Intermittent fasting is something people are trying to lose weight. This is a technique that can help you to reduce calories and lose weight and because of the results more and more people are using it.

It works for you because fasting for short periods will help you to eat fewer calories and will also help you to optimise some hormones which are crucial for weight control. There are different intermittent fasting methods available which you can choose and follow. When you follow these methods, they will help you to lose weight and belly fat provided you do not eat much more during the non-fasting periods.

Reduce calories and lose weight

Intermittent fasting can help you to lose weight and it does so by reducing the amount of calories you consume. It can help you to eat fewer calories. There may be different protocols but they focus on skipping meals during the fasting periods. It means that overall, you will consume fewer calories.

Scientific studies have also found that intermittent fasting can lead to significant weight loss. A 2014 review study found that intermittent fasting can reduce bodyweight by 3 to 8% over a period of 3 to 24 weeks. People lost about 0.55 of bodyweight per week with intermittent fasting. They also lost 4 to 7% of their waist circumference which meant they lost belly fat.

The benefits of intermittent fasting is not only limited to weight loss. It can offer you several other metabolic health benefits. Intermittent fasting may also help prevent chronic disease in expand lifespan.

You don't have to count your calories when you are going for intermittent fasting which is another benefit because in most of the weight loss programs you need to count your calorie consumption and that can become a very big problem for you and after some time you lose the motivation to do so. In intermittent fasting, you don't have to count calories but even after that you will consume fewer calories.

Weight loss without muscle loss

Intermittent fasting will help you to lose weight but without losing muscle mass. In case of general dieting, when people lose weight, they also tend to lose muscle along with fat. If you go for intermittent fasting, you will lose fat and bodyweight but it will not impact your muscles negatively. Scientific studies have found evidences of that. In case of intermittent calorie restriction, the same type of weight loss effects like that of other weight loss programs may be seen but there is a much smaller reduction in muscle mass. At most, you may lose only 10% of the muscle mass in case of intermittent calorie restriction.

Healthy eating

Another benefit that you will get from intermittent fasting is the habit of eating healthy. It will be easier for you to eat healthy when you go for intermittent fasting. Even though there are different methods of intermittent fasting, most of the methods will help you to reduce the number of meals that you take during the day. That makes it easier for you to cook and prepare food for fewer number of meals. It also makes it easier and simpler for you to maintain your healthy lifestyle by including healthy food choices in those means. Intermittent fasting will make it easier for you to stick to a healthy diet and that is the most important benefit that you will get from following any intermittent fasting program. You will get long-term health and weight maintenance benefits.

References

1. Eat Stop Eat And More Brad Pilon Bestsellers
2. Intermittent fasting: the science of going without
3. Metabolic Effects of Intermittent Fasting