Intermittent fasting has been a popular trend for years now. Followers profess it helps them with everything from weight loss to health.
Additionally, it can improve various metabolic health indicators, such as cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
It can also help you with weight loss, especially with a healthy exercise routine.
Thus, it can lower your chance of developing diseases linked to excess weight. In simple words, intermittent fasting has many health benefits.
Tips to Start Intermittent Fasting for Beginners
In this article, you will learn about a few of the best ways to start fasting and advice on setting goals, organizing meals, and determining calorie requirements. So, Let’s take a look at these tips:
Determine Your Goals
Most people who begin intermittent fasting do so with a specific objective, such as improving metabolic health, general health, or weight loss.
Determining the ultimate objective can assist you in choosing the best fasting strategy for you and calculating the calories and nutrients you ideally require.
Identify the Approach
When fasting for the betterment of your health, you can experiment with a variety of possible approaches.
However, choosing a strategy that fits your needs and one you believe you can follow through with is crucial.
Among the most well-liked fasting strategies are:
- periodic fasting
- time-restricted eating
- alternate-day fasting
During mealtimes, eating just meals deficient in essential nutrients can impede the progression of health. Hence, it’s important to consume foods like fruit and vegetables, protein-rich meals, and nutritious grains during mealtimes to obtain vitamins and minerals like magnesium or potassium.
Calculate Your Caloric Needs
Although intermittent fasting has no intrinsic dietary constraints, calories are still necessary.
There are numerous resources available to assist someone in calculating your calorie requirements and determining how many calories you should eat daily to manage your weight and overall well-being.
Additionally, if you want personalized guidance with counting calories, you can consult a dietician or health professional.
Create a meal plan
Planning your meals for the day or the week can benefit you if you want to gain or lose weight.
Meal planning can help you stay within your calorie budget and ensure you have the supplies necessary for recipes, quick yet healthy dinners, and snacks.
However, adhering to a balanced, protein-rich, fiber-rich diet that includes fruits and vegetables during the eating periods is a great idea.
This way, you can quickly achieve your health and weight management goals.
Begin slowly
Starting slowly is an intelligent strategy for beginners. It is simpler to adjust to the adjustments you are trying to make to your lifestyle by taking little steps.
You can begin with a fasting period of 12 hours and allocate a 12-hour window for eating, for instance.
Eventually, you can transition to a 16:8 plan, which calls for a 16-hour fast followed by an 8-hour interval for eating.
Finally, you can go to a shorter eating window once you master it.
Consume Adequate Amounts of Water
Though it’s strange, indeed, our body often equates hunger and thirst. For this reason, people who practice intermittent fasting advise maintaining hydration.
Drinking a lot of water is one of the best strategies to manage your appetite during a fast, especially at the beginning.
Water has no impact on insulin or blood sugar levels. Hence, it’s safe to consume water while on an intermittent fast.
Conclusion
Eating a balanced diet high in protein, fiber, fruits, and vegetables is crucial. Drinking en