Intermittent fasting means only eating during a certain window of time each day or fasting on a regular weekly schedule. The 16:8 intermittent fasting plan means you fast for 16 hours of the day and eat for eight.
It's not a diet, so unless you have individual dietary restrictions, you can eat whatever you want within the 8-hour time frame. But the plan will work best for weight loss if you are already making smart, nutrient-rich choices, says NBC News health and nutrition editor Madelyn Fernstrom.
For some people, restricting the amount of time they eat in a day naturally limits the number of calories they consume and therefore contributes to weight loss, but the science on whether intermittent fasting can help you lose weight is mixed.
Weight loss or not, there appear to be health benefits to eating this way. Studies and clinical trials suggest intermittent fasting has "broad-spectrum benefits" for health problems including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and neurologic disorders.
Intermittent fasting can be easy to follow, provide daily structure and often doesn't require any calorie counting. It also reconnects people with true, biological hunger and makes it easier to recognize fullness, so they stop eating sooner, Fernstrom notes.
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