Everything you want to know about intermittent fasting

Weight loss is never easy. You’ve likely been told that the best way to take off those extra pounds is by eating healthy, reducing calories, and cutting out sugars. But dieting can leave you feeling physically and emotionally deprived until the urge to quit becomes too strong to ignore. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a short cut?

Recently, there’s been a lot of buzz about losing weight fast through a different approach called intermittent fasting. The gist of this method is that you can eat whatever you want on some days of the week or during specific times of day, as long as you follow that up with a fast. For example, one diet known as “5:2”,  allows you to eat whatever you choose 5 days a week and limit yourself to 500 calories the other 2. Another popular plan has you on an unrestricted diet for 8 hours out of the day, such as between 7:00 and 3:00, and nothing the rest of the time.

Facts and myths

One of the facts about fasting is that it’s actually been around for thousands of years in one form or another. Ancient hunter-gatherers went for days between finding food, and certain religions require fasting during specific observances. However, is fasting as a weight loss plan is a healthy practice? While there are many anecdotal stories about someone for whom it worked, no real scientific evidence exists to back up the claims.

For example, one of the myths is that you lose weight during the intermittent fasting period, but this is generally water weight and will return as soon as you begin eating again. Another is that going without eating allows your body to get rid of toxins. Not only is that not the case, but some studies have indicated that fasting may impair your body’s critical processes like the action of insulin.

The bottom line is that, if you want to lose weight and be healthy, you can’t beat healthy eating and a regular workout routine.

Your new routine

What you can do is learn which dietary changes are most effective, such as cutting out sugars and refined grains. Focus on more nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables, and those that help you feel less hungry, like lean proteins. Paired with a workout routine, eating this way also helps your body lose fat instead of muscle.

Start your day right by having a fruit or veggie smoothie with a scoop of high quality whey protein isolate. Drinking a Flex Fit Pro whey protein shake on an empty stomach helps you feel full for longer. And, taken after a workout routine, whey provides the nutrients you muscles need to repair and grow.