A Healthy Transition Toward Intermittent Fasting
Hey Angels and Alphas,
Intermittent fasting has become one of the most prominent (and actually research-backed) trends in the diet and fitness world. And with good reason! It has been touted to promote everything from weight loss to improved longevity.
People who promote intermittent fasting often claim that it helps weight loss and can even boost your energy and mood.
But if you’ve just decided to try intermittent fasting by limiting your eating to a certain timeframe (and you have trouble adjusting), it’s likely because this style of eating is different from your previous dietary habits.
That’s why if you’re going to be making this transition, you have to be aware of all the most common mistakes people make when trying to implement it. Intermittent fasting has enormous benefits but must be done right. If not done right, you will not only fail to reap its benefits, but you will also negatively impact your entire relationship with food.
Let’s talk about some of the most common blunders people face when trying to adopt the intermittent fasting lifestyle, and what you can do to overcome these roadblocks.
#1 – REFRAIN FROM MAKING ANY DRASTIC CHANGES
Drastic changes are a massive no-no when it comes to anything related to dieting or training. Your body, mind, and soul will resist new things with all their capacity. And especially when it comes to changes as big as restricting your time window, you have to make sure you do this gradually and slowly.
This is the only way you will provide your body with the time it needs to adapt to this new way of eating. If you don’t do this, you’re setting yourself up for failure, and you’re going to impact your entire relationship with food in a negative way.
If you normally eat every 3-4 hours and you’re used to snacking on the side, and then you suddenly shrink your eating period to an 8-hour window, you’ll feel hungry all the time and you’ll be very discouraged to continue.
What you should do is gradually stretch out the number of meals you intake first to a 12-hour window, then a 10-hour window, and so on until you reach your desired destination.
#2 – DON’T OVEREAT WHEN YOU’RE DONE WITH YOUR FAST
This is a big problem for people experimenting with intermittent fasting because it can be easy to overeat when your initial fast ends. Especially if you’re someone who has rushed into intermittent fasting instead of gradually implementing it, your relationship with food will most definitely be impacted in a negative way. You will experience food cravings and you have to stop yourself from giving into them, especially near the end of your fast.
Whether it’s because you’re feeling ravenous or you want to justify making up for lost calories, overeating will definitely backfire on your weight loss efforts and cause a variety of other problems. If you want to avoid this, make sure you’re planning ahead.
Prepare a healthy meal for when your fast ends and include ingredients such as healthy carbs, whole grains, lean proteins, and plenty of fruits and veggies.
#3 – STOP RELYING ON JUNK FOOD
Intermittent fasting focuses on when to eat, but largely ignores the importance of nutrient quality.
If you’re experimenting with intermittent fasting, you still need the same nutrients you did before, so if you stick with processed foods instead of transitioning to whole foods that comprise a healthy, balanced diet, intermittent fasting won’t help you lose weight.
If you’re going to be restricting the number of calories you consume or just restricting all your eating to a certain time window, you have to make sure that all the food you’re eating is of high quality. You can’t restrict your eating patterns and then continue consuming junk food that provides you with little-to-no quality.
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