Is Intermittent Fasting Right For You?
Intermittent fasting—IF—is one of the most popular modified ways of eating that can also help you lose weight. It’s not about what you eat, although you should eat a healthy diet, but about when you eat. While there are all types of intermittent fasting, from eating very light on certain days of the week and regular on others, to eating between certain hours or skipping meals for several days. The latter is not recommended unless your in good health, since skipping food for several days can actually slow your metabolism. What does work is eating between certain hours, which gives your digestion a bit of a break as well.
There are multiple benefits from intermittent fasting.
Animal studies that date back to the 1940s showed the effect of IF on mice. The studies from the University of Chicago fed rats on alternate days. That led to the rats living longer and delaying the signs of normal aging. While that might sound cruel, fasting has always been part of wild animals’ lives, including early man. Sometimes, there are several days animals go without eating until they find a source of food. The studies showed improved metabolism, a reduction of inflammation, weight loss, lower blood sugar levels, improved brain function and a lower risk of cancer. It also improved insulin resistance.
Weight loss is a benefit of intermittent fasting.
Whether you fast a day or two a week or use an eight-hour window to eat, it could improve your chances of losing weight. Since your body requires glucose as fuel, which can come from simple sugar, if it comes from sugar or simple carbs, it’s broken down more quickly. When you fast, your body uses body fat to create the fuel. It helps lower insulin levels and aids in losing weight. In fact, in all studies, when participants ate during an eight hour window, they actually ate less food.
There are people that should do intermittent fasting.
If you have advanced diabetes and take medication, don’t try fasting without the supervision of your health care provider. Anyone taking blood pressure medication, is pregnant, taking heart medicine or is breast feeding shouldn’t fast without consulting their health care professional. For those with an eating disorder, it’s counterproductive.
- Japanese human studies confirmed the earlier animal studies and found that fasting sped up metabolism and slowed the aging process. Rats that had food at regular intervals actually grayed earlier than those who had IF menus.
- Eating healthy foods should be the prime objective of any change in your eating pattern. You can consider eating your food in an eight-hour window or other IF, once you learn to eat healthier.
- By narrowing the window of when you eat, such as between the hours of ten and six, you automatically cut out late night snacks, which can pack on the pounds.
- Just fasting for 16 hours can make changes to your body. It can cause the process of cell repair to start, plus increase hormones that burn fat. It also increases HGH—human growth hormone—by as much as five times.
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When you workout at the gym, you’re doing indoor exercises that can also be done outside the gym. However, most people don’t have the gym equipment in their home. That’s why bodyweight exercises are often one of the most popular at home/in home ones to do. Bodyweight exercises include everything from push-ups to squats. As the name implies, they use the weight of the body instead of barbells or dumbbells.
America is a nation of workers and many take pride in how hard they work. However, balancing work and health is important. Some people think it’s selfish to take care of themselves. It’s not. In fact, it’s selfish not to take care of yourself. If your job is taking over your life and you don’t have time to do the things that make you healthy, one day it will all catch up with you. Then the stresses of work and lack of self-care will catch up. Not only will you have to miss work, you’ll have to have someone else take care of you.
If you’re like many people, simply deciding you’re going to workout because someone said it was good for you isn’t going to help you stick with a fitness program. Somehow, eating a nutritious meal because it’s good for you, sounds like something mothers tell their children and if you are like most people, it didn’t make you want to eat Brussels sprouts. Having a motivation to stay healthy or get healthy can be your focus, spurring you on when you’d rather grab an order of fries than a salad or watch the latest Netflix release.
If you’re living in Louisville, KY, or other area where it can get really cold, you may wonder whether it’s healthy to run in the cold. In most cases, the answer is yes, depending on how you dress and how extreme the cold weather is. However, cold weather may make your heart work harder. It causes your blood vessels to constrict so there’s more blood going to vital organs like your brain. It causes an increased risk for blood clots that can lead to heart attack or stroke.
We all know that eating a tub of ice cream isn’t good for you, but would it be better if you ate a tub of frozen yogurt. Since it first hit the market, it’s been a huge hit. After all, yogurt is a healthy option, but, is it? Frozen yogurt still has sugar and flavoring added. If you go to a fancy frozen yogurt shop, you can add tons of toppings that would make a candy manufacturer blush. That can’t possibly be healthy. The answer is that it isn’t.
When you think of the benefits of celery, you immediately think of it as a low calorie food that’s good for dieters. Celery is a member of the parsley family. In fact, it’s name came from the Italian word, seleri and the French word, celeri that’s derived from the Greek word selinon that means parsley. It was first used for medicinal purposes in ancient times, often for treating problems with nervousness, hysteria and insomnia. It wasn’t used for food until the early 1600s by the French.
At Body Sculptors in Louisville, KY, helping people look and feel better is our major goal. We strive to help you find ways to get better results in less time by using scientifically based workouts and healthy eating habits. One question that often is asked is whether it makes a difference what or when you eat when you workout. The answer is a resounding yes. After a workout, you need to replenish your body and one thing that helps is the consumption of bananas.
We’re here at Body Sculptors in Louisville, KY, to help you achieve your goals. Many people want to lose weight, almost everyone wants to feel and look their best, but did you know that regular exercise and a healthy diet can boost your energy and focus, too. When it comes to nutrition, the herbs and spices you add can also make a difference. Both herbs and spices do more than just add amazing flavor, they add nutritional benefits with little or no additional calories. That’s a win-win situation.