If you’re sick of the traditional diet and always being ON a diet which is not a healthy thing either you may wonder what else can you can do to lower that number on the scale.
One weight loss trick that has been gaining steam in the last few years is fasting.
But is it healthy?
The verdict seems to be out with some saying no, others saying yes, and still others saying it’s all how you do it.
My personal opinion is that it’s good for you and that it works – of course who am I but a writer for YNOT Cam!
But, the reason why I feel it’s beneficial is because one, I’ve done it and have had great results and two, for centuries fasting has been a staple of India, China, the Middle East, and Greece. I’m a big fan of cultures like those that brought us great literary works, meditation, yoga, Ayurveda and more – practices that Western cultures have poo poo’ed for years and are now catching up with. Science now proves a lot of what the ancients did for their health works!
I also like the idea of giving your organs a day off from time to time. Think about it, it must be exhausting for your digestive pipes to be just going going going, you liver constantly detoxifying, detoxifying, detoxifying… they deserve a break!
So, should you try fasting?
I can’t advise whether it’s right for you, but I can give you some information on Intermittent Fasting so you can determine if you’d like to try it.
TYPES OF INTERMITTENT FASTING
The 16/8 method – This breaks down the fast into time restrictions. In this popular version of the technique, you have an eight-hour eating window and a 16 hour fast. Basically, you break your day up into thirds – eight hours eating, eight hours not eating, eight hours rest… it feels balanced.
5:2 Diet – This uses days instead of hours as a gauge of when to fast. Chow down normal for five days then two of the days you cut your intake to 500-600 calories.
Eat Stop Eat: You choose your days to fast – pick one day or two.
Alternate-Day Fasting – One day off, one day on. Also in this version, as reported on by Live Science you can still eat 500-800 calories and be in what’s considered a fasting state.
The Warrior Diet – This is a weird one… you barely eat for 20 hours then you stuff your yourself like a foie gras goose on anything you want for the last four hours.
That’s intermittent fasting in a nutshell. If you’re interested in trying it there’s a few apps out there that can get you started. Some popular ones include DoFasting, Noom, Lumen, Fastic, Fastin, Zero, and Fastient and that’s just scratching the surface.
Good luck and remember to always check with a physician before embarking on any weight loss program.
Main photo credit: iStock.com/Eleonora Grigorjeva
Second photo credit: iStock.com/TetianaKreminska
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Alyssa Collins hails from Minnesota, where snowy days were the perfect excuse to stay warm inside and write. Over the years, she turned that joy into a career and has authored numerous articles for various publications (under pen names). Email Alyssa via alyssa@ynot.com.
