Try This Challenge To Lose Body Fat Faster

 

 

In India the festival of Navratri has arrived, which is celebrated over a course of 9 days. Many enlightened masters vouch for Navratri to be highly conducive for spiritual growth, due to which they advise to practice fasting during these 9 days. However for un enlightened people like us, we may have doubts over such claims. Yet we should fast during the nine days as various studies have found fasting to be a great way to lose body fat faster.

In this article we will discuss about the details of fasting, why it works and how following a ketogenic diet accelerates the benefits of fasting. We will also go through my recommendations on how to fast, so as to reap the maximum benefits of fasting. By the end of this article, I hope you join me in the challenge of fasting during Navratri to accelerate our fat loss journey.    

Before we start, it should be stated that our goal here is to accelerate fat loss and not increase athletic performance. Carbohydrates are essential part of a healthy diet. However, while aiming solely for fat loss, intermittent fasting has been found to shorten the time, our body needs to reach ketosis.

In this challenge we will go according to the principles of Intermittent fasting, which tells us when to eat, and Keto Diet, which tells us what to eat, in order to lose body fat faster.

 

What is Intermittent Fasting ?

During the times before humans learned how to farm, they had to hunt in order to eat and survive. During those days, humans survived and thrived without food for long periods of time. As a result of which,our bodies have evolved in a way that we perform at our optimum level, when we restrict the time window during which we feed ourselves.

Intermittent Fasting is all about when you eat. With intermittent fasting, you only eat during a specific time period. Various studies have shown that fasting for a certain number of hours each day helps your body burn fat. The body generates fuel through glycogen stored in the body.  During fasting, a stage is reached when the glycogen levels in the body become low. Now in order to derive energy, the body starts to burn the fat stored in it. This state in which the body burns fat and uses it as fuel, is called Ketosis.

 

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

1) While researchers are still investigating the various benefits of intermittent fasting, one thing which they all agree to is that it is found to be highly beneficial for fat loss.

2) It accelerates tissue repair, hence slows down ageing.

3) It helps in improving memory

4) It improves blood pressure

 

Combining Intermittent Fasting and Keto Diet for accelerated fat loss

Ketogenic Diet (also called Keto Diet) is a diet which tells us what to eat. So the idea for a keto diet is to have a diet which is rich in unsaturated fats(55%), has moderate amount of protein in it (35%) and low in carbohydrates (10%). The body breaks down carbohydrates and stores it as glycogen to fuel it’s activities. So, the main idea behind following a keto diet is that when the glycogen stores are low(due to low intake of Carbohydrates), the body reaches a state of Ketosis faster. Thus intermittent fasting along with keto diet, accelerates the rate at which the body burns the fat that’s stored in it.

Now that it has been proved how intermittent fasting along with keto diet helps in losing body fat faster, I shall tell you about the challenge which we shall undertake together during nine days of Navratri. Before we enter the challenge , let’s lay down the rules, in accordance with the principles of intermittent fasting and keto diet. Here are the rules :

 

Rules of the challenge

 

1) You can’t eat anything for a period of 18 hours.

2) During the 6 hour window you are only allowed to have 1 large meal. In that meal you have to limit your Carb intake upto 30 grams. Try to ensure that the meal contains moderate amount of protein and food that’s rich in unsaturated fats.

3) In that meal you cannot have anything that contains artificial sugar. Therefore no deserts during the course of the challenge.

4) During the eating window of 6 hours, you should have nuts as snacks. However try to eat them in moderation.

5) To get most out of the fasting period, ensure that you workout everyday during the challenge. The workout need not be intense but don’t skip it. Many studies have shown that working out during fasting accelerates fat loss.

6) You can have zero calorie drinks such as green tea, black coffee during the fasting period.

 

General Advice

1: Have lots of water during the fasting period. Water will help in cleansing your system.

2: During the fasting period, your body becomes deficient in electrolytes. Therefore to maintain their levels, either have coconut water or some supplements.

3: Resist the temptations of snacking during the fasting window. If you persist, you will be amazed by the results !

 

I myself will be undertaking this challenge. If you have any questions you can comment below. Let’s burn that damn fat !

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