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Your body stages intermittent fasting between fasting and feeding hours.

Rather than controlling the food you consume; it regulates where you eat it. It can also be seen as more of a feeding habit than a diet.

The most common methods of practising intermittent fasting are: • The 16/8 method: miss breakfast and limit your normal meal to 8 hours, followed by fasting for the remaining 16 hours of the day. The food-stop-eat method: Requires 24-hour fasts once or twice a week on non-consecutive days. • Diet 5:2: On two non-consecutive days of the week, the consumption is reduced to 500–600 calories. You should not limit the intake for the remaining five days.

How it works

Intermittent fasting is widely used for weight loss as it contributes to a relatively simple calorie restriction.

It will help you consume less calories overall—as long as you don't overcompensate by eating a lot more during your diet.

Weight loss

Intermittent fasting is usually very effective due to weight loss. It has been shown to cause 3–8% weight loss over a span of 3–24 weeks, which is a lot relative to other weight loss diets.

In addition to having less muscle loss than the normal calorie restriction, the metabolic rate may rise by 3.6–14 per cent in the short term.

Other benefits

intermittent fasting can reduce inflammatory markers, cholesterol levels, blood triglyceride levels and blood sugar levels.

In addition, intermittent fasting has been related to elevated levels of human growth hormone (HGH), enhanced insulin sensitivity, improved cellular recovery, and altered gene expression.

Animal experiments also show that it can help new brain cells mature, extend their lifetime, and protect against Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

The downside

While intermittent fasting is safe for well-nourished and stable people, it doesn't suit everyone.

Any reports note that this is not as helpful for women as it is for men.

In addition, certain people should stop fasting, particularly some that are vulnerable to decreases in blood sugar levels, pregnant mothers, breastfeeding moms, teens, infants, and people that are undernourished, underweight, or lacking in nutrients.

SUMMARY

Intermittent fasting helps the body to cycle between fasting and feeding. It is extremely good for weight loss and has been related to a variety of health benefits.