Have you seen people on social media or even your family partaking in the intermittent fasting lifestyle (IF), but have no idea what it is or how to do it? Well Sister, even though it’s more prominent in your news feed, fasting has been around since the beginning of time. Cavemen fasted because they were forced to, people of the Bible fasted to seek God’s guidance, so all this fuss that you are seeing isn’t some “new fad diet”.
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Instead, it’s a VERY manageable way to lose or manage your weight without having to go to extremes. Today I’m sharing some of the benefits of intermittent fasting and why it might be a good option for you to consider on your journey to being a happy and healthy mama! I’ve personally done it for many years and find that it’s an easy way to manage my weight without having to count calories all the time!
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⭐What is Intermittent Fasting? ⭐
According to https://buff.ly/2b0Ytrg, “Intermittent fasting (IF) is a term for an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It does not say anything about which foods you should eat, but rather when you should eat them. In this respect, it is not a "diet" in the conventional sense. It is more accurately described as an "eating pattern."
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⭐IF Methods⭐
The most popular ways to do intermittent fasting are:
⭐The 16/8 method: Involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to eight hours, subsequently fasting for the remaining 16 hours of the day.
⭐The eat-stop-eat method: Involves 24-hour fasts once or twice per week on non-consecutive days.
⭐5:2 diet: On two non-consecutive days of the week, you restrict your intake to 500–600 calories. You do not restrict intake on the five remaining days.
⭐The Warrior Diet: Eat small amounts of raw fruits and vegetables during the day and one huge meal at night.
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⭐Potential Health Benefits of IF⭐
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According to research (found here: https://buff.ly/2JrYDqz) IF can provide some of the following benefits:
⭐Weight loss: intermittent fasting can help you lose weight and belly fat, without having to consciously restrict calories
⭐Insulin resistance: Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance, lowering blood sugar by 3–6% and fasting insulin levels by 20–31%, which should protect against type 2 diabetes
⭐Inflammation: Some studies show reductions in markers of inflammation, a key driver of many chronic diseases
⭐Heart health: Intermittent fasting may reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers, blood sugar and insulin resistance — all risk factors for heart disease
⭐Cancer: Animal studies suggest that intermittent fasting may prevent cancer
⭐Brain health: Intermittent fasting increases the brain hormone BDNF and may aid the growth of new nerve cells. It may also protect against Alzheimer’s disease
⭐Anti-aging: Intermittent fasting can extend lifespan in rats. Studies showed that fasted rats lived 36–83% longer
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To learn more about intermittent fasting and why it may be something to consider for your lifestyle, check out this super helpful article from Healthline! https://buff.ly/2wrUnEl
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Also, this is a great article about intermittent fasting, specifically for women: https://buff.ly/2CFBf6D
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ACTION: Have you ever tried IF? If so, what were pros and cons you experienced with it?