa to atrophy or even disappear, which in turn causes a series of gastrointestinal discomfort.

② If people with malnutrition, weak constitution or those who are picky eaters fast rashly, it may lead to malnutrition, make the body weaker, and even cause symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, palpitations, and sallow complexion.

③ Pay attention to adverse mental reactions. Hunger can affect people's emotions, leading to inattention, bad temper, irritability, insomnia, etc., affecting normal life.