Lose weight healthily and then maintain the weight – that should be possible with the popular intermittent fasting.
But what is actually behind “meal with a break”?
Intermittent fasting is one of the classics in nutrition and numerous people try it every year.
The method is designed to help you lose weight in a healthy way.
This more conscious way of eating also increases the chances of keeping the weight off in the long run.
But how exactly does it work - and what does that mean for your everyday life?
Intermittent fasting: what is it actually?
There are various options for intermittent fasting.
What they have in common is not eating for a certain amount of time and normal eating in between.
The most popular variants are:
16:8
– Breakfast or dinner is usually not eaten here.
Between the last meal of the previous day and the first of the day there is a 16-hour fasting period (water is fine).
In the eight hours in between, there are usually two meals as the mood takes you.
5:2
- This method involves fasting two out of the seven days of the week, i.e. light food and little in total.
The other five days you can eat as before.
1:1
– Fasting days with about 25 percent of normal energy intake and normal days alternate here.
This variant is also called alternating fasting.
Short term fasting is effective
Why are short fasting periods so effective?
The answer can be found in the Stone Age.
Even our ancestors had times of plenty, for example at harvest time in summer and autumn or after successful hunting trips.
In winter and spring, however, things looked leaner and hunger could not always be satisfied immediately.
Admittedly, in the past people would hardly have thought about conscious dieting.
But it has now been clearly proven that the human body can survive longer periods of starvation, store energy and, if necessary, mobilize it again - with restrictions, of course.
+
If you are not in the fasting phase, just continue as normal.
It just shouldn't be much more than usual.
(icon picture)
© PhotoAlto/Imago
The decisive factor with intermittent fasting is that the metabolism is not throttled and muscle mass is not broken down - unlike with longer fasting cures or crash diets.
In this way, the yo-yo effect can be avoided.
Important for all methods: Don't cheat!
Vegetables and fruit are also considered food and should not be touched during fasting hours.
Don't want to miss any more recipes and kitchen tricks?
Click here for the gourmet newsletter from our partner Merkur.de
5:2 Method: What Matters
According to the
Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR)
, the 5:2 method only counts calories on two days a week.
Women are then allowed to consume around 500 to 800 calories, men between 600 and 850. In addition, you should drink as few calories as possible (e.g. water and unsweetened tea).
In general, it is important to avoid quickly digestible carbohydrates, such as those found in some foods, such as:
sugar
potatoes
wheat bread
pasta
1:1 method: What is important
In contrast to the other interval variants, this one is a bit more challenging than the others.
Before you start, you should talk to your doctor.
With alternating fasting, you pay attention to your calorie intake every other day.
You can use the 5:2 fasting days as a guide.
That's why you get such cravings for Chinese food sometimes
That's why you get such cravings for Chinese food sometimes
16:8 Method: What Matters
The 16:8 method can easily be incorporated into everyday life.
You basically just do without the early or late meal.
So you don't eat anything for 16 hours straight.
In numbers: If you last ate something at 5 p.m., you can have breakfast again at 9 a.m. the next day.
It's like fasting in your sleep.
According to
NDR
, the body does not manage to take in as many calories with the two remaining meals as it would with three meals.
On average, you eat five to ten percent fewer calories - in the long run, that makes a difference.
List of rubrics: © PhotoAlto/Imago
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/45YBKTPDNNEPPK2E3GCF3LSJSI.jpg)
