5 Effective Intermittent Fasting Methods for Beginners

Are you looking for a new way to maintain your health? 

Winter might be the most difficult time of the year to stay fit and eat healthily. It gets dark so early and it’s so cold that you’d rather stay inside than go out and exercise. Plus, the holidays bring all sorts of dinners, events, and other opportunities to eat poorly.

If the winter months have gotten to you - or if you’re just looking for a new way to spark weight loss - intermittent fasting could be the perfect solution for you.

This health trend has exploded in popularity in recent years. People are using it to lose or maintain weight, improve their health, and simplify their days.

So what exactly is intermittent fasting and how can you implement it in your everyday life? Here's a guide for beginners:

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is the creation of an eating pattern or cycle that shifts between periods of eating and fasting. This isn't like diets that dictate what you can and cannot eat. Rather, it simply specifies when you should eat food.

In that sense, this is an eating pattern more than it is a diet. The practice might have you fasting for 16 hours at a time or even 24 hours, depending on the intermittent fasting method you choose.

At first, it might feel weird to skip meals to start fasting. But try to remember that humans evolved to be able to handle extended periods without food. There were times where humans didn't have food readily available year-round.

However, it's important to remember that intermittent fasting isn't for everyone. Those who are underweight or have battled eating disorders should consult a health professional before trying out an intermittent fasting method.

What Are the Benefits of Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting has a variety of benefits, and numerous studies have shown that it is safe and incredibly effective. Let’s examine three of the main benefits you can experience from intermittent fasting:

1. Weight Loss and Overall Health

The most common reason people try intermittent fasting is weight loss or maintaining a certain weight. It makes sense: Eating fewer meals can lead to a reduction in calorie intake. 

However, intermittent fasting also facilitates weight loss because it changes hormone levels. Intermittent fasting methods help lower insulin levels, increase growth hormone levels, and promote the release of norepinephrine, which is the fat-burning hormone.

These hormonal changes are linked to an increased metabolic rate. Since intermittent fasting helps people eat fewer calories and also burn more calories, it makes sense that weight loss is the result.

According to a study, intermittent fasting can cause subjects to lose up to 8% of their body weight over 3 to 24 weeks.

Other health benefits linked to intermittent fasting include increased lifespans, a lower risk of getting cancer, and improved heart health.

2. Simplifies Your Day

Eating healthy is simple enough, but the reason most diets fail is because they are difficult to maintain. When you have to plan and cook healthy meals, it becomes time-consuming. 

Intermittent fasting methods, on the other hand, simplify your day. You don't need to plan out or cook as many meals, removing stress from your life and giving you more time to complete other tasks. 

If you really want to simplify meals, make use of Smart Pressed Juice’s Organic Pressed Greens or Vegan Vanilla Proteini. No matter how busy your life gets, you have time to mix a scoop into water or fruit juice. The Greens and Proteini are both packed with organic superfoods and are designed to give you the nutrients you need to get through your day.

3. Easier Than Dieting

Diets are easy in theory but difficult to execute and maintain for many people. Most diets restrict the types of foods you can eat, which can eventually lead to boredom and a desire for change. A low-fat diet, for example, might be easy enough at first but down the line, you will crave the foods you've been missing out on.

Intermittent fasting methods, on the other hand, are difficult in theory but easy enough to execute and maintain. Since most people eat three meals a day, fasting for 24 hours seems impossible. It can be tough to overcome the idea of going without food, but it is much easier to maintain once you start. Instead of having to worry about what to eat three times a day, you cut it down to two meals or even one.

Effective Intermittent Fasting Methods

There are a variety of intermittent fasting methods out there to choose from. Each method has a thought process behind it, but you might find that one, in particular, works best for you. Here are five of the most common intermittent fasting methods:

1. The 16/8 Method

This method revolves around fasting every day for 14-16 hours. Naturally, this restricts your time to eat to an 8-10 hour window. During this window of time, you can eat two, three, or even more meals.

Sleep counts, so this method can be as simple as eating dinner at 8:00 PM and not eating until noon the next day. If you're big on breakfast, this might not be your preference, however.

Water, coffee, and other calorie-free beverages can be consumed during fasting hours to help reduce hunger. Even though fasting is the main goal here, it's still best to eat mostly healthy foods for your meals. Eating a ton of junk food or an excessive amount of calories won't do you any good.

2. The 5:2 Method

This intermittent fasting method revolves around two days of fasting and normal eating for the rest of the week. During the two fasting days, calorie intake should be restricted to 500-600 calories.

It’s best to spread your 500 or 600 calories between two meals on fasting days.

3. Eat-Stop-Eat

This method involves one or two 24-hour fasts each week. It's as simple as fasting from dinner one evening to dinner the next evening. It can also be done from lunch to lunch or breakfast to breakfast. Just make sure you start the clock after you finish your last meal.

This method can be difficult for people because 24 hours is a long time to go without food. You can try working your way up to a 24-hour fast by starting with 14-16 hours. You can also try to use water, coffee, and other calorie-free beverages to help you throughout the day.

4. The Warrior Diet

This intermittent fasting method involves fasting during the day and eating a single, large meal at night. You can consume small amounts of fruits and vegetables during the day, however.

In order to make sure you're not overdoing it with your single meal, keep in mind that this method recommends food choices similar to a paleo diet. This means sticking with unprocessed foods that resemble what they look like naturally.

5. Alternate-Day Fasting

This one is pretty obvious based on the name: Fast every other day. There are different versions of this method. Some versions allow you to consume around 500 calories on the fasting days while others do not. 

Fully fasting every other day can be difficult, so it's not typically recommended for beginners. You will be going to bed quite hungry a few times a week, so you will have to have a strong will to stick to it.

Adding Juice to the Mix

Intermittent fasting is most effective when your diet matches up with your fasting method. It might be tempting to eat unhealthy and/or large meals when you aren’t fasting, but that only serves to undo your hard work. 

Several intermittent fasting methods allow small amounts of calorie intake during fasting windows. These are great opportunities to utilize Smart Pressed Juice products, like Organic Pressed Greens or Vegan Vanilla Proteini.

The Organic Pressed Greens are only 25 calories per scoop while the Proteini is only 50 per scoop (100 calories per serving size). When you're limited in the number of calories you can consume on a daily basis, these are perfect for keeping you feeling full. In addition, many intermittent fasting methods do not allow artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol, erythritol or sugar alcohols to be consumed at any time. Smart Pressed Juice sweetens its products with monk fruit, which is a known anti-inflammatory.

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