We are a little over a week into the new year and hopefully you are hitting your marks with your new year’s resolution.
The majority of people set their goals around weight loss or better health.
Both of these can be achieved through a number of ways. My favorite way is fasting.
I know. When I say fasting some might recoil at the idea of not eating for an extended period of time. Some picture Ghandi going weeks without food. But the truth is, it doesn’t have to be so hard, and in many cases it is quite enjoyable.
There are two methods that deliver the benefits of Fasting, without the extended hardships many perceive of going without food. The two more popular methods of fasting are Intermittent Fasting, which has been around for quite some time now, and Fasting Mimicking, which is a little newer on the scene.
Intermittent Fasting:
Intermittent fasting is a type of fasting where you abstain from food for a set period of time. There are many different types of intermittent fasting, but the most common is the 16/8 method, where you fast for 16 hours and then eat during the other 8 hours. Some people find it difficult to give up food for any amount of time, while others feel liberated by the opportunity to break free from what they see as an unhealthy addiction. Regardless of how you feel about not eating anything at all for days on end, there are some facts about intermittent fasting that make it worth considering if you want to get healthier or lose weight.
One of the main benefits of intermittent fasting is that it’s easier to stick to than traditional fasting, but it’s also easier to do if you’ve failed at diets in the past. Many people who have had problems losing weight or keeping it off in the past find that intermittent fasting makes it possible for them to continue controlling their diet without having to put so much effort into it. Fasting may also increase your lifespan and help you live a healthier lifestyle.
Concurrent to intermittent fasting, fasting mimicking is a diet plan that looks to mimic the benefits of fasting with less severe restriction. A person might eat 25 percent of their normal caloric intake for five days per week, and then they would go back to eating as they normally would on the other two weekdays.
Fast Mimicking:
Fasting Mimicking is a diet plan designed to be easier than traditional fasts. The idea behind Fasting Mimicking is not to restrict caloric intake as much as possible so that the person can still maintain their daily activities without feeling too hungry or weak. Over five days per week, a person might eat 25 percent of their normal caloric intake and then they would go back to eating as they normally would on the other two weekdays.
Fasting Mimicking is more lenient than traditional fasts because it only requires that you abstain from eating one or two days at a time.
One of the most successful forms of Fasting Mimicking is known as ProLon, which is a 5-day program that includes five servings of 100 calories every day. Each serving has 23 essential nutrients to help keep people healthy during the fast, and the foods are also vegan-friendly. One of the most popular items in ProLon is a dessert made out of olives. With these small changes, you can still get all the benefits of fasting without feeling deprived.
While most people think of fasting as abstaining from food for up to three weeks, the reality is that most people do better with shorter bouts of abstinence. While longer fasts might seem easier because you don’t have to deal with hunger pangs every day, intermittent fasting has actually shown to be more effective at helping people lose weight and improve their health. Fasting Mimicking is much more like intermittent fasting than traditional fasts because it does not require that you go without food for long periods of time.
The Difference Between Intermittent Fasting And Fast Mimicking
Intermittent Fasting is when you abstain from food for a set period of time each day. You can choose to either eat nothing or to have some calorie-free beverages during those periods of time. It’s more lenient than traditional fasting because it only requires that you abstain from eating for one or two days at a time as opposed to multiple days consecutively.
Fasting Mimicking is a diet plan designed to be easier than traditional fasts. The idea behind Fasting Mimicking is not to restrict caloric intake as much as possible so that the person can still maintain their daily activities without feeling too hungry or weak. Over five days per week, a person might eat 25 percent of their normal caloric intake and then they would go back to eating as they normally would on the other two weekdays.
How They Both Can Help
introduce the benefits of both and how they can help you lose weight and get healthier Fasting is not just for religious purposes; there are other ways that fasting has been known to benefit your health, including helping to reduce inflammation throughout the body. It also helps with blood sugar regulation, which is particularly useful for those who are diabetic or pre-diabetic.
Intermittent fasting, especially the 24-hour fasts, can help people to lose weight because they are restricting their caloric intake over a period of time. It also helps control insulin levels, which leads to less fat storage and more fat loss.
Fasting Mimicking is significantly easier than traditional fasting because it allows you to eat 25 percent of your normal caloric intake on five days per week instead of taking the entire day off from eating. People who find it difficult to fast for a full day at a time may see better results with this program because they continue to go about their daily lives while still breaking their fast in a planned manner.
Fasting is not just for religious purposes; there are other ways that fasting has been known to benefit your health, including helping to reduce inflammation throughout the body. It also helps with blood sugar regulation which is particularly useful for those who are diabetic or pre-diabetic.
Intermittent fasting, especially the 24-hour fasts, can help people to lose weight because they are restricting their caloric intake over a period of time. It also helps control insulin levels which leads to less fat storage and more fat loss.
Fasting Mimicking is significantly easier than traditional fasting because it allows you to eat 25 percent of your normal caloric intake on five days per week instead of taking the entire day off from eating. People who find it difficult to fast for a full day at a time may see better results with this program because they continue to go about their daily lives while still breaking their fast in a planned manner.
Overall fasting is a great way to hit your goals for weight loss, mind clarity, and DETOXing to reset your body.
If you ever feel like you are struggling to hit your goal, consider adding fasting to your line up of methods.
For me, just the feeling of being freed from food for days at a time is amazing.
When I fast for 10 days or more, I can literally feel the cleansing cycles of my body taking place. From low energy to high, clean, buzzing energy, back to low energy while my body uses the stored and excess energy to focus on purging toxins.
It is definitely an experience to be had and I hope you will take some time to give it a try before life gets back to hectic. You deserve this.
-Willow S. Wright