Trying out intermittent fasting
Have you got the COVID bloat? If you put on a few pounds during the pandemic (like many other people), and you’re interested in losing weight, you may be considering intermittent fasting. It’s one of the most popular diet trends, but before you give it a try, there are a few things you need to consider to see if it’s right for you.
If you have certain pre-existing medical conditions, you’ll probably need to avoid it. But for Gisela Long, it seems to do the trick.
She’s been doing intermittent fasting for two years, and started because she was struggling to achieve her health and fitness goals.
“I do the 16:8 intermittent fasting, so I start my day eating at 12 p.m., right after my workout, and then I end around eight or nine at night,” Long says. “I have lost 20 lbs during that process.”
Intermittent fasting is an eating plan that focuses more on when you eat than what you eat. Typically, people eat only during an eight-hour period or only every other day. Studies suggest that it may have some health benefits, including improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and weight.
“When done in a healthful way, intermittent fasting can help control inflammation,” says Consumer Reports’ Trisha Calvo. “(It) may even lower the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.”
But it isn’t for everyone. It can be too extreme for older adults, especially those with diabetes or who take medications at particular times of day. If you’ve recovered from an eating disorder, it can be triggering. It’s important to check with your doctor before starting any kind of health or weight loss plan to make sure it won’t cause any problems for you.
Even if you don’t follow intermittent fasting to the letter, you can incorporate some of its strategies and boost your metabolism by making a couple of changes to how you eat.
“Be sure to include foods that have plenty of fibre and protein, such as fruit, oatmeal, cottage cheese and eggs,” Calvo says. “Foods like these will help keep you satisfied until your next meal.”
If sweets and desserts are your thing, try eating them before 3 p.m. Your body is more efficient at processing carbohydrates during the morning and early afternoon. And try having an earlier dinner, sometime between six and eight.
“Late-night eating has been linked to a greater risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease,” Calvo says.
Cutting down your dinners to around 600 calories can help with overnight digestion. And make sure to include more veggies, which are lower in calories, full of nutrition, and will help you feel full for longer.
Long says intermittent fasting has made a big difference to how she feels.
“I feel like I have more energy,” she says. “I feel like I’m 25 instead of my real age.”
But remember – your body needs energy and nutrition to keep things running smoothly and to maintain your health, and you shouldn’t prioritize losing weight over healthy eating and self-care.
With files from Consumer Reports
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.