What is fasting?

 Fasting is simply the act of deliberately not eating food for a specific period of time, usually due to a particular reason.

 According to research by Yiren Wang on the effects of fasting on metabolism and psychological health, fasting has several benefits, which include boosting mental health functioning, reducing inflammation, and improving heart health.

Healthy Fasting tips

While fasting is a good practice, doing it the wrong way might strip your body of essential nutrients needed in order to function properly. There is also the possibility of regaining all the calories lost if one does not know how to manage the hunger or craving that comes after fasting.

 Here are some tips to fast without harming the body.

1.Start slowly and gain momentum over time.

Do not strain your body by taking it through long hours of fasting. It may induce your body into a state of shock. While the body might burn calories, it would want to gain them right back by inducing cravings. Sometimes, it may even end up storing instead of burning as a way of preserving calories through a perceived deficit.

 A beginning point is by reducing your portions gradually. It doesn't have to be huge portions; start by eliminating 1/4 portions. Continue with this until you reach a small portion enough for nutritional nourishment but not for extra calories.

 To deal with hunger created by calorie deficit, you can induce the feeling of fullness through

• Eating more fibrous meals. 

• Taking cinnamon tea in the morning.

• Consume more protein-rich food (fish and chicken).

Preparation methods also matter when it comes to food. Avoid deep-fried foods or overcooked, bland foods. Prepare through methods such as baking, boiling, or air frying. In stews and wet/dry fry dishes, limit the oil and salt used.

2. Consider fruit fasting. 

While fasting often involves long periods of complete abstinence from food, sometimes this may end up exposing someone to gastrointestinal issues such as hyperacidity or ulcers. 

In order to avoid this, the long periods of fasting can be broken with fruits. Fruits are rich in fiber and have low healthy sugar content compared to unhealthy junk foods. They are also packed with vitamins and minerals.

They are a great way of meeting caloric needs and feeling fuller without putting your weight loss journey in jeopardy. Consider fruits that are full of fiber, such as guavas, bananas, avocados, berries, pears, and papayas.

 Eat a few fruits whenever you feel hungry. Essentially, it's a way of snacking healthily while avoiding eating all the time.

3. Stay hydrated with water and other alternatives

Part of being healthy is staying hydrated. While water is the best source for this, other sources such as fruits with high water content also do the trick (e.g., watermelon). 

One way of drinking water while still dangling for weight loss is adding a teaspoon of chia seeds to your drinking water. The ‘chia water’ will make you stay hydrated and have a feeling of being full, so it will also reduce hunger spells.

One can also try homemade sugarless herbal teas as a form of supplementation as well as boosting metabolism. Popular teas are ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon teas.

Smoothies and tonics for weight loss can also do the trick.