A dinner here, a breakfast date there, and last but not least a colleague celebrates a birthday and brings a delicious chocolate cake. How are you supposed to stick to a strict diet plan like that and lose your winter padding before summer?
The solution is right in front of you, and it's called intermittent fasting! Find out how you can reach your summer body with the help of intermittent fasting despite dinner parties and breakfast dates. Lose your extra kilos sustainably and in a healthy way.
Why is intermittent fasting particularly good for losing weight?
Diets are often abandoned because they are hard to fit into everyday life and aren't socially compatible. If you've set yourself the goal of reaching your ideal weight with a strict diet, you often have to turn down dinner invitations and celebrations. They don't fit the prescribed diet plan and you don't want to be tempted.
We know these problems only too well, which is why, instead of strict diet plans, we rely on regular fasting breaks with the help of our intermittent fasting programme.
With intermittent fasting, also called intermittent fasting, you eat no food or only small amounts for a set period. For women the maximum calorie intake is around 500 kcal and for men around 800 kcal. Since calorie needs differ greatly between women and men, our intermittent fasting programmes also differ by gender.
Compared to classic diets, intermittent fasting is its own form of eating. Instead of cutting out individual foods, you can follow your normal eating habits outside the breaks and accept dinner invitations without restrictions. During the breaks, the body is first busy digesting the remaining food, until fat burning and autophagy are finally greatly increased. Autophagy is the body's own recycling system, through which overaged and/or no longer functional cells and cell components are sorted out and either excreted or converted into energy.
Beyond that, of course: a healthy and balanced diet, as well as exercise, support the weight loss process.
Which intermittent fasting methods are there?
As already mentioned, there are different options for intermittent fasting. We distinguish between intermittent fasting, alternate-day fasting and interval phases.
So that you find the method that suits you, we introduce three variants below.
16:8 intermittent fasting
A variant of intermittent fasting that is particularly easy on beginners is the 16 to 8 method. You go without food for 16 hours at a stretch and can eat as you like during the remaining 8 hours. It's recommended to have two meals during the 8 hours and to avoid isolated carbohydrates, i.e. foods made from sugar and white flour.
Meals with complex carbohydrates, such as potatoes, keep your blood sugar level consistently low and keep you full for a long time, so you don't feel hungry during the 16-hour break.
To get fat burning going, we recommend doing your workout at the end of the fasting period, i.e. in the morning. Since your body has no stored carbohydrates available for energy, it falls back on your fat deposits to produce energy in the form of the simple sugar glucose.
5:2 intermittent fasting
The 5 to 2 method suits advanced fasters and people who want comfortable weight management. You include 2 fasting days every week and on the remaining days you can eat as you like.
It's advisable not to place the fasting days back to back. One option would be, for example, to fast every Monday and Thursday. At weekends, when plans are especially frequent, you can eat as you wish, and during the week there can be dinner or office parties on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Unlike with 16:2 intermittent fasting, on the two fasting days you don't go without food completely, but significantly reduce your calorie intake. With the frank intermittent fasting programme, you lower the amount of calories step by step to get your body used to the change. In the end, on fasting days, similar to juice fasting, you only take in 500 kcal.
To support the positive effects of fasting, though, it's advisable to pay attention to a balanced diet and to fit workouts into your everyday life.
Alternate-day fasting
The counterpart to intermittent fasting is alternate-day fasting. You eat as usual on the first day and fast on the second. On fasting days, you reduce your calorie intake to a maximum of 25 percent of your daily needs. For advanced fasters, the fasting days consist purely of water, unsweetened teas and vegetable broth.
Besides reducing fat mass, alternate-day fasting can also have a positive effect on your general health. Still, alternate-day fasting is harder to fit into everyday life and requires discipline and a strong will.
What positive effects does intermittent fasting bring?
Unlike with a crash diet, the success of intermittent fasting only shows on the scales after a few weeks. That shouldn't demotivate people who fast, though, because besides weight loss, intermittent fasting also has health benefits.
Thanks to the lasting change in eating habits, the dreaded yo-yo effect stays away. Once you've reached your desired weight, you can reduce the number of fasting days. In future, fasting days can serve as a balance for the body and boost your well-being in the long term.
However, intermittent fasting is not a miracle weapon that is solely responsible for weight loss. On the days when you're not fasting, you should pay attention to a healthy, balanced diet. You should also cut down on treats such as sweets and alcohol, or ideally avoid them, and fit movement into your everyday life.
Breaks from eating help to lower your blood sugar level. Carbohydrates drive blood sugar up in order to provide energy. Excess energy, however, is stored in fat deposits to act as an energy reserve in an emergency. Constant eating means that energy reserves never have to be tapped. More insulin is also released, which on the one hand can disrupt fat burning and on the other hand can lead to insulin resistance.
On top of that, it has been shown that intermittent fasting lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
What do I need to keep in mind with intermittent fasting?
To get all the positive effects out of your intermittent fasting programme and see results quickly, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
1. Don't rush in
Cutting your calorie intake to a minimum overnight seems like an impossible step to many people. The fear of not sticking with it and having to suffer from too much hunger is often in the room. That's why it's important to take it slowly and prepare your body for the change in eating habits. Reduce your calorie intake a little on each fasting day and you'll notice that your body gets used to your new way of eating in no time.
2. Drink enough
As with a juice cleanse, it's important that you drink enough. Besides water, unsweetened teas and vegetable broth can also provide enough fluid. Fasting symptoms such as headaches or dizziness can be signs that you're not drinking enough.
3. Watch your diet
The foods you choose can have an immense influence on your weight loss and therefore your success. Avoid short-chain carbohydrates, which make your blood sugar shoot up and trigger hunger again after a short time. Dishes with a high share of fruit and vegetables and rich sources of fibre give you important nutrients, keep your blood sugar level steady and keep you full for a long time.
When the body has no carbohydrates available for energy, it falls back, as already mentioned, on fat deposits to produce the simple sugar glucose. However, protein stores, i.e. muscles, are also used for energy. To avoid breaking down muscle, you should rely on protein sources, especially after exercise. Protein shakes are an easy and tasty option. Combined with high-fibre carbohydrate sources, healthy fats and fresh fruit, they make a complete meal replacement that is ideal for a balanced breakfast.
In our Protein Shake Guide we give you 20 delicious, creamy shake recipes that bring variety and introduce you to the world of protein shakes!
Conclusion: your summer body thanks to the 5:2 intermittent fasting programme
As you now know, intermittent fasting is not only suitable for comfortable weight management, but can also have a positive effect on your health.
People who fast notice positive effects after just a few weeks. Depending on how much weight you want to lose, you can also fast in the 5 to 2 rhythm for a longer period.
To meet your individual goals, we offer you 3 programmes. Decide whether you want to fast for 4 weeks, 8 weeks or even 12 weeks. And on your fasting days, enjoy cold-pressed juices, delicious organic soups and spicy ginger shots. With our detailed fasting guide, we give you important knowledge all about fasting and, on top, delicious recipes!
Want to get more out of your fasting time? Then discover our frank. teas. Matched to your daily routine, our 3 types of tea give you everything you need for a successful f
