All you need to know about intermittent fasting for weight loss

The concept of fasting is not new to people. It has been practised in different religions for thousands of years. The world has only realised its importance in the past decade owing to its amazing health benefits.

This latest health trend is easy to follow, convenient and sustainable way to lose weight and improve overall health.

Contrary to popular belief, intermittent fasting is not a type of diet. It is a lifestyle choice, involving alternating cycles of fasting and eating period.

There are different methods of fasting, varying in the number of fast days and calorie allowances. If you too are planning to try this fasting trend, here is all you need to know about it.

What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern alternating between periods of eating and fasting. It does not emphasize on the kind of foods you should eat, rather on when you should eat them. The common intermittent fasting method involves daily 16 hours fasting window and 8 hours eating window. In this, one has to consume all the calories of the day in 8 hours eating window and fast for the remaining 16 hours.

Most people generally fast every day, while sleeping at night. Intermittent fasting is simply extending the time limit and ensuring that you do not consume anything other than fluids to stay hydrated in the fasted state. As compared to other diet trends, most people find it easy to follow. Shunning food for 16 hours, in the beginning, might be tough for some, but once your body gets used to not eating for extended periods, following this lifestyle habit becomes quite easy.

How intermittent fasting work
The main objective of intermittent fasting is to divert the body’s attention from things other than the digestion of food like recovery and maintenance. During the fasting period, your body basically goes into starvation mode and a series of metabolic changes take place inside it. As there is no food left in the stomach to be digested the body focuses on the recovery and maintenance process. Secondly, due to the unavailability of carbohydrates, the body enters into ketosis, a state in which fat stored in the body is used for energy. This process helps to shed kilos.