Lose Weight Naturally with Intermittent Fasting

We are all familiar with the term ‘garbage in garbage out’. In the same vain we also understand that we need to follow ‘calories in calories out’ to keep control over our body weight. Most often people who gain weight have a higher calorie intake than the amount of activity they undertake. For them fasting is a healthy way to keep control over their weight gain. 

Fasting is not new to us. It has been observed by most cultures for religious and spiritual reasons for thousands of years.  In addition to its religious and spiritual significance, it also gives great health and fitness benefits ranging from improved digestion, detoxification and weight loss.

Fasting is catching up and the current buzz is intermittent fasting, i.e. fasting at set intervals or on a certain day of the week.  For example, one could fast on every Monday of the week. It could also be for shorter durations like missing a meal a day. During the fast water, tea or juice only can be consumed to keep the body hydrated.

                                                                              

It is best to begin fasting slowly. Usually one can starts with a fast once a week. This can be increased slowly to two or more days in a week. Drinking of fluids during fast is necessary to avoid dehydration. Drinking warm water or tea is the best. Cold drinks should be avoided as they impair the digestive fire and cause slowing down of the metabolism.

Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medical system, encourages fasting to improves the digestion.  Fasting gives a break to the digestive system and it uses its energy to burn off the toxins in the body.  Fasting also improves the digestion and metabolism which can help in losing weight naturally.

Modern research is also catching up with the idea of fasting for better health and longer life. The research shows fasting improves growth hormone production and also affects the sensitivity of your tissues to insulin.  This is really important because growth hormone is important for regeneration and recuperation of the body and for maintaining muscle mass.  Increased growth hormone levels also build more lean muscle mass.

Our irregular and unrestricted eating habits have caused havoc with our digestion and our health. We depend heavily on antacids to keep under control the high acidity levels in our stomach. All this is due to sluggish or inefficient digestive system. Our digestion is over-working constantly and needs rest sometimes to recover. This rest and recovery can be provided by doing intermittent fasting. By fasting once or twice a week we can once again improve our digestion, and our quality of life. We can control our weight and have a better physical fitness.