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Intermittent Fasting and Working Out
If you’re looking to get fit and lose weight, you may have heard about intermittent fasting and working out. But what are the benefits of combining these two methods? And can they help you reach your goals?
Intermittent fasting is a popular dieting method that involves alternating between periods of eating and fasting. Usually, people will fast for sixteen hours and eat for eight hours. However, there are many different ways to do intermittent fasting. You can tailor it to fit your own needs and schedule.
Intermittent Fasting Reduces Calorie Intake
There are a few reasons why intermittent fasting may be effective for weight loss and improving fitness. First, it can help to reduce overall calorie intake. This makes sense because when you’re not eating for a large part of the day, you’re naturally consuming fewer calories. And second, intermittent fasting can help to increase metabolic rate and fat burning.
Working out is essential for keeping your body fit and healthy. Not only does it help to improve your cardiovascular health, but it also helps to strengthen your muscles and burn calories. In addition, working out can help to reduce stress levels and improve your mood. And if you’re looking to lose weight, regular exercise is one of the most effective methods for doing so. By burning more calories than you consume, you’ll create a calorie deficit that will help you shed pounds over time. As you can see, it’s one of the best things you can do for your body as well as your mind.
Water Intake is Important
If you’re thinking about combining intermittent fasting with working out, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, make sure that you’re drinking enough water. When you’re fasting, your body will need more water to function properly. This is because we usually get approximately twenty percent of our water intake from food.
Water also helps you have the sensation of fullness in your stomach,. This will keep hunger pangs away until your next meal. You also need to drink plenty of water when working out. This is because you lose water through sweat and when breathing faster and harder. Drinking plenty of water also helps you exercise efficiently and effectively.
Keep Up Your Vitamin D and Calcium Intake
If you are fasting for twenty four hours at a time, or eating just one meal a day, it is highly likely that you will be restricting calories. While this might be effective for weight loss, eating too few calories can reduce the strength and density of your bones. It is, therefore, necessary to eat plenty of dairy products, leafy greens and small oily fish. They provide the calcium and vitamin D that your bones need. However, this is also a great reason to include workouts when intermittent fasting. Regular exercise has been proven to keep bones strong and healthy and reduce the risk of breaks and fractures.
Fuel versus Weight Gain
What you actually eat during your intermittent fast is important, especially if you are looking to lose weight and are doing regular workouts. You need to fuel your body effectively, while not eating foods that will cause weight gain.
Carbohydrates are necessary to supply glucose to give you plenty of energy for your workout. The best carbohydrate foods to eat are whole grains, legumes, fruit and plenty of vegetables. You need to eat protein to keep your muscles in good repair. Lean meat, fish and eggs fall into this category. If you are vegetarian, pulses, legumes and some vegetables also contain protein. Make sure you eat plenty of healthy fats in the form of nuts, seeds, olives, avocado pears and olive oil. Finally, try to keep sugary and savory snacks and processed foods to a minimum.
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Exercise on an Empty Stomach?
You’ve probably heard conflicting advice on whether it’s better to work out on an empty stomach or after a meal. So, what’s the verdict? Well, it turns out that there are benefits to both approaches. Working out on an empty stomach can help to burn fat. This is because your body will be forced to rely on stored energy sources.
However, be mindful that working out on an empty stomach can actually be detrimental to your health. Without food for fuel, your body could begin to break down muscle tissue for energy. This could lead to fatigue and an increased risk of injury. You may also experience light-headedness and dizziness due to low blood sugar levels. Therefore, it might be better to work out after a light meal.
It’s Up to You and Your Goals
Ultimately, the best approach for you will depend on the type of workout you prefer and your individual goals. If you’re trying to lose weight, working out on an empty stomach may be better. However, these workouts should be shorter. Ideally, a brisk walk, yoga, or short bursts of high intensity exercise.
If you like to do weight training for your workout, you can do so on an empty stomach. However, as your muscles will already have no stored glycogen to use for energy, weight lifting can put added stress on your muscles. For this reason, it is necessary to eat a meal immediately afterwards to reduce the damage. That meal should contain carbohydrates to replenish the glycogen stores and protein to repair and grow the muscles. On reflection, if you are weight lifting to build muscle rather than lose weight, remember this point. Intermittent fasting is not recommended as it can damage your muscles and reduce endurance and performance.
If you are planning on exercising on an empty stomach, the best time to do this is when you wake up. This is a good time to exercise as you won’t have eaten for several hours. There is no food to use for energy. This means your body will burn your fat stores for energy.
Natural Light Workouts
In addition, getting outside to work out and having exposure to natural light is beneficial for the sleep-wake cycle. This is because it increases the release of the feel-good hormone, serotonin. This not only improves your mood but also plays an important part in the circadian rhythm and consequently improves all aspects of sleep. Exercise can also make us feel good due to the release of endorphins. So you’ll get a double whammy of happiness and a great boost to your wellbeing.
HGH and Fasting
When you are overweight, human growth hormone is reduced. However, when this hormone is raised it can help you lose weight. It does this by triggering a series of events in the body that result in fat being broken down. This is where exercise alongside intermittent fasting can be beneficial. Fasting can trigger the release of human growth hormone, as can exercise. In fact, high intensity training, especially sprint training, can boost human growth hormone more than any other type of workout.
Muscle Loss
There is concern that exercising while fasting causes muscle to be lost as the body, through a lack of food for energy, breaks down the muscle. However, this only appears to apply to fasting for days on end, which is not what intermittent fasting involves. And even then, after a few days, if there is a fat store to call upon, the body adapts to break that down and burns fat for energy in preference to muscle. This is because using protein for fuel is biologically very expensive. In other words, it uses a lot of energy to make energy.
Next Steps
If you’re looking to improve your fitness and lose weight, intermittent fasting and working out may be good options for you. Just make sure to drink plenty of water and eat a balanced diet to fuel your workouts and protect your muscles. Most importantly, listen to your body to avoid overdoing it.
Check out our site section on Physical Wellness by clicking here for great coverage of related topics.
If you want to get a little technical, click here for a “Comparison of High-Protein, Intermittent Fasting Low-Calorie Diet and Heart Healthy Diet for Vascular Health of the Obese” from the National Library of Medicine. It is a study and you’ll find it interesting.
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