My diet tips are intermittent fasting and salads.

Intermittent fasting, which I started with the goal of developing pretty abs this summer by losing belly fat.

I am following a 16:8 cycle.

No late-night snacks after dinner; I am doing better than expected by eating a healthy salad for a snack. Thanks to that, I may not have made a king-sized sleep, but I have developed a six-pack.

 

I believe it's important to find the fasting style that suits me well, and to maintain a smart diet with plenty of protein and fresh vegetables during meal times, along with aerobic exercise, to avoid muscle loss while dieting effectively.

 

 

 

What kind of intermittent fasting is good for me?

Intermittent fasting is not an unconditional method. It is necessary to comprehensively consider one's own condition and appropriately adjust the ratio of fasting time to eating time. Especially if you have a chronic illness or are taking medication, you must consult a professional before attempting it. For healthy adults without any particular issues, there are usually two types of intermittent fasting to choose from.

The 23:1 fasting method, which involves fasting for 23 hours out of 24 hours in a day, allows for one hour of eating, which is considered as one meal per day. It is a fasting method where you choose a preferred time slot among breakfast, lunch, and dinner to eat, and only eat during that time. For beginners, dinner is recommended as the single meal. Usually, in the morning, right after waking up, there is no appetite, and during the daytime, it is manageable to endure fasting while working. Additionally, it helps avoid insomnia caused by nighttime hunger and provides energy for the next day's activities. However, if one overeats during dinner, it can lead to obesity and other metabolic diseases, so it is not recommended for those who find it difficult to control their appetite. On the other hand, having one meal at lunch is less burdensome in terms of portion control because it is followed by afternoon activities. If many people eat lunch together, the risk of binge eating is lower, making it more effective. However, the hunger during night and morning can be difficult until the body adapts. Having one meal in the morning is the most effective but also the most challenging method. Due to difficulty in setting aside time for meals, many tend to skip or eat simply, which can lead to nutritional imbalance. Of course, the most difficult part is the intense hunger that comes in the evening.

The 16:8 fasting method involves repeating 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating. Typically, it involves eating two meals a day, skipping either breakfast or dinner. It is the most popular form of intermittent fasting, a more relaxed version of the 23:1 fasting method.

 

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Precautions During Intermittent Fasting

As with any diet, the importance of what and how you eat applies to intermittent fasting as well. During meal times, you can eat freely, but binge eating is prohibited. If you hastily consume large amounts of food out of a sense of liberation from fasting, insulin levels will rise quickly, reducing the effectiveness of intermittent fasting. Additionally, due to the body's response to store nutrients during fasting, the dieting effect is also diminished. Starting with carbohydrates can lead to negative effects, so it is better to begin slowly with proteins, fats, and vegetables. If the purpose of intermittent fasting is weight loss, then meal timing becomes even more important. Filling your meal times with a diet suited to your lifestyle can double the dieting effect. If you are also doing weight training, a low-fat, high-carbohydrate, high-protein diet is suitable; if you enjoy light aerobic exercise, a low-carb, high-fat (ketogenic) diet is appropriate.

The most important aspect of intermittent fasting is maintaining complete fasting during the fasting period. The core of intermittent fasting is not simply limiting calories through diet management, but rather putting the body into a fasting state to deplete all carbohydrate-based energy sources in the body. In fact, a complete fasting state promotes cellular autophagy (self-repair), and several studies have confirmed that it improves insulin sensitivity in obese individuals. Outside of meal times, do not eat or drink anything other than water and salt.

When fasting, muscle mass inevitably decreases, so it is necessary to prevent muscle loss through consistent strength training. If the goal is only weight loss, pre-meal aerobic exercise is effective, and if you want to minimize muscle loss during body fat reduction, high-intensity strength training after meals is effective. Although intermittent fasting and strength training do not necessarily have a synergistic effect, there are research results indicating that the effects of fasting appear more quickly in people who exercise diligently on a regular basis.

 

Source. Naver News https://naver.me/GDaFhjja