The World Wide Web is teeming with hundreds and thousands of diet plans and there are advocates for each kind of diet. But which are the ones that will really work for you? It all depends on how you execute it and what is your consistency. Whatever diet you start, you will have to make sure that you are consistent with it, and only then it will work. The fasting diet plan is one such diet that is getting everyone interested right now. This article is all about the fasting diet plan and will it actually work for you or not.
The Fasting Diet Plan:
The fasting diet plan is also known as the 5:2 diet plan or intermittent fasting. In this fast diet (that is spread over a week), your calorie intake is strictly limited for two days and the rest of the five days you can have food normally. The idea behind this fasting diet plan for losing weight is to eat highly nutritious foods during the two days you are fasting and the rest of the days you can resume your normal eating.
So How Does The Fasting Diet Plan Work?
Since a long time scientists have been studying the effects of reducing the calorie intake and they have found that in tests subjects (especially mice) where the calorie intake is reduced, these mice live longer. The same can be said about human beings too. Also, whenever the calories are restricted, you will see that the body’s responsiveness to insulin increases and your hunger pangs are controlled to a large extent.
The above scientific approach is how the fasting diet plan works.
This is considered as a really interesting way of fasting and people love the fact that on regular and non-fast days they can also have a slice of pudding or their favorite cake. It is not too restricting and as a result people are still interested even when they are fasting.
Also, the two fast days can be adjusted as you would want – so you can even fast two days back to back, or you can spread the two fast days over alternate days. The choice is yours.
Make The Fasting Diet Plan Work For You:
So on the two days that you are restricting your food, your diet has to have only 500 calories. For a normal male, the dietary requirements for the day are around 1800 calories and for a female, this is around 1200 calories. It is very difficult to take this to a 500 calorie diet, but if you really want to make this work, you will have to strictly limit the calories on those two days.
Here are some sample diet plans on the 500-calorie days:
- 491 Calorie Diet:
Breakfast: Curd, raisins and almonds
Lunch: Crushed potatoes, eggs
Dinner: Chinese vegetarian noodles
Snacks: Two oranges
- 476 Calorie Diet:
Breakfast: Spinach Omlette
Lunch: Chicken Miso Soup
Dinner: Cous Cous Salad
Snacks: Diet snack bar
These are just two sample meals for the fasting diet plan. You too can plan different meals during the day and restrict it to 500 calories.
Here are the best foods that you should be having during fast days:
- Eat food which are high in protein – fish, lean meats and low fat ground beef
- Have food which is very high in fibers – concentrate on vegetables and pulses
- Pasta, rice and potatoes are very high in carbs, so you should try and avoid them as far as possible during fast days.
These are some of the essential points when you are doing the fasting diet plan. Remember, your body is not used to calorie deficits and restrictions and as a result when you first start the diet, you may feel hungry and sometimes even get stomach pains. Constipation is also a common problem with people who start this diet. Don’t be scared, just take it slow! You will soon enjoy this diet and actually see a huge difference in your weight!
Source: fashionlady.in