Eat Stop Eat Fasting Restricts Food for 24 Hour Cycles

Skipping meals to save calories can tank your metabolism and sabotage your weight loss efforts. Nonetheless, when you condense feeding times to set intervals, intermittent fasting can help melt the fat away. Since they did not have convenient stores, refrigerators or fast food restaurants, humans evolved to allow not eating until food was found. Unless you overeat during feasting periods, your overall consumption of calories will always be less on a fast. Although there is no single source for support, several websites have detailed variations of intermittent fasts and healthy menus can be found at emetabolic.com.

• 12-Hour Fast - According to a recent study at the University of Alabama Birmingham, 12-hour time-restricted feeding can help individuals control cravings better than those who consumed food as an all-day graze.
• 16:8 Fasting Method- 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.
• Eat-Stop-Eat Fasts - E-S-E fasting involves complete food restriction for 24 hours either once or twice a week. For example, you can eat dinner on Monday and refrain from eating until you eat dinner on Tuesday.
• 5:2 Fasting Method - The 5:2 diet approach advocates no food restriction five days of the week, cycled with a 400-500 calorie diet the other two days of the week.

The foods you choose to eat are important because all of the calories still count. Select whole foods of a single ingredient as well as those that are nutrient dense. Eliminating sugary drinks and consuming plenty of water is also very important when fast dieting. Moreover, a menu plan filled with lean proteins, healthy fats and fresh fruits and vegetables will always produce the best long-term results. Although the benefits of calorie restrictions have been demonstrated in animal studies, it is unclear that intermittent fasting is superior to other weight loss methods in regards to pounds lost, compliance rates, decrease in appetite, and other biological changes.

*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.