Many people wonder what is intermittent fasting or 16:8 diet? Onlymyhealth editorial team spoke to Dr. Sandhya Pandey, Chief Clinical Nutritionist, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon, about intermittent fasting or 16:8 diet. Intermittent fasting is basically a weight loss tool which involves switching between fasting and eating on a regular schedule. In this diet routine, one has to fast for 16 hours and can eat in the rest of the 8 hours. Many experts suggest that you should eat lesser than how much energy you consume, in order to lose weight. Intermittent fasting is followed by a lot of people but there are some mistakes that you should avoid. They are:
1. Do not eat everything in those 8 hours if eating and try having low calorie foods only. Feed yourself for eight hours and have only the right amount of nutrients with proteins, carbohydrates and all the other important vitamins and minerals.
2. People lose significant weight with intermittent fasting and fight many other problems related to obesity like cholesterol, high blood pressure, blood sugar, etc. Your body utilises all the proteins in this diet as well. So,eat a nutritionally balanced meal and do not eat high fat or cholesterol foods as it can have negative long term effects.
3. Another common mistake people make is that they skip breakfast and eat their meal late at night in the 16:8 diet schedule. Your metabolism is slow at night and it is better to have your food during the day for better results. You can easily use intermittent fasting as an effective tool for weight loss. So, eat more in daytime to control your weight.
In the fasting zone, you can take water, herbal tea and green tea. Have nutritional and healthy foods in the eating time and avoid having high calorie meals.
Watch more videos on Health talk
