Benefits & Disadvantages of One Day Fasts

Author
by BRIAN WILLETT 

All diet plans have positives and negatives, and extreme diet plans such as one-day fasting are no exception. While proponents of one-day fasts suggest that such plans can be more effective than other weight loss plans, research suggests that fasting can be detrimental not only to your weight loss efforts but your overall health. Consult a doctor prior to starting any diet plan.

Appetite Control

If you're used to eating every day, starting a plan that includes one-day fasts can be difficult to adjust to. Even diets that allow you to eat every day are difficult due to the reduced calorie intake, so you may find it very difficult to deal with hunger when that reduced calorie intake has to sustain you for two days. According to a study from the January 2011 issue of "The Journal of Nutrition," reducing the frequency of your meals significantly reduces your ability to control your appetite. This may cause you to cheat on your diet or at the very least, make it unpleasant.

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Fat Burning

Food provides your body with energy, so depriving your body of food may encourage it to burn stored fat for energy. Some research backs up this suggestion; a study published in the January 2005 issue of "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" found that fasting every other day promoted an increased rate of fat burning. Subjects participating in the one-day fasts burned 15 g more fat each day, which equates to 135 calories.

Exercise Intensity

If you're active or plan on engaging in exercise to enhance your weight loss, one-day fasts can be detrimental. A lack of food can compromise your exercise intensity; research published in the June 2007 edition of "British Journal of Sports Medicine" found that fasting significantly reduced endurance, speed and agility. Reduced exercise performance can inhibit your strength-gaining results and will also reduce the amount of calories you burn in each session, compromising weight loss. According to the study, reductions in performance remained for two weeks after the fasting period ended.

Insulin Sensitivity

Your dietary intake affects your hormone levels, and research suggests that some of the hormonal effects can be beneficial. A study published in the December 2005 edition of "Journal of Applied Physiology" found that fasting could promote improvements in insulin sensitivity. Improved insulin sensitivity may help you gain more muscle and keep fat at bay, although the foods you eat also have an effect on body composition.

For further information log on website :
http://www.livestrong.com/article/501764-benefits-disadvantages-of-one-day-fasts/

How Intermittent Fasting Can Get You Lean

Author
By COURTNEY PRATHER

Intermittent fasting (IF) is one of the most talked about diets right now. It is gaining popularity despite many opposing assumptions about  intermittent fasting nutrition and health value. For example, many experts still promote the importance of breakfast and 5 meals spaced out throughout the day.

Fans of intermittent fasting claim the benefits range from boosting immunity and increasing metabolism to improving insulin sensitivity and fat loss. As a personal trainer, I have also taken on the role of professional guinea pig, and enjoy experimenting with pretty much any diet or eating philosophy I come across. As a fitness model, it's important to look my best, so finding the most enjoyable and effective diet is critical. Plus, if I am going to advise a client on a specific diet, I like to have practical experience to complement my studied knowledge.

Since intermittent fasting's unconventional methods go against what most people (including myself) have commonly heard about achieving fat loss, I'll cover how it works and how I practice it to stay in fitness model shape.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is a complex dietary concept that simply means alternating intervals of not eating (fasting) and times of eating (feeding). The fasting and feeding windows vary based on which type of protocol you follow, and can range from 14 hours to 36 hours.

The idea of fasting may seem foreign to some, however, it's important to note that everyone already fasts. Anytime you are not eating -- for instance in between meals or while sleeping -- you  are fasting. Breakfast got its name because you are "breaking the fast" after sleep with the first meal of the morning. Intermittent fasting takes it a step further by structuring your fasting and feeding windows so they are constant instead of unsystematic. Some protocols of intermittent fasting simply extend that fasting period past usual breakfast times (for example, the Lean Gains-style 16/8 fasting schedule), while others involve fasting for 24-hour periods every week (for example, the Eat-Stop-Eat-style).

How Does Intermittent Fasting Differ from Commonly Held Nutrition Beliefs?Most trainers and nutritionists recommend eating small protein-dense meals every three-to-four hours for optimal fat burning and a fast metabolism. I agree that for many people this method leads to fat loss success by increasing satiety, while controlling cravings and blood sugar levels. However, my personal success with intermittent fasting encouraged me to challenge my beliefs about two of the most commonly held rules of weight loss: the importance of eating breakfast and the importance of eating something every three-to-four hours during the day.

