Intermittent fasting is a dietary approach that involves regular, and planned, bouts of fasting strategically interspersed with normal eating. There are a number of supposed benefits of fasting – fasting can boost cognitive performance, reduce inflammation, improve recovery, and even decrease the risk of metabolic diseases. But perhaps the biggest, and most popular, benefit of fasting is weight loss. And it’s really quite simple – if I restrict the opportunities and time throughout the day that I’m “allowed” to eat, it will be much easier for me to stay in a calorie deficit and lose weight.
One of the most popular types of intermittent fasting is the 16/8 method, where someone wakes up, fasts for 8 hours, eats normally within an 8 hour period, and then goes to bed, where they would presumably fast for another 8 hours, making the stretch of fasting a solid 16 hours. But dieticians, health nuts, and mindful eaters have been playing around with different types of fasting forever. (Our early ancestors probably had no concept of fasting as we know it today, but as hunter gatherers without a constant and regular supply of food, may have inadvertently invented the practice.) But anyways, find out which type of fasting might be right for you if this is something you’d want to try.
Balanced
