Erica Mauldin - Fasting Diet: Fasting Diet Recipes for Healthy Weight Loss

Fasting Diet

Fasting Diet Recipes for Healthy Weight Loss

Erica Mauldin and Laurie R. Dean

Copyright 2013 Erica Mauldin and Laurie R. Dean

All rights reserved.

The fasting diet, often referred to as intermittent fasting or the 5:2 plan, continues to increase in popularity as dieters continue to learn more about the benefits of this diet plan. Since it skips all the ridiculous restrictions that come with most other diets and allows you to eat want you want five days a week, many find that lack of restrictions sufficient compensation for the two fasting days that allow only 500 calories per day for women and 600 per day for men. Of course, those fasting days mean that you are severely limited in the amount of calories you can consume, so you have to find good recipes that you can use to ensure you have plenty of energy on fasting days. It is also important to find great dishes that will keep you feeling full, even though they are low in calories.

If you want to enjoy the best fasting diet results, it is essential to stick to the calorie guidelines on the two fasting days. However, sometimes it is difficult to find low calories recipes that taste great and fasting diet recipes that are easy on the stomach on the fasting days. To help you stick to your intermittent diet, we have compiled a book full of great fasting weight loss recipes that taste great while helping you stick to your intermittent fasting weight loss plan. From breakfast recipes to great main dishes, you will find something delicious to try for any meal. You can choose from the wide selection of recipes, building your own meal plans for your fasting days. In fact, with all the wonderful recipes available, you will not have to worry about getting bored on fasting days. These recipes taste so great that you will probably end up making them even on non-fasting days. Even if your family is not on the fasting diet with you, they are sure to enjoy these tasty recipes as well.

You will also find a section full of snacks and desserts. Just because you are on a fasting day does not mean that you have to skip on snacks or a healthy sweet treat. The snacks and desserts are low calorie and super delicious, so you can satisfy your cravings, even on your fasting days. The salad, soup and sandwich section is packed with soups that are easy on the stomach, satisfying and low calorie salads and tasty sandwiches that will help you stick to your calorie guidelines for the day. We have also added in helpful calorie information for each of the recipes. This way you can easily keep track of the calories you eat on your fasting days, allowing you to stick to your calorie restrictions without a problem.

Fasting weight loss is possible, and while you do not have to count calories most of the time, counting calories is important on those two fasting days each week. With this cookbook youll be able to find great recipes that are low in calories so you eat well while sticking to those calorie restrictions. Youll even find a helpful meal plan at the end of the cookbook that will help you organize your meals as you get started with the fasting diet. If you are new to the fasting weight loss plan, you will also find a section that gives you the essential information on intermittent fasting, as well as information on the top benefits of following an intermittent fasting diet.

Intermittent fasting continues to grow in popularity, but if you are just getting started with the fasting diet, it is important to understand this diet, as well as how it works. This way you have a better understanding of how to use these fasting diet recipes in your fasting weight loss diet. Going on a diet without understanding how it works will set you up for failure from the start, so take the time to become more familiar with the diet and the science behind it. Here is a closer look at the intermittent diet, how it works, as well as other important information you should know as you embark on this new diet.

What is It?

Often known as the 5:2 diet, intermittent fasting is an eating plan that has you restrict the amount of calories you consume two days each week while eating normally on all the other days. For five days each week you can eat normally, but on the other two days, you will need to severely restrict your caloric intake. Women should only take in 500 calories on fasting days and men should only have about 600 calories on those days.

Severely restricting your calorie intake a couple times a week helps you to reduce overall calorie intake each week, even when you are eating normally on other days. This helps with weight loss and offers a number of other excellent benefits as well, which we will discuss in the next chapter.

It is important to note that the fasting days should not be done consecutively. For example, if you fast on a Monday, then you should not fast on Tuesday. Break up your fasting days, such as fasting on Wednesdays and Saturdays or fasting on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Intermittent Fasting vs Alternate Day Fasting

You may have heard of another diet known as the Alternate Day Fasting Diet. It is similar, but not quite the same as intermittent fasting. Instead of only fasting for two days a week, which you do on the intermittent fasting weight loss plan, the Alternate Day Fasting plan requires you to fast every other day. Of course, even if you are using the Alternate Day Fasting plan, you could still use these great fasting diet recipes to help you out on fasting days.

Some evidence and scientific research does show that the intermittent fasting diet does provide results. According to studies, constantly eating the same amount every day puts a strain on your body and it keeps levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) higher than they should be as adults. Unfortunately, high levels of this growth hormone may increase the risk of certain medical problems. Fasting a couple days a week is supposed to reduce the levels of this hormone, allowing the body to repair itself better while reducing your risk of certain diseases.

Today, human studies have been done on fasting and according to the studies, as long as you have two fasting days each week, you can eat normal foods on the other days and still enjoy weight loss and improved health. While you still want to avoid eating high fat, processed foods regularly, the studies show that you can indulge from time to time as long as you give your body those two fasting days each week to work on repairing itself.

What Makes the Diet Popular?

One of the main reasons for the popularity of the intermittent fasting diet is how easy it is to stick to it. Yes, you are cutting the calories you eat each week, but it is easier to stick to this diet because on the other days, you get to enjoy eating a normal diet. Even though fasting days make leave you feeling a bit hungry, you still know that you can enjoy your favorite foods on the other days, so it is easy to stick to this diet, unlike many other diets.

While you might think that you would want to binge after a fasting day, studies done on the fasting diet shows that most people do not end up binging after a day of fasting. The studies show that generally people will eat approximately 110% of the calories their body needs, which is okay because of the fasting days. Fasting helps teach your body when you are really hungry, so retraining the body keeps you from indulging when you are not really hungry. This keeps you from binge eating after fasting days.