Intermittent fasting also known as the 16:8 diet plan is a hot topic right now and people notice a big difference when they go at least 16 hours between dinner and breakfast the next day. Spending 16 hours a day without food may sound tough, however, planning the time perfectly will avoid all the problems.
The problem with the 16/8 diet is that you’re not making decisions based on how full or hungry you feel, but rather on a restricted time window. However, the issue with the diet plan is that it can backfire in the long run if you’re not managing it well. Here are all the details you need to know about the 16:8 diet plan.
16:8 Diet Plan
Most diets focus on what to eat, however, the 16:8 Diet is all about when you eat. The 16:8 diet or intermittent fasting is a type of time-restricted fasting done to lose weight.
With 16:8 diet, you spend 16 hours of each day consuming nothing except unsweetened beverages like water, coffee, and tea. The remaining eight-hour is when you eat all of your meals and snacks.
It may seem like an easier diet to you but it’s not. Most people follow this diet without knowing what to skip and what to eat and that’s why they end up hurting their health rather than improving it.
What can you eat on the 16:8 diet?
With the 16:8 diet, you can eat whatever you want. There’s no calorie- or macro-counting required for this diet plan. However, like every diet plan if you want to lose weight being healthy then you have to maintain a healthy balance of protein, fats, and crab in your meal.
With the 16:8 diet, you should concentrate on protein-rich snacks that are small in portion and that you can eat slowly. By eating protein-rich foods in small quantities, you will keep your hunger in control and avoid overeating.
Further, you can combine the keto diet with intermittent fasting for the best results. You can also pick complex, unrefined carbohydrates such as whole grains, leafy greens, healthy fats, and lean protein.
Is 16:8 diet good for weight loss?
Yes, the 16:8 diet plan is good for weight loss if done properly. Studies have found that there is no difference between people who regularly follow a 16:8 diet and those who simply cut back their calorie intake overall.
The best strategy is to optimize the nutritional quality of what you already eat (veggies, fruit, lean protein, whole grains, and healthy fats) versus fasting or counting calories.
Sticking to an eight-hour eating window during the daytime allows your metabolism to run as normal to fuel up for energy during the day when you’re most active. Further, stopping eating for the rest of the time ensures recovery at night.
Some studies indicate that you lose weight on this diet because when you fast, you burn more fat for energy than carbohydrates. These fat-burning and metabolic shifts increase your chances of losing weight.
Is it really healthy to fast for 16 hours?
For starters, the 16:8 diet might be hard to follow. Following this diet plan means saying goodbye to dinner parties and late-night dates. However, if you are dedicated to your health then you may sustain this strict diet.
Research shows that fasting for a period of time followed by a limited window for eating primes you to overeat. It’s a cycle that can be difficult to get out of because it impairs our body’s natural hunger cues and metabolism.
If you eat too late, you could potentially interfere with the quality of your sleep—so it’s best to eat earlier while you follow this diet. Restricted eating may also lead to an increased risk of depression and anxiety.
16:8 diet relies on the concept that fasting reduces oxidative stress on the body, which can decrease inflammation and the risk of chronic diseases.
This is especially concerning for women, who have historically been more likely to develop eating disorders. The allotted periods of restriction followed by eating lend themselves to binge-purge tendencies that cannot be ignored.
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, periods of fasting and binging are considered risk factors for eating disorders.
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16:8 Diet Plan Benefits
Research shows that intermittent fasting periods do more than burn fat. These include longer life, a leaner body, and a sharper mind.
Further, 16:8 diet can protect organs against chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, age-related neurodegenerative disorders, even inflammatory bowel disease and many cancers.
Here are some intermittent fasting benefits research has revealed so far:
Heart health: Intermittent fasting improved blood pressure and resting heart rates as well as other heart-related measurements.
Thinking and memory: Studies discovered that intermittent fasting boosts verbal memory in adult humans.
Physical performance: Young men who fasted for 16 hours showed fat loss while maintaining muscle mass.
Diabetes and obesity: In recent studies, obese adult humans lost weight through intermittent fasting.