Insulin<\/a> is one of the basic hormones involved in fat metabolism, signaling the body to store and stop breaking down fat for use as energy.<\/p>\nHaving very high insulin levels most of the time is extremely bad for burning fat. Not to mention that it can make it easier to develop diseases such as obesity, cancer and type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n
Intermittent fasting is an excellent way to lower insulin levels by up to 31%.<\/p>\n
Intermittent fasting how to do it | Growth hormone<\/h2>\n
Intermittent fasting can increase blood GH levels, which is a hormone known to promote fat burning.<\/p>\n
This improvement in growth hormone, in addition to stimulating fat burning, can also maintain muscle mass and bring several benefits.<\/p>\n
Intermittent fasting how to do it | Norepinephrine<\/h2>\n
Norepinephrine is a hormone that increases your alertness and attention in difficult situations such as \u201cfight or flight\u201d.<\/p>\n
This stimulates several effects in our body, one of which is signaling the release of fat.<\/p>\n
In summary, the increase in norepinephrine tends to increase the volume of fat available to be consumed as energy.<\/p>\n
Fasting is one of the things that increases the level of norepinephrine in the bloodstream.<\/p>\n
Second benefit \u2013 Speed up your metabolism<\/p>\n
Many people still believe that skipping meals or going a while without eating will cause the body to slow down its metabolism and go into \u201cemergency mode.\u201d<\/p>\n
This will actually happen, but only if you go a few days without eating (and not just a few hours). Our bodies are not that fragile.<\/p>\n
What's more, some research has shown that fasting for short periods can actually speed up your metabolism.
\nCausing greater fat burning in our body, in less time.<\/p>\n
Third benefit \u2013 Metabolism will slow down much less than on common low-calorie diets.<\/p>\n
As we continue on a low-calorie diet to burn fat, our body tends to gradually reduce the speed of our metabolism.<\/p>\n
The body does this in an attempt to maintain balance and make you stay at your body weight even when eating less, as if it were a way of protecting and preserving itself.<\/p>\n
All low-calorie diets will, over time, cause some drop in metabolic rate \u2013 this is quite natural.<\/p>\n
One study proposes that intermittent fasting causes the body to experience a smaller drop in metabolism, which could potentially minimize stagnation in fat loss over time.<\/p>\n
Fourth benefit \u2013 Decreased loss of muscle mass<\/p>\n
One of the biggest problems with a fat-burning diet is the loss of muscle mass that will occur simultaneously.<\/p>\n
Some studies say that the hormonal changes caused by intermittent fasting can, in conjunction, preserve more muscle mass.<\/p>\n
A 2011 re-evaluation also found that intermittent fasting was more effective at retaining muscle mass than a standard calorie-restricted diet.<\/p>\n
Fifth benefit (and I believe the most important) \u2013 Intermittent fasting makes your life simpler<\/p>\n
Many people, when they try to burn fat, create a kind of nutritional prison, thinking that they need to eat every X number of hours, plan their meals, stop their activities to eat and \u201cprevent\u201d their metabolism from dropping, etc. In certain cases, life revolves around diet.<\/p>\n
In intermittent fasting, you will eat during a specific period of time, without a break, and for the rest of the day you will be free to carry out your tasks, without worrying about meal intervals, loss of muscle mass, drop in metabolism, availability, preparing food, etc.<\/p>\n
This clarity makes intermittent fasting easier to follow, which naturally increases the chances of staying on a diet for longer and seeing better results.<\/p>\n
But how should we do intermittent fasting?<\/strong><\/h2>\nThere is no mystery to intermittent fasting. The most common way, used by those who train, is to fast for 16 hours with an 8-hour window to consume the foods you need during the day.<\/p>\n
How you eat what you need is up to you. There are no inconsistent rules about meal intervals, etc. The key is to just eat the amount of macronutrients and calories you need within this eight-hour window.<\/p>\n
It's important to note that this doesn't mean you can eat any junk food. You'll need to eat, for example, the right amount of protein to preserve muscle mass and calories to burn fat.<\/p>\n
There is no magic in intermittent fasting, it is just a way to accelerate results.<\/p>\n
See also:<\/p>\n