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Intermittent fasting has become very trendy in recent years. It is famous for weight loss, improving metabolic health and perhaps even extending your lifespan.

This is how to do intermittent fasting | Pulse Nigeria

<h1>Not surprisingly given the popularity, several different types/methods of intermittent fasting have been devised. We're going to show you how to do intermittent fasting. </h1>

<p>Even better, we'll show you five methods. That way, you get to choose which best suits your lifestyle. All of them can be effective, but which one fits best will depend on you.</p>

<h2>How To Do Intermittent Fasting: 5 Popular Methods</h2>

<h3>The 16/8 Method: Fast for 16 hours each day.</h3>

<p>The 16/8 Method involves fasting every day for 14-16 hours. And restricting your daily "eating window" to 8-10 hours. Within the eating window, you can fit in 2, 3 or more meals. This method is the Leangains protocol and became popular through fitness expert Martin Berkhan.</p>

<p>This method is as simple as not eating anything after dinner and skipping breakfast. For example, you finish your last meal at 8 pm and then don't eat until 12 noon the next day. Then you are technically fasting for 16 hours between meals. Experts generally recommend that women only fast 14-15 hours. Because they seem to do better with slightly shorter fasts.</p>

<p>You can drink&nbsp;water,&nbsp;coffee, and other non-caloric beverages during the fast. This can help reduce hunger levels. It is very important to eat mostly healthy foods during your eating window. This won't work if you eat lots of junk food or excessive amounts of calories.</p>

<p>The&nbsp;5:2 diet involves eating normally 5 days of the week. While restricting calories to 500-600 on two days of the week. This diet is also the Fast diet and became popular through British journalist and doctor Michael Mosley.</p>

<p>On the fasting days, experts recommend that women eat 500 calories, and men 600 calories. For example, you might eat normally on all days except Mondays and Thursdays. That's when you eat two small meals (250 calories per meal for women, and 300 for men). As critics correctly point out, there are no studies testing the 5:2 diet itself. But there are plenty of studies on the benefits of intermittent fasting.</p>

<h3>Eat-Stop-Eat: Do a 24-hour fast, once or twice a week.</h3>

<p>Eat-Stop-Eat involves a 24-hour fast, either once or twice per week. This method became popular by fitness expert Brad Pilon and has been quite popular for a few years. By fasting from dinner one day, to dinner the next, this amounts to a 24-hour fast.</p>

<p>For example, if you finish dinner on Monday at 7 pm. Don't eat until dinner the next day at 7 pm, then you've just done a full 24-hour fast. You can also fast from breakfast to breakfast, or lunch to lunch. The end result is the same. Water, coffee and other non-caloric beverages are allowed during the fast, but no solid food.</p>

<p>If you are doing this to lose weight, then you must eat normally during the eating periods. As in, eat the same amount of food as if you hadn't been fasting at all.</p>

<p>The problem with this method is that a full 24-hour fast can be fairly difficult for many people. But you don't need to go all-in right away. Start with 14-16 hours and then move upwards from there.</p>

<h3>Spontaneous Meal Skipping: Skip meals when convenient.</h3>

<p>You don't actually need to follow a structured intermittent fasting plan to reap some of the benefits. Another option is to simply skip meals from time to time. Like when you don't feel hungry or are too busy to cook and eat.</p>

<p>It is a myth that people need to eat every few hours or they will hit "starvation mode" or lose muscle. The human body is well equipped to handle long periods of famine, let alone missing one or two meals from time to time. So if you're really not hungry one day, skip breakfast and just eat a healthy lunch and dinner. Or if you're traveling somewhere and can't find anything you want to eat, do a short fast.</p>

<p>Skipping 1 or 2 meals when you feel so inclined is basically a spontaneous intermittent fast. Just make sure to eat&nbsp;<a href="https://www.africaparent.com/foods-to-eat-to-induce-labour-naturally" rel="noopener noreferrer">healthy foods</a>&nbsp;during the other meal times.</p>

<h3>The Warrior Diet: Fast during the day, eat a huge meal at night.</h3>

<p>The Warrior Diet was popularized by fitness expert Ori Hofmekler. It involves eating small amounts of raw&nbsp;<a href="https://www.africaparent.com/11-best-fruits-for-weight-loss" rel="noopener noreferrer">fruits</a>&nbsp;and vegetables during the day, then eating one huge meal at night. Basically, you "fast" all day and "feast" at night within a 4-hour eating window.</p>

<p>The Warrior Diet was one of the first popular "diets" to include a form of intermittent fasting.</p>

<h3>How To Do&nbsp;Intermittent Fasting: The Benefits</h3>

<ul><li>weight loss</li><li>reduced blood pressure</li><li>reduced inflammation</li><li>better outcomes for stroke survivors</li><li>low cholesterol</li><li>boosted brain functions</li><li>protection against cancer</li><li>increased cell turnover</li><li>reduced insulin resistance</li><li>lower risk of cardiovascular issues</li><li>increased longevity</li><li>better night's sleep</li></ul>

<p><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Medical News Today</a></p>

<p><strong>Also read:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.africaparent.com/how-to-identify-blood-sugar-levels" rel="noopener noreferrer">How To Identify Blood Sugar Levels And Keep Diabetes At Bay</a></p>

<p><strong>This article was first published on&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.africaparent.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>AfricaParent.com</strong></a></p>

This is how to do intermittent fasting

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