What is intermittent fasting, is it safe to lose weight?

Most of the time, we are talking about using drugs to lose weight, such as Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, Retatrutide, cagrilintide, etc. However, before you have to use drugs to lose weight, the main way to lose weight is still to develop good lifestyle habits. Among lifestyle habits, intermittent fasting (IF) is a highly respected approach. What is intermittent fasting? Can you safely lose weight with intermittent fasting?

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a pattern of eating that cycles between fasting and eating. Instead of prescribing specific foods to eat, it focuses on when you should eat. There are several popular methods, such as the 16/8 method (fasting for 16 hours and eating within 8 hours), the 5:2 diet (eating normally for five days with significantly reduced calorie intake on two non-consecutive days), and the alternate day fasting method (alternating between days of normal eating and fasting).

How does intermittent fasting help you lose weight?

Intermittent fasting does not simply make people hungry to thin, but through hunger, stimulate the body’s hormone level changes and metabolic changes to promote weight loss. Of course, lack of heat is a major factor in weight loss.

Caloric restriction :IF can help reduce total calorie intake, which is a major factor in weight loss.

Hormone changes: Fasting causes changes in hormone levels that promote weight loss, such as lower insulin levels, increased growth hormone, and higher norepinephrine levels, which can promote fat burning.

Metabolic benefits :IF can improve metabolic health by reducing inflammation, improving insulin sensitivity, and promoting autophagy (the body’s way of clearing out damaged cells).

In addition to helping with weight loss, intermittent fasting has been shown to improve heart health, brain health, and longevity. Of course, when using intermittent fasting to lose weight, it is still necessary to pay attention to nutritional intake, as well as appropriate participation in outdoor activities, timely supplement of water, protein and trace elements, otherwise there may be hunger and irritability, headache, fatigue, water shortage and other side effects.

How many pounds can intermittent fasting help women lose?

The amount of weight a woman can lose through intermittent fasting (IF) depends on a number of factors, including starting weight, adherence to a fasting plan, the specific type of intermittent fasting, overall diet quality, exercise habits, and individual metabolic differences.

In the first month, some women may lose 4-8 pounds, especially if their starting weight is high and they closely follow a fasting plan and dietary guidelines. For more than six months, weight loss of 10-25 pounds or more is achievable, depending on the above factors.

While it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact amount of weight a woman can lose through intermittent fasting due to individual differences, a safe and realistic expectation is to lose around 0.5-1 pounds per week after the initial phase. The key to success is to combine intermittent fasting with a balanced diet, regular physical activity, and consistency.

The most commonly used intermittent fasting method for women is 16/8. This method involves fasting for 16 hours and eating over an eight-hour period each day. It is flexible and can be adjusted according to an individual’s schedule.

Sample schedule:

8:00pm – 12:00pm (Day 2): Fast

12 noon to 8 p.m. : Eating time

If the 16/8 method is not appropriate, women can try other methods, such as the 5:2 diet, which involves eating normally for five days and limiting calories to around 500-600 on two non-consecutive days, or the eat-stop-eat method, which involves fasting once or twice a week for 24 hours a day.

We can adjust Each method to adapt to individual preferences and lifestyle while ensuring that nutritional needs.