If you’re like me and have gained weight from staying in during this pandemic season, then you’re going to want to read this post.
Apart from going for long walks and signing up to a calorie-counted plant-based meal plan, I’ve been trying out another tip to loose weight. It’s called intermittent fasting.
When something shows up for you more than once, it’s a sign that you should go for it. And this is exactly what happened with intermittent fasting.
I had two different people mention it to me as a way to loose weight – over huge gaps of time.
And I recently listened to a podcast episode about it. So this means that it’s definitely something that I should commit to.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting simply means fasting for long periods of time. You can’t have flavored water or any other drinks during this time. You can only have plain, unflavored water.
If you want to give it a try, I suggest that you start with a 12-hour fast. This means that you stop eating at a certain time and then eat again after 12 hours.
The interesting thing is that I was already doing it to an extent on weekends without intention. So I was have a late lunch and then not eating until breakfast the next morning. And that’s how I started with this – without even intending!
For example, you can finish having dinner at 7:00 pm and then have breakfast at 7:00 am the next day.
This is how you can start. Once you feel ready, you can increase your fasting time to 16 hours instead of 12. So that’s 16:8.
This has become my weekend routine. Let’s say I finish eating my late lunch at 5:00 pm. And because I don’t restrict myself on the weekend, I make myself a big, homemade meal and I don’t count calories.
When I finish eating my meal at 5:00 pm, I fast until the next morning at around 9:00 am. This is when I usually go out for breakfast on Sunday mornings – my favorite part of the weekend!
This means that I fast for a total of 16 hours. While I do this regularly on weekends, I don’t practice intermittent fasting on weekdays yet. Since I have a meal plan delivered to me on weekdays, I usually eat dinner and the time varies.
But I plan to start doing a 12-hour intermittent fast on weekdays. This is my next goal.
What are the Benefits of Intermittent Fasting?
Apart from weight loss, intermittent fasting helps clean your gut and aids in digestion. It also has cellular regeneration and anti-aging benefits. It makes your skin clear if you do it regularly and it helps heal so many health issues and diseases.
I personally feel lighter and healthier when I do this on weekends. It’s like restarting your system and cleaning it from toxins.
Maybe this can be one of your New Year goals? Have you tried intermittent fasting? If so, what are your thoughts?
Intermittent fasting
