Sleep & eat.
Maybe this is the main routine at every home. Now that we don’t have this active life, we get the chance to recover and rest. Some of you may already feel bored. And this sometimes leads to fridge visits for snacks or even a “light” meal. Now that we experience social distancing, many ladies have cravings for chocolate or sweets – it’s completely normal. You are not alone.
We know that many of you are afraid of gaining weight while staying at home. This is why today we share how you can keep your weight and even lose it – at home!
How? The answer is Intermittent fasting.
What is Intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a scientifically proven way of eating for weight loss, muscle building, metabolism boost, and health improvement. It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle. It’s all about fitting your food intake into an eating window, followed by a fasting period. For example, 16:8 – you fast for 16 hours (no foods or calories are allowed) and eat in an 8-hour window.
Sixteen hours may sound like a challenge, but they are not. It’s like getting your first meal at 10 am and your last dinner at 6 pm. This is entirely achievable.
Intermittent fasting gives you lots of benefits such as:
- Helps you slim down and lose weight;
- Improves your heart health;
- Lowers the risk of developing Diabetes;
- Reduces calorie intake;
- Regulates appetite and cravings;
- Reduces inflammation;
- Recycles dead and dysfunctional cells;
- Increases the brown fat (your healthy and fat burning fat) in your body that creates heat;
- Improves concentration and depression symptoms.
After all of these benefits… it’s worth the try.
How does it work, and why is it so effective?
IF directly affects essential hormones – insulin, leptin, and the growth hormone.
Insulin
Whatever we eat, we drive our insulin levels to go up and our growth hormone to go down. Insulin regulates our blood sugar. Whatever we eat, we break it down to carbs, fats, and protein. All carbs transform into sugar glucose. Insulin’s job is to take your glucose out of the bloodstream and transfer it to neighboring cells – for energy usage or storing. Some of the energy in those cells we use for our daily activity – physical and mental. Whatever we don’t use up, we store it as fat thanks to insulin.
Insulin and the growth hormone
To start using our fat resources, we need to have our insulin and leptin levels down. This happens through fasting (10-16 hours). While we fast, our body starts secreting growth hormone, which takes care of our muscle mass and bones. It helps us burn fat more efficiently and gives us a boost of energy. Its levels are at their highest when we wake up.
This is why it’s imperative not to break our fast when we wake up. And thanks to the growth hormone, you don’t feel hungry most of the mornings even though you haven’t eaten for about 12 hours.
Insulin and leptin
Fasting also suppresses the leptin hormone – the one which tells your brain you are satiated. Hence it would help if you stopped eating. When insulin is down, leptin is also down. The more insulin your body produces, the less leptin hormone is secreted. When you have a chronically high insulin level in your blood, the leptin hormone stops working correctly. Then you start constantly feeling hungry, and many times, you overeat.
Fasting can reverse this process.
The fasting period of IF helps us regulate our blood sugar, burns fat, preserves muscle mass, recovers the muscle tissue, fires up our metabolism, and boosts our brains and bodies with high energy levels.
What kinds of Intermittent fasting windows are there?
You have so many options for fasting programs. Check them out and start with the one you feel like doing. Remember that if you don’t enjoy it, it won’t work.
- The 16:8 method – This is the most popular program. You eat in a window of 8 hours, and then you fast (no calories) for 16 hours. You have the option to skip breakfast or to skip dinner. Dinner has always been special – like a prize for a tough day. Our observations are that people tend to skip breakfast. But it’s ultimately your choice!
- The 5:2 method – 5 days of the week you eat as you feel like – normal, and two days of the week you take only up to 500 calories. You can choose freely which days you’d like to have your calorie restrictions.
- Eat Stop Eat – 5 days of the week, you usually eat, and two days of the week, you drink only water (fast with no calories intake). These two days can be separated:
Example routine:
Monday – eat normally;
Tuesday – eat normally;
Wednesday – fast;
Thursday – eat normally;
Friday – fast;
Sunday and Saturday – eat normally.