BreakfastIf you listen to your doctor, the Internet or cereal commercials, you've most likely heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The thinking goes that skipping breakfast leads to increased hunger throughout the day, which in turn leads to overeating and eventual weight gain. Since most people practicing intermittent fasting extend their fast by delaying their first meal (aka skipping breakfast) — you can imagine that this is the first sticking point for intermittent fasting opponents. However, most of the studies surrounding the correlation between weight gain and skipping breakfast may have been misinterpreted. In fact, a recent report concludes that skipping breakfast has little or no effect on weight gain and that most studies done on the subject fail to show a direct causal relationship.

Breakfast, in my opinion, is not the most important meal of the day. Your first meal is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast supporters attribute the benefits of the meal to increased insulin sensitivity in the morning, which makes your food more likely to be used as energy than stored as fat. In reality, the increased insulin sensitivity is a result of the 8 hours or so of fasting you experienced during sleep. Intermittent fasting merely extends the fasting period from sleep - along with all the benefits that come with it — until the first meal breaking the fast.

Meal Timing

Another common recommendation intermittent fasting defies is eating five to six small meals every few hours to lose weight by "increasing your metabolism" or "stoking the metabolic fire" (my favorite). Without getting too scientific, these claims are just not true. The claim of increased metabolism from more frequent meals originated from the thermic effect of food (TEF), which is the amount of energy used to consume and process the food we eat.  Studies show that there is no increase in fat loss with an increase in meal frequency, because TEF is based on the total amount of food consumed, regardless of how often you eat. While eating small, frequent meals may not "stoke your metabolic fire," it's still a viable weight-loss strategy because it helps increase satiety and avoid blood sugar spikes, keeping dieters on course.

Intermittent Fasting Experimentation and TipsMy experimentation with intermittent fasting developed out of an unpredictable schedule and curiosity in a lifestyle that went against everything I had learned about eating for fat loss, as discussed above. As a fitness model, my schedule is constantly changing. Flexibility, ease of adherence and enjoyment are important factors determining my success on an eating plan. After years of following advice and commonly recommended strategies, such as: eat five small meals a day, follow a strict meal schedule, and set macronutrient goals, I was curious if there was a strategy more agreeable with my lifestyle.

Enter intermittent fasting. The protocol I practice is a daily 16-hour fast and 8-hour feed, and my day typically looks like this:

Wake-up at 7 a.m.: water with lemon or green tea

Train at  9 a.m.: BCAAs optional, more tea and water

First Meal at 11am: large breakfast with proteins and complex carbs

During Feeding Time: I eat when I'm hungry. My meals consist of proteins, vegetables, fruits and few complex carbs.

Last Meal at 7 p.m.

Sleep by 10 p.m.

When I first started eating this way, I didn't know this was actual intermittent fasting protocol — it was just convenient for me. I usually have clients or auditions in the morning and getting in 1-2 meals by 11 a.m. (which I used to do) was not practical and made me feel full and bloated at the gym and at auditions. If I had a photoshoot to go to, that made eating early even less desirable. After some research, I refined my strategies according to the 16/8 style of fasting and became more systematic about it.

Pretty soon I realized that staying lean was easier than ever before. I started to recognize and listen to my body's hunger cues, which led to a healthier relationship with food. I don't spend a lot of time thinking about my next meal or watching the clock to make sure I eat on time, I listen to my body and eat real, whole food when I am hungry and stop when I am satisfied. My food choices can be less strict since the shorter feeding window means I am eating less calories overall, which makes maintaining the calorie balance ideal for fat loss easier.  I now enjoy training in a fasted state and benefit from the increased insulin sensitivity when I have my first meal post-workout.

The most important thing I learned is that intermittent fasting isn't a diet;  it is a way of eating that has allowed me to reach my goals in a convenient way and effective at maintaining my physique. It may not be for everyone, nor is it the perfect plan, so I encourage you to experiment first to see what works.

Remember, the best way of eating is the one that works for you. Consistency and balance are more crucial to success than any specific plan can provide. Be your own guinea pig and find the nutritional lifestyle that makes you happy and healthy.

