Weekly Diet Plan: Why You Should Add Intermittent Fasting

It seems as though everyone is on a diet and rightfully so, since the majority of people are obese. How did it come to this? Can anything be done to snap the nation back into shape and jump start a weekly diet plan? Chances are no one has heard of intermittent fasting as a way to burn fat but has heard of fasting for religious purposes. Many religions include obligatory fasting as a way to purify the body in a spiritual sense such as the Islamic religion and its month of Ramadan. But, can fasting be used as a way to cleanse the body and lose weight simultaneously? It certainly can and recently people have been using this method to trim unwanted inches on their tummies and waistlines.

Benefits of Fasting

Recent studies on fasting show the benefits to be:

Reduction in glucose levelsIncrease in growth hormoneFat burningGlucagon increase (helps in burning fat)Reduction in inflammationDetoxification

Many people are opposed to fasting as they believe they must constantly eat to maintain their metabolism. This is simply not true. In clinical studies, it was determined the body's metabolism is directly related to the amount of lean body mass or muscle on the individual. Those with less muscle will have a slower metabolism as opposed to those who are more muscular. It doesn't have anything to do with frequency or volume of meals as food companies would want the general public to believe.

Here are some guidelines to follow when fasting:

Fast on non-consecutive days - so if you intermittent fast on Monday then don't attempt to fast again until WednesdayDon't stuff yourself after fasting (you'll be tempted to over eat but don't)Don't eat excessively sugary foods when coming off the fastDrink plenty of water while fasting (especially if you begin to feel hungry, drinking extra water will help)

Coffee helps to curb appetite, so have a cup of "joe" on the morning of your fast, but don't add sugar as it will break the fast. Bonus: Use stevia in your coffee as a sweetener.

Weekly Diet Plan Plus

The bonuses to following your weekly diet plan and adding intermittent fasting into it are numerous. First, you'll save on food bills. Since you're eating less, there will be fewer trips to the grocery store or restaurant. Second, you won't have to think about or prepare what you're going to eat that day. Our lives are constantly consumed with asking ourselves, "What am I going to eat?" Wouldn't it be nice to not have to think about it? In addition, by adding IF to your diet plan, you'll finally be able to control the urge to eat which is half the battle in trying to lose pounds and inches. IF should be an integral part of your weekly diet plan if it isn't already. There's no better method than IF to cut calories easily and gain immense health benefits.

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