You may have heard of intermittent fasting (IF) if you want to improve your health and fitness. Intermittent fasting is a method of eating where you cycle between periods of fasting and eating. It has recently grown in popularity as a fad and is used by people to simplify their lives and lose weight while enhancing their health.
There are many subdivisions of intermittent fasting. The 16:8 is one of the intermittent fasting methods recommended by Silicon Valley billionaires, celebrities, and social media influencers. Restricting mealtimes, or how you eat only during an 8-hour window each day and fast the rest of the time, is said to help with various health issues, including weight loss and a reduced risk of developing chronic diseases.
However, who is best fit for 16:8 intermittent fasting, and are there any risks? Before diving into it, you should know what it is exactly.
What is 16:8 Intermittent Fasting?
A common kind of fasting is 16:8 intermittent fasting, also known as the 16:8 diet or 16:8 regimen, which involves fasting for 16 hours and eating only during an 8-hour window.
Some think this approach is practical because it supports the body’s internal clock or circadian rhythm. Most people who adhere to the 16:8 schedule skip meals at night and for a portion of the morning and evening. They tend to consume their daily calories during the middle of the day. There are no limitations or restrictions on the kinds or quantities of food a person can eat during the allotted 8 hours. In a word, the plan is reasonably simple to implement because of its flexibility and relative simplicity.
Benefits of 16:8 Intermittent Fasting
Many health benefits are associated with intermittent fasting, including weight loss, improved mental clarity, increased energy levels, and lowered disease risk.
For decades, scientists have researched intermittent fasting. The results of studies are occasionally ambiguous and conflicting. But studies on intermittent fasting, notably 16:8 fasting, suggest that it might bring about the following advantages:
Fat loss
The potential to encourage rapid weight loss should be intermittent fasting’s most prominent advantage. And not just any kind of weight loss, either. Most 16/8 IF practitioners discover that the majority or all of the weight they lose is in the form of fat. According to research in 2016, males who performed resistance training for eight weeks while adhering to a 16:8 intermittent fasting exhibited a decline in fat mass. All along, the participants kept their muscular mass.
Prevention of high blood pressure and diabetes
An 8-hour eating window may assist persons with obesity in lowering blood pressure and helping them lose weight, according to a 2018 study. In addition, according to a review from 2014, intermittent fasting holds promise as a substitute for typical calorie restriction for lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes and shedding pounds in overweight or obese adults.
Increased life span
According to animal studies, intermittent fasting may lengthen an animal’s lifespan. For instance, one study discovered that female mice lived longer when they underwent brief, repeated fasting. According to the National Institute on Aging, scientists are still baffled as to why fasting might increase lifespan despite decades of research. They are unable to vouch for the long-term security of this technique.
How to Start 16:8 Intermittent Fasting?
Consult your doctor.
Once you choose a general intermittent fasting plan like the 16:8 diet, consult a physician to ensure IF is the correct choice for you. It’s time to dive in, but not necessarily all in. Some people advise progressively expanding your fasting window from 12 to 14 to 16 hours, while some experts suggest starting with just a few days per week and working your way up. It’s crucial to pay attention to your body.
Select an intelligent tool.
People may feel it hard to stick to the 16:8 intermittent fasting or even how to start with it. The challenge is to keep track of your IF. Thankfully, a variety of useful mobile apps enable you to keep tabs on everything at your fingertips with a smartphone or tablet.
SoonFasting is a health tracker and diet plan app that provides personalized fasting plans and expert tips. You can track your fasting hours, water intake, steps, and weight in the SoonFasting to guide you daily. It can record current and ideal weight, eating habits, daily schedule, and health situation before providing customed fasting plans, tips, reminders, and trackers. In contrast to the “one size fits all” formula, SoonFasting is designed to guide users to choose and stick to the fasting and meal plans tailored for every user.
Meanwhile, the app provides enriched content with easy-to-follow tips and practical insights created by registered nutritionists. Based on the user’s situation, SoonFasting offers personalized plans and one-on-one consultation, allowing users easy access to clear up possible confusion.
For Whom is 16:8 Intermittent Fasting Top Right?
For example, if you use the 16:8 intermittent fasting approach, your eating window might be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It can be beneficial for someone with a family who already eats dinner early in the evening. Then much of the time spent fasting is time spent sleeping anyway. Depending on when you set your window, you don’t have to “miss” any meals. But how consistent can you determine this? Daily periods of fasting might not be for you if your schedule is unpredictable. You periodically require or desire the freedom to go out for breakfast, go on a late date, or attend happy hour.
You can have a quiz on an intermittent fasting app for professional advice. It will generate a conclusion and suggestions based on age, gender, lifestyle, current and target weight, occupation, etc.
How Often Should 16:8 Intermittent Fasting be Done?
Because the 16:8 diet’s days function independently, unlike other intermittent fasting diets, you can practice intermittent 16:8 fasting for as short as one day or as long as seven days per week.
The evidence varies on whether it is healthful to practice intermittent fasting constantly. While studies from Queen’s Medical Centre (opens in new tab) have shown that fasting for short periods increases metabolism, extended fasts of three days or more have been shown to inhibit and even slow down metabolism. Additionally, starving yourself for a long time might raise your cholesterol, cause morning sickness, dehydrate you, and cause low blood sugar episodes.