Readers - What do you think? Have you heard much about intermittent fasting? Have you tried it? If so, which protocol do you follow? Do you have questions about intermittent fasting? Leave us a comment below and let us know.

Courtney Prather is a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach, fitness and lifestyle writer, competitive athlete, model, spokeswoman, creator of 30DaystoLean.com, STRONGER.COM castmember and one of the fitness industry's rising stars. Her experiences -- from corporate America, to pursuing an international modeling career -- inspired her to spread the word about being healthy and living adventurously. Courtney can be found writing about fitness, healthy habits and following your passion on her website: www.fitnesslifeadventure.com.     

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/intermittent-fasting-can-get-lean/#ixzz4iehW6Emb
For further information log on website :
http://www.livestrong.com/blog/intermittent-fasting-can-get-lean/

How to Lose Belly Fat Without Losing Weight

Author
by MICHELLE MATTE

Unsightly belly fat can ruin your look, especially if you're happy with the rest of your body. Clothes that otherwise fit you are tight around the waistline, creating belly bulge and muffin tops that are hard to hide. But belly fat, sometimes called visceral abdominal fat, can also be dangerous for your health, increasing your risk for diabetes and heart disease, according to the Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide. The good news is that belly fat is highly responsive to exercise when performed at the right intensity. Adding resistance training will help you maintain your weight while losing fat.

Step 1

Perform moderate to high-intensity cardio five to seven days per week. Photo Credit Creatas/Creatas/Getty Images

Perform moderate to high-intensity cardio five to seven days per week, for 30 to 60 minutes per session. A 2008 study of middle-aged obese women, published in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise," compared the effects of low-intensity and moderate-to-high-intensity aerobic exercise on abdominal visceral fat. Participants exercised five days per week for 16 weeks. The moderate-to-high-intensity group, which alternated between walking and running, realized signifiant reductions in abdominal fat, while the low-intensity group saw no significant changes, even though both groups burned the same amount of calories per session.

Step 2

Intersperse short bursts of all-out intensity with longer bouts of moderate intensity.Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images

Intersperse short bursts of all-out intensity with longer bouts of moderate intensity. Interval training can lead to visceral abdominal fat loss over a shorter period of time. A 2011 review published in the "Journal of Obesity" found that high-intensity interval exercise had significant positive effects on reducing abdominal fat. Most of the studies reviewed used a stationary cycle with subjects exercising at moderate intensity for four minutes, then sprinting all-out for 30 seconds at a higher resistance. The bouts were typically repeated four to six times for a total of approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

Step 3

Engage in total-body resistance training on two to three non-consecutive days per week. Resistance exercise will help you maintain your weight while losing fat. In a 2012 study of young, overweight adults published in the "Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness," subjects who performed one weight training set of nine different exercises three times per week for six months increased their lean muscle mass and lowered their body fat percentage without losing weight.

Step 4

Eat a healthy diet. Photo Credit Thinkstock Images/Stockbyte/Getty Images

Eat a healthy diet. There is a saying that you can't out-train a bad diet, and it holds a lot of weight. Get rid of junk food, sugary drinks and snacks, and processed foods. Eat plenty of whole fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats. Stay hydrated by drinking plain fresh water.

Warnings

• If you are a novice exerciser, begin slowly and gradually work your way up to higher intensity levels.
• To learn to use weights safely and correctly, seek guidance from a fitness professional.

Tips

• A convenient way to monitor your exercise intensity is to use a 10-point rating of perceived exertion, or RPE scale. The Cleveland Clinic explains that RPE ranks your level of effort on a zero-to-10 scale, with zero being no effort at all and 10 being extremely difficult. On this scale, moderate intensity would rate a three to four, while high intensity would be rated higher than five.

Things You'll Need

• Supportive athletic shoes
• Resistance training equipment

For further information log on website :
http://www.livestrong.com/article/82154-lose-belly-fat-losing-weight/

How to Lose Belly Fat at Home

Author
by NINA MAKOFSKY 

Carrying excess weight around your waistline is more than an aesthetic issue. Subcutaneous fat, or the fat you see around your belly, covers more dangerous visceral fat, which surrounds your organs. This type of belly fat affects your cardiovascular health, puts you at risk for various diseases and slows your metabolism. While you cannot target belly fat with exercise and diet, you can gradually decrease your percentage of body fat wherever you tend to store it. Follow a flexible, healthy fitness program and food plan at home to lose belly fat.

