Below is a list of the types of Intermittent Fasting Diet Plan that can help an individual in cutting down weight and for a healthy lifestyle.
Intermittent Fasting Diet Plan – 8 different types of diet plans under intermittent fasting
Fast for 12 hours in a day
This intermittent fasting diet plan involves a person to fast for 12 hours a day. You must assure that you do not eat anything for 12 hours while in the remaining window of 12 hours, you can add healthy and nutritious food items to your diet. This diet is also referred to as the ideal intermittent fasting diet plan for weight loss. This is because fasting from 10-16 hours a day helps the body in burning fats into energy. This eventually releases ketones into the bloodstream and therefore, encourages weight loss.
It is simple, if you eat dinner at 7 pm then wait until at least 7 am before having anything else to eat. You need to make sure that you eat a nutrient-dense diet and have stable blood sugar while you practice the 12-hour fasting intermittent diet plan. Make sure that you can go long stretches without eating and still be comfortable because clean eating may be difficult at first.
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Alternate day fasting
There are many variations of the alternate-day fasting. Most people tend to eat as much as they want on one day and then fast the entire day after but some people also allow themselves a calorie intake of around 500 calories on the fasting day. Ideally, this diet is followed by those who look to lose weight. It is also beneficial in lowering the risk factors related to heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
So, the trick to follow in the alternate-day fasting diet plan is to drink as many calorie-free beverages as you like on the days that you plan to fast. On other days, eat a nutritiously balanced diet.
Meal skipping
This intermittent fasting diet plan is most helpful for beginners. It is simple, to begin with, and involves occasional skipping of meals every now and then. Its because one can skip a meal according to their hunger levels. So, if you don’t feel like eating lunch today, you could probably skip it. But, ensure that you have some fruit or salad to keep yourself fuller for a longer period of time.
Remember that skipping meals can also cause your metabolism to slow down, which can cause weight gain or make it harder for you to lose weight. This is because if you go a long time without eating anything at all, your body goes into survival mode. This causes the cells in your body to crave food and results in you eating a lot in the next meal itself.
The Warrior Diet
The Warrior Diet involves eating very little for one meal and then fasting for 20 hours of the day straight. This means that the fasting window is 20 hours. In the remaining eating window of 4 hours, one can only eat small amounts of dairy products, hard-boiled eggs, and raw fruits & vegetables, as well as plenty of non-calorie fluids.
Although this diet plan was designed to improve the way we eat, feel, perform, and look, it is not a very healthy diet and can have adverse effects on your health in the long run. This diet does provide some short-term benefits like, aiding weight loss, improving brain health, decreasing inflammation, and improving blood sugar control.
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The 16:8 diet – Fast for 16 hours
This intermittent fasting diet plan, called the 16:8 diet, involves fasting for 16 hours every day, leaving one with an eating window of 8 hours every day. This diet is also referred to as the Lean gains diet. And in order to get the most out of this intermittent fasting diet plan, you’ve got to balance all your meals with a good variety of healthy whole foods like:
Fruits: Apples, bananas, berries, oranges, peaches, pears, etc.
Vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, leafy greens, tomatoes, etc.
Whole grains: Quinoa, rice, oats, barley, buckwheat, etc.
Healthy fats: Olive oil, avocados, and coconut oil
Protein: Meat, poultry, fish, legumes, eggs, nuts, seeds, etc.
Aside from this, drinking calorie-free beverages like water and unsweetened tea & coffee can also help in controlling your appetite while keeping you hydrated at the same time.
The 5:2 method – Fast for 2 days in a week
The 5:2 method of intermittent fasting, also known as the fast diet, includes a normal diet plan for 5 days in a week and then cutting back 20% of your normal calorie intake on the remaining 2 days of the week.
You can take in 500 calories per day if you’re a woman and 600 calories per day if you’re a man. Another point to note is that you can choose whichever two days of the week you prefer but they not must be simultaneous. Always keep at least one non-fasting day in between the two fasting days.
Now, if you’re looking for diet options, then here are some that you might want to follow under the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet plan:
- One generous portion of vegetables
- Natural yogurt with berries
- Boiled or baked eggs.
- Grilled fish or lean meat
- Cauliflower rice
- Soups
- Low-calorie cup soups
- Black coffee
- Tea
- Water
Eat-stop-eat diet – A weekly 24-hour fast
This method of intermittent fasting involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. This means you may eat from breakfast to breakfast, lunch to lunch, or dinner to dinner. To understand better, let’s suppose that you ate dinner around 6 pm today. So, following the eat-stop-eat diet, you will have to fast till 6 pm tomorrow. But remember not to follow this intermittent fasting diet plan for 2 simultaneous days and make sure that you follow it at least twice in a week.
People on this diet plan usually have water, tea, and other calorie-free drinks during the fasting period. That’s because eating is certainly not allowed during fasting and in order to keep your system going healthily, it’s necessary for the body to take in some calories.
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The 14:10 diet
This intermittent diet plan involves fasting for 14 hours which leaves us with an eating window of 10 hours a day. This intermittent diet plan is not as efficient as the 16:8 when it comes to weight loss but it is effective for some people so you can consider following this diet. If you get up early, you can start eating at 7 AM, and then your last meal of the day will have to be at 5 PM, followed by a fasting period which will end by 7 AM the next day.
Although this intermittent fasting doesn’t have any particular food requirements or restrictions, a certain nutritional plan can still improve your results. If you want to boost your health and slimming process, here are some recommendations on what foods to include to your diet:
- Fatty fish, nuts, seeds, and others
- Meat, eggs, and legumes
- Dairy and fermented food
- Fruits and vegetables
- Water
All said and done, the best way to lose weight is to adopt a healthy lifestyle, be watchful of what you eat, be regular with your exercise, and have enough sleep. This will help you stay healthy while also losing those extra kgs.
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Disclaimer: This article is solely for informational purposes. Do not self-diagnose or self-medicate, and in all cases consult a certified healthcare professional before using any information presented in the article. The editorial board does not guarantee any results and does not bear any responsibility for any harm that may result from using the information provided in the article.
