Goodbye festive pounds with intermittent fasting

The festive days are getting closer and closer and speculoos, gingerbread and co. are already attracting. You can find out how to avoid unnecessary holiday pounds with intermittent fasting without missing out on Christmas treats in our blog post.

Many Germans gain weight over the festive season

Gaining weight over Christmas is not heavy. In this blog post, we already reported on various studies that showed that the last few weeks of the year (including the first two weeks of January) in particular contribute to an increase of up to one kilogram. That doesn’t sound like much at first, but it accumulates on the hips over the years.

This is how easy intermittent fasting works

With intermittent fasting, you either fast or fast in two different periods of time Ingested food. The most common form of intermittent fasting is the 16: 8 method, also known as “Lean Gains”. Here you fast 16 hours and eat 8 hours. Some skip breakfast and often end their fasting period at noon. They start fasting again around 8 p.m. in the evening. Another option: eat as usual for 5 days and fast for 2 days.

Miracle cure intermittent fasting? This is what studies show:

In a recent study, for example, For example, a group with the aforementioned 5: 2 method weighs almost 1.5 kg – and that during the entire Advent season until the New Year. In the control group, however, this was not the case. In addition, their insulin and blood lipid levels deteriorated – in contrast to the 5: 2 group.

Further studies

In another study, eight overweight men and women shortened their eating window to ten hours. The result: 5 kg less on the scales! They were able to maintain their weight for a year on top of that, although the opposite often happens. Participants in another study who used the Lean Gains method (16: 8 method) did not lose weight, but reduced their body fat percentage by almost 2%.

Building muscle with intermittent fasting

Another benefit of intermittent fasting? Higher Levels of Growth Hormone HGH! Especially since it plays a crucial role in muscle growth. Because: The hormone increases strength and training performance. Low levels of growth hormone tend to lead to undesirable effects such as increased body fat. As soon as we eat, our body releases insulin. The hormone also stimulates muscle building, but a constant release disrupts the natural HGH production.

Study participants who only fasted for two days, on the other hand, were able to increase their HGH production fivefold. Especially since a decrease in body fat leads to increased HGH production. However, HGH production seems to affect exercise performance differently in women and men. Muscle strength changed slightly in men, but not in women.

A reduced body fat percentage and a higher muscle percentage occurred in both sexes. These effects were somewhat more pronounced in men.

A “problem” with intermittent fasting

Some experts criticize the following: Intermittent fasting only requires periods of time, not specific dietary recommendations. This is exactly what is advantageous for you over Christmas: if you eat a balanced and varied diet all year round, you can deliberately treat yourself to a few days. Because let’s be honest, nobody wants to go without everything over Christmas.

The protein supply during intermittent fasting

Healthy Christmas cookies such as B. Our protein-rich cinnamon stars are also a good way to create a Christmas mood without gaining weight. Of course, you can also use our Nature’s Protein without sweetener to change it according to your preferences and thus easily meet your protein requirements. Whether you are a man or a woman, give intermittent fasting a chance over Christmas and see what it does for you.

5 tips for getting started with intermittent fasting

• First, consider when you want to set your time window. Does your family eat at Christmas e.g. E.g. after 8 p.m., then end your fasting period earlier at 1 p.m. or even 2 p.m.
• It is also a good idea to gradually shorten your usual eating period within a few days. Maybe you start with “12:12” and shorten the eating period by an hour every day.
• It is also important to drink enough, because your brain often confuses hunger with thirst. Calorie-free drinks such as tea or water are best. Teas such as green tea, nettle tea, ginger tea, peppermint and rooibos also stimulate your metabolism, regulate your appetite and detoxify.
• Of course, coffee is also suitable, because as long as the drink is made without plant-based drinks and only with stevia, erythritol or If our FlaveDrops is sweetened, it also has an appetite-regulating effect.
• Movement is also a great way to distract yourself. Whether long walks or a training session in the gym, both are great. With the latter, you are welcome to use our EAAs or BCAA capsules for a few extra gains.