Intermittent fasting and exercise, the best way to lose weight?

Have you heard of intermittent fasting? This nutritional model is becoming more and more fashionable (although it has been done for millennia), since, if done correctly, incredible results are obtained, both inside and out. So today, we want to explain the keys on how to start intermittent fasting and what its benefits are.

Ah! And that the word fasting does not stop you, because you will not go hungry and you will always be full of energy (although if you take any of these perfumes that attract positive energy, even more)

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is a nutritional model that alternates periods of fasting and periods of food intake. Fasting periods can be adapted to the lifestyle of each person, although the most popular are the 12-hour fast or the 16-8 intermittent fasting, that is, one in which you cannot eat any type of food for 16 hours .

Although at first it may seem like a long time, it is not a difficult diet to follow, since this fast takes place between dinner and breakfast or lunch, so surely you are already fasting for about 10 hours without intending it.

What are the benefits of intermittent fasting combined with sports?

In general, intermittent fasting experiences are usually very good and bring many benefits to those who do it. Why? Very simple: because this is how we activate our metabolism.

And this is tremendously important, since in most cases, fat accumulation problems are derived from a slow metabolism. It is like in sports, if we do the same exercise table continuously, at first we will notice the results but then we will stagnate.

So, if we concentrate our food intake in a limited period of time, we will ensure that our metabolism "does not relax" and converts accumulated fat reserves into energy, which stimulates weight loss.

In addition, this nutritional model also provides multiple other benefits:

•     Delays the aging of the body.
•     Reduces indicators of inflammation.
•     Lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
•     Promotes neuronal plasticity.
•     Limits the growth of cancer cells.

If we already favor with our diet the acceleration of the metabolism with its consequent burning of fat, imagine if we also do sports on a regular basis. The perfect combo to look great! Combine the intermittent fasting diet with this one strength training at home or with these exercises to improve flexibility and you will notice a whole before and after in your figure.

Here are the most valued types of intermittent fasting and some guidelines to do them, but yes, it is always recommended that you consult with a nutritionist who will evaluate your case and give you personalized guidelines. Every body and lifestyle is different!

Types of Intermittent Fasting

In addition to consulting with a nutritionist who will provide you with a personalized diet to break the fast, it is very important that you strictly adhere to the schedules of intermittent fasting. And it is that if we exceed the fasting time, a rebound effect can occur and this method is completely antiproductive.

Intermittent fasting 16-8

The 16-hour fast is the most famous as its results are much more noticeable. To do it, you simply have to define a period of time of 16 hours in which you do not have to eat any type of food.

If your lifestyle is daytime and you have “office hours”, the most appropriate thing is that you establish the first intake between 12:00 - 14:00 hours and make the last one between 20:00 - 22:00 hours, So that you meet 16 hours without problems, since much of the time you will be sleeping. As you can see, the only meal that is not eaten is breakfast, although you can take intermittent fasting supplements such as vitamin complexes.

One of the million dollar questions is whether you can drink coffee on intermittent fasting, and the answer is… yes! Fortunately, you can have non-caloric beverages such as coffee, tea or water. Of course, no coffee with milk or chicken broth if you want to do intermittent fasting correctly.

12-hour fast

Another of the most famous types of fasting is the 12-hour fast. This is much more bearable, so it is ideal to enter the world of fasting little by little.

In this one, we recommend that you have dinner around 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. and have breakfast just 12 hours after the last meal.

Best Intermittent Fasting Apps

Even if you go to a nutritionist who guides your diet, it is normal that if you are not used to having strict intake schedules, you forget when you should eat and you get a little out of control. But don't worry, because there are intermittent fasting apps to make it much easier for you to follow your diet properly.

These often include fasting programs, monitoring systems, and prompts and charts to track your weight loss progress.

Some of the most popular (available for both iOS and Android) are Zero-Cal Fasting Tracker, Clear - Intermittent fasting for body and mind, or Do-Fasting. In addition, the latter is very complete and ideal for combining intermittent fasting and sports, the key to achieving a perfect body!