Intermittent fasting is an eating style that some people use to help control their weight. You follow an eating schedule every day, only consuming food during a set number of hours during a specific window of time, then fast for the remaining hours.
The golden rule in fasting is that it is a fast—this means no calories, no nutrients, no food. Even breaking the fast slightly with some food can throw severely limit the benefits you'd otherwise experience. It's important to stay consistent with a feeding and fasting window and stick to that window as best as you can.
Another intermittent fasting plan, known as the 5:2 approach, involves eating regularly five days a week. For the other two days, you limit yourself to one 500–600 calorie meal. An example would be if you chose to eat normally on every day of the week except Mondays and Thursdays, which would be your one-meal days.
The benefits of a 16-hour fasting schedule are the same as a 12-hour fasting. They include weight loss, aid in the cellular repair process, improved sleep, improved digestion, increased mental health and clarity, and reduced insulin resistance.
Consider a simple form of intermittent fasting.
Limit the hours of the day when you eat, and for best effect, make it earlier in the day (between 7 am to 3 pm, or even 10 am to 6 pm, but definitely not in the evening before bed).
Alternate day fasting is probably one of the most effective forms of intermittent fasting because the fasting period is so long. Studies have shown time and time again how effective this method can be with helping individuals lose weight, control their blood sugar levels, decrease their blood pressure, and more (4, 5).
Additionally, it will take your body a while to get used to this new eating schedule. So don't expect results right away. You may need to wait between 2 and 4 weeks to see or feel any results.
This is how much weight you can lose with intermittent fasting. In doing the fast correctly and ensuring that it is aligning with your mind, body and soul–you can expect a good weight loss of anywhere between 2 to 6 kgs a month with excellent inch loss and increase in energy levels and brain function.
The truth about lemon water and intermittent fasting
Long story short - the answer to the question “Does lemon water break a fast?” is no, lemon water does not break a fast. Lemon water contains almost no calories and zero sugars, it doesn't raise insulin levels, which means it will not break your fast (1).
Fasting on either a daily or weekly basis helps your body burn fat. There are different approaches to intermittent fasting but the most popular include: Alternate day fasting includes normal eating every other day, with days of restricted eating (500 calories) in between.
Alternate-Day Fasting
This is a popular approach for weight loss. In fact, research found that, in overweight adults, alternate-day fasting significantly reduced body mass index, weight, fat mass, and total cholesterol.
Eat a normal diet five days a week and fast two days per week. Eat normally but only within an eight-hour window each day. For example, skip breakfast, but eat lunch around 11 a.m. and dinner by 7 p.m.
In the case of Intermittent fasting, skipping your dinner is better and easier. You can have your dinner either early or have a heavy snack and can begin your fasting. Research suggests that fasting in the evening and overnight, then eating early in the morning is the better way to follow this diet to lose weight.
Most people who follow the 16:8 plan abstain from food at night and for part of the morning and evening. They tend to consume their daily calories during the middle of the day. There are no restrictions on the types or amounts of food that a person can eat during the 8-hour window.
When you fast for shorter durations, your body doesn't have enough time to go into ketosis. This means it won't burn stored fat, and there won't be significant weight loss. As one study concluded, a fasting window of 18-19 hours is more effective in terms of weight loss than those between 12-17 hours [11].
Myth or Fact: If you cut down on your food intake, you'll eventually shrink your stomach so you won't be as hungry. Answer: Myth.
Fat burning typically begins after approximately 12 hours of fasting and escalates between 16 and 24 hours of fasting.
YOU'RE NOT EATING ENOUGH DURING YOUR WINDOW
You'll be so hungry, you may start eating and not stop. As well, the body stores food to protect itself. Your body will sense the need to stock up on reserves and may store those extra pounds as fat instead of lean muscle.
Final thoughts on stopping intermittent fasting
Extreme hunger, excessive weight loss, dehydration, low blood pressure, and weakness can be adverse health effects of fasting. If fasting is impacting your emotions, decreasing your energy levels, or causing extreme hunger, it may be time to stop.