Fasting Is More About When Your Eat... Not What You Eat!

Make no mistake, when food intake is poorly managed, intermittent fasting is nothing more than a fad diet that can make it difficult to sustain the weight loss unless other disciplines are also adopted. Although the weight loss benefits of restricted eating are similar to those of following a calorie restricted diet, with intermittent fasting, no calorie counting is needed, and you totally restrict food intake during your fasting windows. For shorter fasting periods, you can break a fast by consuming a regular meal. Nonetheless, following a fast, you may want to ease back into eating with a broth soup after longer fasting periods.

• Skip-a-Day Diet - If you eat dinner on Sunday night and then not eat at all until breakfast Tuesday morning, you skipped Monday and are basically not eating for one entire day.
• The Fast Diet - With the 5:2 Method, people eat normally five days a week but only consume 500 to 600 calories on the two non-consecutive days of fasting.
• 16:8 Fasting - The LeanGains Method of fasting involves food restriction for sixteen hours a day and feeding is accomplished in an eight-hour window, making it an easier eating pattern to sustain long-term.
• 12-Hour Fast - According to a recent study at the University of Alabama Birmingham, time-restricted feeding can help individuals control cravings better than those who consumed food as an all-day graze.

Intermittent fasting is proven to be more muscle-sparing than traditional diets, especially when you consume adequate amounts of lean proteins during your feeding windows. Most experts agree that strength training and proper supplementation can help maintain muscle mass while fasting. If you feel great and shed weight during your fasting windows, then the protocol suits your body. To the contrary, if your weight loss has stalled and you feel sluggish all day, then it is time to make modifications to your plan. A broad range of fasting protocols has shown each can deliver many health benefits, but fast-diets don't always work well for everybody.

*NOTE: Due to a difference in hormonal makeup, women have special considerations when fasting. Intermittent fasting is not a good idea for women under 18 years of age, those with a lean body profile, or those with medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism or a history of eating disorders. Ask your physician about an appropriate fasting protocol for you.