Are you ready to jumpstart your Spring Weight Goals? Yes! The weather is getting warmer and there’s no better time to rejuvenate your body with healthy eating, outdoor activity, and a healthy weight.
A weight goal “jumpstart” can be a great advantage because early weight change success is both motivating and effective for long term results.
One great way to jumpstart a weight change is by fasting within the Keto Zone®. Today, we’ll discuss 2 effective and healthy fasting options: intermittent fasting and alternate-day fasting.
2 Keto Fasting Styles to Jumpstart Weight Goals
There are many effective types of fasting. Two of the best to jumpstart your weight goals within the Keto Zone are intermittent fasting and alternate-day fasting.
Intermittent fasting involves fasting for a significant number of hours each 24-hour daily cycle. For example, many people fast for 16 hours per day, and eat during the remaining 8 hours.
The second fasting style is called alternate-day fasting. This style requires alternating days of fasting and “feast days.” Of note, “fasting” days often include up to 500 calories per day, so it’s not a pure zero-intake fast. During feast days, most participants eat as much as they’d like.
Effects of Fasting for Weight and Health
Both intermittent fasting and alternate-day fasting have been shown to positively affect weight and health (1).
In fact, studies have found both types of fasting can (2):
- Support healthy cholesterol markers
- Normalize triglycerides (3)
- Encourage healthy aging
- Support effective weight changes without slowing metabolism (4, 5, 6)
- Support healthy blood sugar and insulin sensitivity (7, 8)
- Encourage healthy immune system responses (9)
- Increase ketone body production (10)
- Reduce inflammation (11)
- Encourage weight decreases and reduced belly fat (12)
How to Implement Intermittent Fasting
The most common type of intermittent fasting is called 16:8. This simply means that you fast 16 hours per day (including through the night), and eat only during an 8-hour window during the day.
For example, many people eat from 11 am to 7 pm, and then fast and only drink non-carb/non-calorie drinks from 7 pm through 11 am the next day.
Sound simple?
It is! This fasting style follows normal societal eating schedules (with the exception of an early breakfast or late dinner), so it can be easy to follow even within family or social eating.
How to Implement Alternate Day Fasting
If you’d like to try alternate day fasting, you’ll need to set aside 3-4 days per week to “fast.” Most fasters fast every other day. They don’t fast completely to zero calories per day, but stick to 500 calories or less on fasting days.
For example, you might want to restrict calories to 500 calories Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Then, you can eat a normalized amount of calories on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. In fact, you don’t need to count calories at all!
Another advantage to alternate-day fasting is having days off of fasting or dieting. With intermittent fasting, there’s a fasting period every day. With alternate-day, 3-4 days per week are off from fasting.
Stay in the Keto Zone While Fasting
In order to use either fasting style within the Keto Zone, it’s important to stick with a restricted carbohydrate level even when “feasting.” You don’t need to count calories, but net carbohydrates should be kept to 25 grams or less. This way, you will continue to make ketone bodies while experiencing expedited weight changes and health benefits with fasting.
Tips for Fasting Success
Start with a Game Plan. There’s no better place to start than the Keto Zone® Starter Kit. This complete kit and guide is a sure-fire way to meet your ketosis, fasting, and weight goals.
Eat and Drink Enough when Not Fasting. To feel good, it’s important to eat enough when you’re “feasting.” Try including fat bombs for snacks, adding Keto Zone® Instant Ketones to improve hydration and ketone body production, and following the Keto Zone Diet book to stay on track.
Avoid Refined Carbs. Like always, if you want to stay in the Keto Zone, you need to keep net carbs down while fasting. To do so, eat plenty of healthy fats, vegetables, and protein. Drink a lot of water. Stick with your Keto Zone® Book plan!
Drink Keto Zone Coffee While Fasting. Believe it or not, you can include coffee while fasting, and it doesn’t break the fast (you can read all the details here)! What’s more, you can addKeto Zone® MCT Oil Powder for a true Keto Zone Coffee!
