Does Intermittent Fasting Work for Fat Loss?
If you've been following the fitness scene at all lately, you may have heard of intermittent fasting (IF). This is a type of diet where you cycle between periods of eating and fasting.
Intermittent fasting helps you lose fat by decreasing the amount of time you have available to consume calories, a smaller eating window results in a lower daily caloric intake. Intermittent fasting still follows the calories in vs calories out (CICO) principle meaning you still need to create a caloric deficit to lose weight.
The most common structure most people follow during IF is a 16:8 structure which gives them an 8 hour eating window, followed by a 16 hour fast (some people might follow an even more longer fast of up to 18 to 20 hours).
Most of our personal training clients follow an IF style diet for their fat loss program which they achieve by simply skipping breakfast and having lunch as their first meal of the day. Increasing the quality of food during an IF diet by focusing nutrition on at least 80% minimally processed foods and increasing protein intake to 2g per kg of bodyweight helps improve results too!
In summary the answer is Yes! IF can help you lose fat as long as you maintain a consistent caloric deficit.
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