- Alternate Day Fasting – With this method, you usually eat one day, and in the next 24 hours, you drink only water. So it would be 1:1 (eat: fast). Maybe this could be a tough one to follow but if you feel like it – give it a shot!
Example routine:
Monday – eat normally;
Tuesday – fast;
Wednesday – east normally;
Thursday – fast;
Friday – eat normally;
Sunday – fast;
Saturday – eat normally.
- Warrior IF 20:4 – This limits your food intake to 4 hours a day. Twenty hours fasting and 4 hours eating. This type of IF is usually more suitable for men and athletes, gym lovers, bodybuilders. If this is too extreme for you, choose something else.
- The beginner way – IF is a powerful method. This is why most experts advise beginners and women to start slowly. Why women? Because they have loads of sensitive hormones and rely on their cycles. An aggressive start can lead to fluctuation and unhealthy outcomes.
This is why you can start with:
- 10-hour eating window and 14 hours fast;
- Or 12-hour eating window and 12 hours quickly.
What foods to eat and what foods to avoid?
Make sure to eat healthy whole foods. We always advise fewer carbs, more protein, and healthy fats. This way, you keep your insulin levels regulated, reduce hunger and cravings.
We know carbs are fun – cakes, pasta, sweets, potatoes, rice, beans, etc. But try to make them 10-15% of your lifestyle. This way of eating is called Keto, and we’ve explained it in our blog.
You can learn more about the Keto diet HERE.
Quick tips while doing Intermittent fasting
- Start your day with a glass of water – every morning, drink a glass of room temperature (or warm) water on an empty stomach. You can add a few drops of lemon or a pinch of salt for more electrolytes. This will hydrate your body and help you start the day with more energy.
- Drink coffee and tea – coffee and tea suppress your hunger. If you wake up hungry, try to drink a cup of coffee (unsweetened) after the glass of water. You will see how your appetite will go away.
Tip: You can make a bulletproof coffee which is 100% no calorie drink and it’s also delicious. Mix coffee with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. It will become thick and nourishing.
- Don’t overeat – when you break your fast, don’t overeat. If you can’t stop doing that, maybe IF is not your thing. Stop or find a way to regulate this process.
- Workout – There are many great YouTube channels for home workouts, numerous free programs, and inspiring instructors. Choose between HIIT, body weight, Tabata, yoga, cardio, pilates, dancing, or else. Pick the one you like and do it daily.
- Mix your workouts – doing one exercise will bore you. We love to alternate our workouts. You can do HIIT twice a week, dance twice a week, and do yoga the rest of the days. Or if muscle building is your thing – exercise different muscle groups every day. Be creative!
- Drink plenty of water during the day – water helps your body function properly. Every single part of your body needs energy and water. Your internal organs consist mainly of water. Drink at least 1-2 L of water every day.
- Follow Keto – on your eating window, try to eat fewer carbs, more whole foods, salads, proteins, and healthy fat. Learn more about it HERE.
- Stay busy – when you have something to do, time passes very quickly. It’s an excellent regimen for people who work from home.
- Get your vitamins! – any nutrient deficiency can result in hormonal changes and metabolic disruption. You can also boost your vitamin intake by taking supplements. Order them online, and they will get to you safely:
Reserve by Jeunesse Global – a blend of potent antioxidants for vital and healthy cells.
Finity by Jeunesse Global – fruit and vegetable extracts for inflammatory reduction and cell rejuvenation.
ZEN Bodi by Jeunesse Global – boost your fitness progress with supplements for better results – rapid weight loss, quick muscle recovery, and endurance.
We hope IF helps you stay fit and even lose weight. Give it a try and be kind to yourself – you have nothing to lose. Even if you lose control over your weight when our clinic opens, come to 7 Derma and try SculpSure.
Read more: Body Skin Tightening Vs. Weight Loss
SculpSure eliminates fat cells and helps you reduce up to 25% body fat after the first session. We kind of miss this treatment, and we have our fingers crossed for the weight of all of us. Tough times for all of us.
Stay home, stay healthy!
