Intermittent fasting is a plan that involves eating for some intervals and fasting for others. It requires a regular schedule to work.
According to William Schantz, intermittent fasting is different from other methods because it does not tell you what you have to eat! Instead, it works on when you can eat and when you cannot.
There are different ways that you can take up intermittent fasting. However, all of them are based on some intervals of fasting and other intervals of eating. According to William Schantz, some popular methods for intermittent fasting include the following:
Alternate-Day Fasting
In this meal plan, you eat a normal diet one day, and the other day, you can fast the entire day or have a small meal that constitutes less than 500 calories.
5:2 Diet
In this meal plan, you can normally eat for five days a week. For the two leftover days, you need to fast.
Daily Time-Restricted Fasting
You can eat whatever you want. However, you have an eight-hour time span to do so. In this, you may have to skip breakfast and eat lunch directly, followed by dinner at eight pm.
You can drink water, water or black, unsweetened coffee and tea.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting As per William Schantz
According to William Schantz, there are a lot of benefits of intermittent fasting. Here are some of them.
1. It Can Help You Lose Weight And Visceral Fat
Most people who opt for intermittent fasting are doing so to lose weight. Due to intermittent fasting, you will be required to make time-restrictive choices to eat.
When you skip meals, you will take a lesser calorie intake. Plus, intermittent fasting also accentuates the functions of the hormone in order to facilitate the loss of weight.
2. It Changes The Function Of Cells and Hormones
When you do not eat for some time, it causes some adjustments in the body. The hormone levels of the body will change in order to access the body fat that is stored. This also initiates the repair process of cells.
3. It Can Decrease Oxidative Stress From The Body
The oxidative stress in the body can also lead to aging and other chronic diseases. The free radicals or unstable molecules react with molecules like DNA and protein and cause damage to them.
According to some studies, intermittent can help increase the renaissance of your body to oxidative stress.
4. It Can Reduce The Resistance To Insulin
Type 2 diabetes is becoming a common diagnosis in recent times. Intermittent fasting has shown quite promising results in lowering blood sugar levels.
Due to this, the resistance to insulin is decreased, and hence it can be a healthy option. In a study done on humans with prediabetes who were intermittent fasting, it was seen that the blood sugar dropped by 3-6% in the course of eight to twelve weeks.
Final Thoughts By William Schantz
You should keep in mind that the research taking place on intermittent fasting is in the early stages. It will take time to carry out long-term research on this meal plan, according to William Schantz. For now, the long-term benefits and risks of this are still not known.