Fasting, or "fasting", has made a major appearance in the eating habits of the French and has become a trend in recent years. Increasingly widespread, notably for its benefits in weight loss and for how easy it is to put in place, intermittent fasting is now highly popular. While the rules of this diet are simple, recommendations on meals during a fasting period are few and far between. In this article you'll find all the tips for eating well during a period of intermittent fasting and the keys to good nutrition suited to "fasting".
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting consists of alternating periods of fasting (from a few hours to several days) and periods where you eat normally. During this fast, it is recommended to drink water throughout the day, but also tea or coffee to help fight the feeling of hunger. This method is therefore much less restrictive and demanding than strict fasting (religious or otherwise).
How do you do intermittent fasting? Which method should you adopt?
There are many ways to practise intermittent fasting:
For example, the 5:2 fasting diet consists of fasting two days a week.
The 24-hour fast consists of fasting every other day.
Daily intermittent fasting, for its part, consists of fasting for between 12 and 16 hours a day and concentrating all your meals in the remaining time window. It amounts to skipping breakfast or dinner (i.e. two meals a day). If it's easier for you to drop lunch, go for it! Stay flexible with your programme. Choose the fast best suited to your lifestyle.
You can also train your body to cope with intermittent fasting by gradually lengthening the time you go without food. You can also change method from time to time until you find the one that suits you best.
Who is intermittent fasting for? Why practise intermittent fasting? What are its effects and benefits?
Fasting triggers the burning of fat and sugar from the body: when you don't eat, your body has to draw on reserves to provide you with the energy needed to run your vital organs and to ensure muscle contractions (natural or linked to physical exercise). During the first hours of fasting, the body put on a diet will quickly call on its glycogen reserves (carbohydrate reserves) in the muscles and liver. When these reserves are depleted (a longer or shorter time depending on the state of the reserves and the sport practised), the body will draw on the fat stored in the fat cells and thus promote weight loss. This fat will "melt" little by little to take over as an energy source until the next meal. The longer the fasting period, the faster the weight loss.
Fasting prevents certain diseases associated with being overweight. By its very nature, intermittent fasting helps reduce the risk of being overweight and of obesity. In doing so, it acts to prevent the pathologies associated with them, such as cardiovascular diseases or diabetes. By limiting weight gain or by promoting weight loss in some people, fasting represents a real health benefit for the body.
Fasting gives you back control over your eating sensations: it is very easy today to eat more than you're hungry for (during meals or by snacking during the day). Intermittent fasting allows you to get back on top of your desire to eat and to become familiar again with your feeling of hunger.
IN SUMMARY.
The advantages of intermittent fasting:
- can help you take back control of your weight
- can improve digestion
- can improve sleep
- can enhance your complexion and skin
- can be effective in treating certain illnesses
The risks of intermittent fasting:
- watch out for hypoglycaemia in some people
- not always advised in combination with certain medications
- not always advised for pregnant women
- you need to be careful to take in a sufficient amount of calories when you're not fasting
How does intermittent fasting work?
All the benefits of intermittent fasting on the body and health come from the fact that its main effect is to keep insulin levels low. A constantly high insulin level is the main cause of all the diseases linked to metabolic syndrome, because it promotes the storage of fat and sugar in the body. By spacing out meals and adapting your diet, fasting is the ultimate weapon in your arsenal for lowering insulin levels.
What should you eat during intermittent fasting to keep control of your insulin levels?
Fasting doesn't do everything, nor do calories: it's important to have good eating habits.
The main objective of eating during a fasting period is to provide all the essential nutrients to the body while keeping its insulin levels low. During a fast it is therefore essential to have a healthy diet by following a few simple rules.
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Reduce sugars and refined cereals
Although it's preferable to avoid processed foods, many reasons sometimes make that impossible. It is therefore important to know the most harmful ones so as to be able to set them aside.
It is particularly important to avoid sugars (except when practising a high-intensity sport) and refined cereals such as white flour, which drastically raise blood sugar and insulin levels, which tires the body. At equal calories, these products are more fattening than others such as vegetables, which explains why low-carbohydrate diets are effective for losing weight.
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Consume more natural fats
For decades, fats were presented as public enemy number one because they're high in calories. Health authorities have gradually agreed that stigmatising them wasn't justified, and the expression "good fats" is now commonly accepted. Foods rich in monounsaturated fats, once avoided, such as olive oil, dried fruit, avocados and nuts are now described as superfoods because of their qualities and their health benefits.
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Consume fewer artificial fats
Not all fats act the same way on the body and not all are equally harmless. The partially hydrogenated vegetable oils present in fats, fried foods, margarine and pastries, such as cakes, cookies or other highly processed sweet or savoury products, contain trans fats whose assimilation is problematic for health.
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Pay attention to your protein intake
Whether or not you practise an intense sport, it's important to have a protein intake in your fast-breaking meals. In order to prevent the breakdown of your muscles, favour meals rich in quality proteins whose absorption is "slow", such as plant proteins (pulses) or complete dairy ones (cheese, yoghurts). A tip: if you resort to protein supplementation, opt rather for taking plant proteins or casein than whey.
And hydration?
Good hydration is paramount for the body during meals but also and above all during fasting periods. Indeed, drinking throughout the day is possible and even recommended.
Which drinks are compatible with fasting periods?
Only certain liquids are compatible with fasting: water, tea, herbal tea or coffee...
Water: During a fast, it's important to drink water often, from morning to evening. You can opt for still, mineral or sparkling water. You can very simply flavour your water with lemon (lime or yellow), slices of other fruit to infuse (without eating the fruit), cider vinegar, Himalayan salt or ground chia and flax seeds. Sugar-free sweeteners are to be avoided.
Coffee: You can drink classic or decaffeinated coffee during the fasting phases. It's best to drink it black, but, if you wish, add a tablespoon of fat (coconut oil, medium-chain triglyceride oil, full-fat thick cream, single cream, whole milk, ground cinnamon...)
You can also drink iced coffee, still unsweetened (just make the coffee as normal, put it in the fridge and pour it over a cup filled with ice cubes).
Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, liquid or powdered, are to be avoided, as are sweeteners.
Teas and herbal teas: Tea and herbal tea can be enjoyed to your heart's content between meals. Some even act as effective appetite suppressants. Green tea, cinnamon chai tea, mint tea, black tea, Oolong tea, etc., don't hesitate to vary the types and flavours.
It's best to drink plain teas and herbal teas, but as with coffee you can add a tablespoon of certain fats, refrigerate them or ice them.
IN SUMMARY.
Whatever programme you choose, intermittent fasting, to be more effective, must be accompanied by a healthy diet. Even though the menu remains free and you can eat almost whatever you want, it's important to keep a simple, minimally processed diet in which you favour good fats, quality proteins, and unrefined carbohydrates that will keep insulin levels low. Sugars should therefore be limited as much as possible.
Hydration, for its part, is paramount from breakfast to dinner, during or between meals.
Whatever your motivation, we advise you to get in touch with your doctor before starting intermittent fasting, to put in place the method that best matches your needs.
Find also our articles on how to lose weight without doing any sport, the vegetables that help you lose weight, or how to lose belly fat.
