Intermittent fasting is an ancient secret of wellness. I say ancient because people have practiced it throughout history, and I say a secret because this super powerful habit has been largely forgotten.
(Jason Fang, Intermittent fasting is a balance without deprivation)
One of the obsessions that haunt us in the image era is that our appearance matches the image standards. Everyone is looking for tricks and shouts that make it align with the accepted and the desired. We cannot separate the “weight” and its problems from the picture scene we are talking about, everyone is looking for an ideal weight without any mistakes, or to be more fair, Everyone is trying. One of us swings between a diet in which he deprives himself of the food pleasures, which frustrates him and does not adhere to it, and a new trend is spreading among social media influencers who have mass bases that can make any individual experience a fashion that spreads among people within an hour.
This audience, who is looking for the ideal weight and healthy diets, is swayed by the various methods that are promoted as healthy, beneficial and protect against diseases, prolong life and delay the signs of aging, but with each new day, the failures and shortcomings of systems that had a great chance of spreading are proven. One of the recent trends that has returned to the scene is “intermittent fasting“, a diet that has resonated during the last two years among different age groups. Does the system really offer a magic solution to losing weight? Or is it just a new fad in the ever-changing world of dieting?
“Everyone is capable of performing magic, and everyone can reach their goals if they are able to think, wait, and fast.”
(Hermann Hesse, a Siddhartha novel)
100 years ago, that is, decades before environmental, chemical and radiological pollution, which has become a problem haunting the world, and imposing new health burdens on the human body, the American writer Upton Sinclair wrote his book “The Fasting Cure”, which is a documentation of his personal experience along with The experiences and challenges of others with fasting, about the benefits and effects that fasting has had on his body, and he also included in his book many testimonies of cancer recovery that are attributed to fasting.(1)
Thanks to Sinclair, intermittent fasting became popular in the twentieth century, where he relied on drinking juices only to rid his body from toxins. But Dr. Max Gerson, a physicist who specializes in alternative cancer treatment regimens, contrasted him with another notion, saying: “You cannot make cancer patients fast, their bodies are very depleted, and fasting will cause them to fall to the lowest levels of recovery.” (2)
In 2012, fasting was recognized by the health and fitness community thanks to the efforts of Dr. Michael Moseley, following his 2013 book The Fasting Diet. The book gained great popularity, and many celebrities adopted the diet and published the results of their weight loss, and the topic of fasting became viral on the Internet, with millions seeking to get some magic that will rid them of the extra kilos within a few weeks.
The most enticing part of intermittent fasting, which has contributed to its popularity as a diet, is that it is not a diet in the strict sense. In fact, you will fast for a period of the week (during the fasting period, you are allowed to drink liquids), and you will eat whatever you like on the rest of the days.
So we’re talking about a pattern that divides your week into two parts: an eating period and a fasting period. During the eating period, you can eat any regular meal, without counting its calories. During the fasting period, you refrain from eating completely and you are only allowed to drink water, bitter tea, or unsweetened coffee, as well as eat vegetables and some fruits. There are different patterns of intermittent fasting, which differ according to the needs of the body itself, and the individual’s ability to tolerate this new pattern that he follows. Naturalness that the body shows until it gets used to its new system. As for the patterns, they are: (3)(4)
- The 8:16 pattern created by fitness expert Martin Berkan: The most popular diet and suitable for beginners, where the fasting period extends for 16 hours, during which only liquids are allowed, and in some cases, some simple portions of vegetables and fruits are allowed. An individual can adopt this pattern for two to three days a week.
- The 2:5 pattern created by Dr. Michael Moseley: An individual can eat between 500-600 calories for two days of the week, where he can consume calories at any time during the day – distributed throughout the day or during one meal – and eat normally for 5 days.
Dr. Michael Moseley (networking sites) Dr. Michael Moseley (communication sites)
The “Eat, Stop, Eat” pattern created by fitness expert Brad Pilon: fast 24 hours straight, from lunch to lunch, or from dinner to dinner. You can do this two to three times a week. - The pattern of alternating days of fasting: as its name suggests; Breakfast day and fasting day.
- The Warrior Diet, created by fitness expert orihofmekler: Fasting all day, with only fruits and vegetables eating between 6-10 pm, or another four hours during which only two small meals are allowed.
undefined
“I fast for greater physical and mental efficiency.”
(Platon)
Last but not least the number one mistake that people make that causes they don’t lose weight whatsoever is learning all about intermittent fasting but without taking any action, you’re learning as much as you can wanting it to be super perfect so you don’t make any mistakes, you’re going to make mistakes you’re going to learn along the way and you’re going to fix those mistakes but in order to do that you have to try or else you will see no results, time is not going to wait for you, there’s never going to be a right time, you can’t keep telling yourself I’m going to start on Monday, Monday never rolls around, make a plan and start now because you will be so glad that you did.
