Fasting has become increasingly popular as of late. There are a few health benefits to be gained from fasting, but often times I wonder if some people are fasting because they hope to lose weight. Fasting for health is fine, but fasting for weight loss is not such a great idea, for several reasons.
Fasting for weight loss doesn't work as well as you'd hope. To begin with, many people don't realize that a large percentage of their daily water intake comes from solid foods, not liquids. (For example, an apple is 80% water by volume.) When you fast, by definition, you're eating little or no solid food. You can try to drink more water to compensate, but how do you really know how much more you need to drink?
You can probably see where this is going. If you're consuming less water, the first type of weight you'll lose during your fast... is water weight. And guess what happens when the fast ends? That water weight comes right back.
Even if you get your water intake right, you are fighting your body's natural inclinations if you fast for weight loss. Fasting causes the body's metabolism to slow down. The slower your metabolism, the harder it is to actually burn fat (or any calories you consume, for that matter). So while it's true that you can't really gain weight during a fast, it's pretty hard to lose it and keep it off, too.
Fasting for health is perfectly fine. But if your goal is weight loss, consider calorie shifting instead of fasting. Calorie shifting (sometimes called calorie cycling) is a unique dieting technique that varies the content and size of your meals in a manner that maximizes your metabolism. The result is that it becomes easier than ever to burn calories just by going about your regular, daily activities.
The most popular calorie shifting diet plan on the market is FatLoss4Idiots. When I posted a FatLoss4Idiots review to my dieting advice site, I almost immediately started receiving testimonials from people who have used this diet with success.
No comments:
Post a Comment