Step 1

Swap sweets, junk food and foods high in trans fat and saturated fat for fresh, unprocessed foods. Removing tempting snack foods and processed foods from your kitchen makes it easier to stick to a healthy food plan. If you cut 500 daily calories from your consumption, you'll be on track to lose 4 pounds per month.

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Step 2

Snack on citrus fruit, lightly dressed salads, berries, apples, pears, vegetables, legumes and unsweetened whole grains. These foods contain high amounts of insoluble and soluble fiber, which fill you and provide key nutrients without adding excess calories, fat and sugar to your diet. They also regulate digestion so you experience less belly bloating.

Step 3

Add activity to your daily life. Haul boxes or bags one at a time up the stairs. Squat and stretch while cleaning the house. Dance during commercial breaks when you watch TV. Play hide-and-seek with your children around the house. March in place while washing dishes and talking on the telephone.

Step 4

Exercise vigorously daily. Elevate your heart rate for a prolonged period by doing aerobic workouts such as dancing to fast music, running up and down the stairs, jumping rope, doing dynamic yoga stretches, jogging on your treadmill or doing calisthenics. If you exercise vigorously 300 minutes per week, you can lose between 2 and 3 pounds of body fat per month.

Step 5

Perform muscle-building calisthenics and stretches that use your body weight as resistance. Pushups, pullups, sun salutations, squats, lunges and triceps dips add muscle tissue that replaces excess fat. This shift in your body composition raises your basal metabolism so you burn more calories even while resting.

Warnings

• Skip sweetened carbonated beverages, which add empty calories and contribute to belly bloat.

Tips

• Follow the Centers for Disease Control's guidelines for the amount of activity a healthy adult needs. These guideline give suggestions as to what kinds of exercise, the intensity and duration.

For further information log on website :
http://www.livestrong.com/article/539922-how-to-lose-belly-fat-inside-the-house/

How to Get a Flat Stomach Without Exercising if You Have Thick Belly Fat

Author
by NINA MAKOFSKY 

You do not need gym equipment or fad diets to get a flat stomach. While aerobic exercise is your best option for burning thick belly fat, you can achieve results more slowly through changing your diet, limiting your calories and doing daily activities. Keep your diet plan healthy and easy to follow by consuming moderate portions of healthful foods you enjoy. The more flexible your plan, the more likely you will stick with it. Changing your eating habits for the better can burn excess body fat, but you cannot target thick belly fat only. You trim fat wherever you store it, including your stomach.

Step 1

Reduce your caloric intake. If you cut 500 calories per day from your current intake, you can lose 1 pound per week. Simple ways to lower your calories include eating fresh fruit instead of cake for dessert, drinking a nonfat latte instead of a sweetened coffee drink and snacking on fresh vegetables instead of junk food.

Step 2

Consume foods with high amounts of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber. Peas, lentils, beans, apples, pears, berries, kale, watercress, spinach, steel cut oats, quinoa and amaranth fill you up, reducing your chances of overeating. The fiber content improves digestion, reducing your chances of belly bloat.

Step 3

Drink water between and during meals. Plain water keeps you hydrated, aids in digestion and adds no calories to your daily total. Sweetened drinks add calories without providing nutritive value. Carbonated beverages make your stomach bloat.

Step 4

Practice deep breathing. Fill your stomach as well as your chest when you inhale, then exhale completely. Contract your stomach muscles as you inhale to tighten them. You also improve your posture, which makes you appear slimmer.

Step 5

Add activity to your daily schedule. You do not need to do killer workouts or pump iron to burn excess body fat. Make simple adjustments to your lifestyle to burn thick belly fat. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk your dog twice a day. Play with your children at the playground. Pace while talking on the telephone. Do errands by bicycle or on foot. Meet friends for a nature hike instead of for dinner. Work in your garden.

Warnings

• Speak with your doctor before beginning any new diet regime.

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