Growing up, you were taught never to miss breakfast because it is the most important meal of the day. Intermittent fasting (IF) has today taken over that rule. The truth is, intermittent fasting today is one of the most popular methods of diet and weight loss, and it works.
What is Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern more than a diet plan. It involves voluntarily not eating anything for a period of time (abstaining from consuming calories) within the day except black coffee, tea, and water. This pattern of eating.
Intermittent fasting, in simpler terms, is limiting the number of hours you can eat in (eating window) to only a few hours a day.
Going into intermittent fasting depletes stored glycogen and forces your body to burn fat for energy.
How Intermittent Fasting Works
Intermittent fasting has many combinations. You can go into intermittent fasting for 18 hours within the day and eat during the 6-hour window. You may also choose to go into intermittent fasting for 16 hours and eat during the 8-hour window.
During the fasting window, you can consume black coffee, tea and water provided it is below 30 calories.
Intermittent fasting is not only an effective weight-loss method. FI also has other health benefits:
- Provides the body with more energy.
- Decreases belly bloat
- Improves digestion
- Prevents autophagy
- Reduces risks of certain diseases
- Helps defeat sugar cravings, food addiction, and overeating
- Improves your mental clarity
- Improves your sleep
Intermittent fasting is good for your overall well-being. It is, however, used more as a weight-loss method.
When you are into intermittent fasting for 8 – 16 hours, your body will rely on stored fat for energy. This means that your body experiences a limited supply of carbohydrates (glucose) for energy while in a fasted state. Fat oxidation for energy production takes over. This promotes fat loss.
Your body relies on fat for fuel, while in a fasted state, it is most likely that you will reduce your appetite to eat during intermittent fasting. This will make you lose weight.
How to Get Started with Intermittent Fasting
Getting into intermittent fasting to lose belly fat fast is a simple process.
- Choose your time of fasting. The ideal fasting time is between 16-20 hours. More fasting hours will, of course, bring you more benefits. Go about your normal day and stop counting calories.
- Choose and stick to your fasting times. If you choose to fast from 8 pm to noon the following day, follow this schedule every day. With this schedule, you can have your first meal at noon, dinner before 8 pm, and go into fasting again.
- Schedule your workout at 8 am so you can rest for a couple of hours before taking your first meal of the day.
Here are some tips to make Intermittent Fasting easier:
- Start with a 16-hour fast for the first two weeks. You can start adding your fasting hours (30 minutes at a time) as you become comfortable with your fasting schedule. The best target is to be fasting for 20 hours a day.
- Go into intermittent fasting slowly. A good starting point is 2-3 times a week. As you become comfortable with this eating pattern, you can add more days of intermittent fasting.
- Take a small cup of coffee in the morning and another cup in the early afternoon. Caffeine can curb your appetite and make intermittent fasting a bit easier.
- Drink a lot of water during your fasting times. You can add some lemon juice into your water to prevent cravings. You can also take calorie-free beverages, coffee, and tea during your fasting hours.
- Stay away from artificially flavored drinks. Diet sodas and beverages with artificial sweeteners tend to stimulate appetite, and you may overeat.
- Do not overindulge on your first meal for the day. Eat the same amount as you would typically eat. Overeating will undermine the benefits you may have gained from fasting.
It is not difficult to get into intermittent fasting. Set a schedule and stick to it. After some time, you will get used to it, and losing belly fat through intermittent fasting combined with a morning workout will be a breeze.
Intermittent Fasting and Weight Loss
When you head to your 7 am yoga class, and your last meal was at about 8 pm the night before, exercising with an empty stomach may help in your weight loss regimen. This means your body will be burning stored fat from your last meal for energy.
During intermittent fasting, there is the tendency to eat fewer calories during the eating windows compared to when you are not into intermittent fasting. This means going into intermittent fasting is more effective than reducing your calorie intake when you wish to lose weight.
Intermittent fasting is an effective weight-loss method, especially when you want to eliminate stubborn belly fat. Since you have fewer opportunities to consume calories (eating window), you unconsciously eat fewer calories. This will help get rid of unwanted belly fat.
Intermittent Fasting Morning Workout
It is perfectly alright to work out while you are into intermittent fasting. One of the best ways to take advantage of the benefits of intermittent fasting is to work out before breakfast.
Working out while on intermittent fasting shortly upon waking up supports your body’s natural circadian rhythm or your sleep-wake cycle. Eating or working out just before sleeping at night can disrupt your Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and deep sleep levels.
When you work out without eating breakfast, you do not have calories coming into your body. Your body needs to burn calories for energy. Without enough calories to burn to support your workout, your body will burn stored body fat for energy.
The first thing in the morning (before breakfast) is the best time to work out with an empty stomach. Regardless of the type of workout you want to do while on intermittent, you can lose belly fat faster.
Some people can eat a full breakfast before a workout and still feel great. Others, on the other hand, may feel uncomfortable and dizzy when working out after breakfast.
Exercising on an empty stomach increases the benefits of fasting and exercise. This multi-therapeutic approach allows the synergy of fasting and exercise to boost each other’s benefits, surpassing the benefit levels of each combined.
Conversely, you also do not like to eat immediately after a workout when into intermittent fasting. Working out with an empty stomach and not immediately eating after working out while on IF is to benefit from hormone optimization.
Eating 2 – 3 hours after working out while on intermittent fasting, increases hormone growth, promoting more fat-burning to replace used energy.
The Best Intermittent Fasting Morning Workout Exercises
Many people find it tedious to work out while into intermittent fasting. The standard theory is, how can you exercise knowing that you are weak because you have not eaten for an extended period.
You can safely combine intermittent fasting and a morning workout by choosing your workout plan well.
Choose from any of these workouts or exercises which have been proven to work well with intermittent fasting to blast belly fat quickly:
- Walking or light jogging
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Treadmill exercise
- Tennis
- Dancing (ballet, Zumba, barre, or any dance)
- Cycling
Conversely, it would help if you avoided CrossFit, powerlifting, boxing, and high-intensity interval training while on intermittent fasting.
Final Thoughts
Intermittent fasting can make you blast belly fat fast. Intermittent fasting forces your body to use stored fat as its primary source of energy. Using stored fat instead of glucose for energy will boost weight loss and blast any excess fat, especially belly fat.
Intermittent fasting helps enhance the release of fat-burning hormones. This means you will not only lose weight but will also be healthier.
