Fasting for weight loss is a bit of a trend lately especially for celebrities and the rich. However it's really much older than today's trend. Gurus on mountaintops have been fasting for thousands of years and even the common folk have fasted for religious observances.
The real question though is does it work and more importantly is it safe?
I want to cover safety first. Fasting can be very dangerous if some simple guidelines are not followed. If you're currently not healthy or eating a healthy diet you could be taking unnecessary risk. If you're overweight enough to be researching weight loss then it just might be possible that you're not healthy enough to be fasting for weight loss.
Another thing to consider is the medication you take even if you just take a Tylenol. Fasting and medication don't go well together.
The next question you should consider is whether or not it actually works.
Well if you have quite a few pounds to lose then fasting is not the way to go. The length of fasting days you would need to lose substantial weight could do you more harm then good. However if you only have a few pounds to lose then yes fasting will help you lose them.
Ready for the bad news yet? The only thing you will be losing is water. That's right your body will lose water first then it will start to burn carbohydrates and the fat burning is last in line.
Guess what happens after you're done fasting. You start to gain back all the weight you lost during the fast. This happens because the body will naturally slow down its metabolism when it starts to sense starvation coming on. This is perfectly natural since it is trying to conserve whatever nutrients and energy it has in the body at the time. The worst part is you don't only gain back what you lost but you gain even more.
The bottom line is fasting is not a good weight loss plan. You don't need to starve yourself and be hungry to lose weight.
And even though you'll probably lose some pounds by fasting for your weight loss, why would you want to? There are so many other great ways to lose weight today without starving yourself.
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