Including Fasting In Your Diet – Is It Safe?
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010Fasting for weight loss is an attractive option for many people for several reasons such as quick weight loss and detoxification. There are several ways to go about a fasting weight loss program: restricting all foods and having a totally liquid diet, restricting foods only on certain days, or restrict certain food groups for a specific period of time. Some of them are marked as fad diet because it offer fast result but it is very difficult to keep the weight off once you start eating a normal diet again.
So, is it safe to use this method as a part of your diet? It is depends on many factors; people with certain health issues such as cancer, diabetes, liver, kidney, or lung disease are not advised to do this kind of program. A fasting diet program also not recommended for pregnant or lactating women; the side effects can harm both the mother and the baby. For women who want to lose weight after pregnancy, check how you can do it without harming yourself or the baby at get rid of your baby fat.
Otherwise, if you think that you have a fit body, just go for it; one day fast is unlikely to cause any harm to a healthy body, even a little longer fast is still tolerable if you have a fit body.
Before you start on your fasting weight loss program you need to prepare your body and evaluate your lifestyle. If it is a program that involving ‘short complete fasting’ (lasts 5 days to 2 weeks) or ‘extended fast’ (last more than 3 weeks), you need to know a few things first:
1. If you are doing heavy physical activity in regular basis, you might want to stop it while in the program since it can cause headaches and other side effects.
2. Prior to fasting slowly decrease the amount of canned and processed foods you eat; also decrease your consumption of cigarettes, salt, refined sugar and other foods that can cause food allergies. Cut them off completely all of a sudden will result in headaches, stomachaches, and other discomfort.
3. Reduce your meal portion and increase the times between meals gradually before begin the first fasting day. By getting your body used to eating less, it will be easier when you start your fast.
4. Make sure you have all the instructions written and understood well. Keep remind yourself of the cause and goals of the project, this will help you to stay away from any desire to quit halfway.
5. Make sure to consult your doctor if you are under 18 or have any chronic health problems.
This type of fasting usually accompany by other benefits such as detoxification and a fast weight loss. For ‘short complete fasting’ program, repeat it over every specific time until you get the results that you’re looking for. Remember NOT to extend it more than recommended. Check my recommendation for this type of fasting at lose weight in a week – how to do it. For an extended fast, you should only do it under a doctor supervision.
The other type is the ‘short fast’ which is only last for a short period such as 1 or 2 days. There are only a few diet programs that can use this short of a fast and still get satisfying results. Personally, I’m recommend this type more since it is not difficult to do and doesn’t generate side effects like a longer fasting do.
Fasting for weight loss has many variations, benefits, and consequences. In the hand of knowledgeable dietician, fasting can be a powerful way to attain fast weight loss while keeping the user healthy for his/her everyday’s activities. My top recommendation for fasting diet is a well designed and easily implemented ‘short fast’ type; check it at Eat Stop Eat review.