Chapter 6: The Basics of Eating on an Intermittent Fast
Eating on the intermittent fast can be as simple or as complicated as you choose. Some people will continue with their healthy eating ahead of time and others who will add another type of diet to this one to see results. The ketogenic diet can work pretty well with this option because it helps to limit your carbs to reduce hunger and to burn the fat more quickly. However, it’s not essential for you to go on a specific diet plan to see results when on an intermittent fast.
The first thing t0 keep in mind is that you are not allowed to eat unhealthy food when you are on this kind of diet plan. It is good to cut down your window of eating during the day to eight hours or less (or to do one of the other options for intermittent fasting). But, if you spend that time eating desserts, fast foods, and other unhealthy foods, you will run into problems.
First, you will not be able to lose weight when you eat this way. Fast foods and other unhealthy choices come with many calories per serving, and it’s likely that you are taking in more than one serving at a time. Even though your window for eating is smaller, you can still take in too many calories, which will stop all your weight loss progress. Even though intermittent fasting is not about the calorie-intake, you still need to be cautious about eating too many calories because it’s an aspect that can affect the effectiveness of intermittent fasting.
You will also notice that when you eat these unhealthy foods, even while on an intermittent fast, you will not improve your health. Your health will rely on good food that is high in nutrients to keep you strong. Simply fasting, while still eating unhealthy food, will likely cause as many problems as you encountered before you started fasting.
When you eat these bad food, you will find that you are hungry more often and you will struggle with getting through your fasting periods. This is because many processed and fast foods contain chemicals and preservatives that are designed to make you hungry more often. If you want to see the results and get through your fast without feeling hungry, then it is time to eat foods that are healthier.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you can’t eat sweets or junk food on occasion. The intermittent fast doesn’t have set rules for exactly what you are allowed to eat, it simply sets the times that you are allowed to eat. Eating a little cheat meal is fine, as long as you have it during your eating windows and only do it on occasion. It may be hard sometimes but eating healthier will provide you with better results.
The trick to making the intermittent fast work for you is to eat a healthy diet. The more nutrients you can fit into your diet plan, the better you will end up doing with this fast.
The first thing that you need to consider is eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce is best because it provides lots of essential nutrients that your body needs to stay healthy. Consider filing your plate with fruits and vegetables each meal so that you are getting the nutrients that you need. Eating a wide variety of produce is also important to ensure that you are getting what your body needs without adding in too many calories.
Next, you should go with some good sources of protein. You should consider going with options like lean ground beef, turkey, and chicken. Having some bacon and other fatty meats on occasion is fine, just don’t overdo it. Eating a lot of fish will help you to get the healthy fatty acids that the body needs to function properly.
Healthy sources of dairy help you to stay lean while giving your body the calcium it needs. You can have some options such as milk, yogurt (be careful of the kinds that have fruit and other things added because these usually include a high amount of sugar), sour cream, cheese, etc. Be sure to monitor the salts and sugars that are not healthy for the body.
You are allowed to have some carbs on this diet. Carbs have gotten a bit of a bad reputation because so many diet plans recommend that you avoid them. The important thing here is to eat the carbs that are healthy for you. White bread and pasta are basically sugars in disguise and should be avoided. Going with whole grain and whole wheat options when it comes to your carbs will ensure that you can get all the nutrition that you need.
Having a well-balanced diet will be the key to ensuring that you feel good when you are on an intermittent fast. You will be able to mix up the meals that you choose, so you get the best results when you go on this kind of a fast.
You are also allowed to have a snack, as long as you are careful with how often this happens. If you are eating junk, you will be disappointed when you go to the scale and see that you are not losing weight. You can have treats on occasion, but make sure that it is not something that you often while on this diet.
Using the ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting
Lots of people decide to go on a ketogenic diet while doing an intermittent fast to help stay healthy. The ketogenic diet is a high fat, moderate protein, and low carb diet that will help you to burn fat quickly while reducing your dependence on carbs. There is a lot to love with this diet plan, and when it is combined with the intermittent fasting, you are sure to get some great results in no time.
It’s possible to use both of these diet plans together. Intermittent fasting is focused on the times of day when you will eat, and the ketogenic diet on what to eat during those time periods. For those who would like to balance their blood sugar level and want to lose weight more efficiently, combining these two diet plans together can be great.
With intermittent fasting, you limit the hours that you can eat. Instead of spreading your meals and your snacks throughout the day, you will limit it to just a few hours. Many people will choose to only eat between ten and six and fit their macronutrients into that time period. Others will take two or three days during the week where they are not allowed to eat and fit their nutrients into the other days of the week.
The point is that you are limiting the amount of time that you eat, forcing you to think more about the foods you consume. You also get the benefit of more fat burning and weight loss, when you do intermittent fasting.
During the times you are allowed to eat, you will need to stick with the macronutrients that we discussed above that are approved for the ketogenic diet. You will still stick with high fat, moderate protein, and low carb diet plan even while intermittent fasting. You will just need to be more careful about the times you eat those macronutrients, but otherwise, you can follow the ketogenic diet exactly the same.
If you want to get some of the benefits of intermittent fasting or you want to increase your weight loss, then adding this diet in with the ketogenic diet can be effective. You can experiment with the different types of intermittent fasting options that are available to see which one fits into your schedule the best or works the best for you. Of course, if you find the ketogenic diet is effective or intermittent fasting is too difficult, you can always just stick with the ketogenic diet and not fast and still see good results.
It is important to remember that you don’t have to follow the ketogenic diet if you don’t want to while on an intermittent fast. Many people go choose other healthy diets instead of choosing to go on the ketogenic diet. However, there are a lot of people who will choose to go with the ketogenic diet along with intermittent fasting because it is easy to follow and will allow them to lose even more fat.
Eating on the intermittent fast does not need to be too difficult. You can pick out the foods that you want to eat, although it is important to go with foods that are fresh and whole and will fill you up and help with the fat burning process to help you to see the weight loss that you are looking for.