Intermittent Fasting 101 - Weight Loss Plateau Help!

Hey munchies, welcome if you're new, I'm Alyssia. I know a lot of you are focusing on weight loss goals, so I thought it would be an appropriate time to talk about weight loss plateaus, and specifically a highly requested topic, intermittent fasting. So first of all, what's a plateau? When we go on a journey to lose weight, we typically make some changes in our diet and lifestyle. The types of foods we eat, the amount of food we eat, and maybe the type and amount of exercise we participate in too. At first, we may see some immediate results in terms of weight loss, and it's exciting. But after a while, our bodies can get used to these changes and we stop seeing results. AKA, we may have hit a weight loss plateau. Now this can be frustrating, but a plateau is pretty normal on a weight loss journey. Our bodies are smart, and they adapt. If we start feeding our body less food, it learns how to survive on less. And then, although you started eating less than your body needed, that new intake can become what your body now needs. But we can't just eat less and less and less forever or exercise more and more and more. Now, it's important to know that what seems like a plateau might actually mean a few different things. One, you haven't committed to your weight loss plan as well as you could. A piece of chocolate here, an extra handful, or two or three of nuts there, and we end up eating more than we think. We have to be honest with ourselves. Is this really a plateau? Or have we gotten too lax with our diet and exercise plan? Two, you may be at your ideal weight. That number is gonna vary by the person, but sometimes we set weight loss goals that aren't realistic or necessarily healthy for our bodies. Our bodies will naturally try to maintain a certain weight where it's most comfortable, and reducing that further can result in regaining the weight later on. And three, other health factors might be preventing weight loss, such as thyroid problems or other health conditions, medications that you take, smoking habits, pregnancy, or menopause. Or it could just be that you've lost all the weight you're going to on that particular plan, and now it's time to reassess and consider a new strategy. That is why it's important to switch things up. So like I said, our bodies get used to what we do. Over time, especially when we've tried many different diets or yo-yoed between them, we can end up in homeostasis. So pretty much the body establishes a norm and then tries to maintain it. We eat less, our body adjusts to that new norm, and then we have to take some action to shake up that new norm again if we wanna see further progress. So homeostasis can lead to a weight loss plateau, but remember that not all plateaus are a result of homeostasis, as we discussed earlier. There are a few ways to overcome a plateau. It could be just adjusting calorie intake, but it doesn't have to be. Remember, we don't wanna cut our calories too low. We need that fuel to function, and eating too few calories consistently can actually slow down our metabolism. You could also try switching up your macronutrient ratio or alternating between different workout routines. We're all different, and it takes some trial and error for each of us to find what works for us, but one specific way that could be helpful to overcome a weight loss plateau and the main purpose behind this video is intermittent fasting, or IF. Intermittent fasting is essentially an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. Now, this is not a diet. It's not about which foods you eat, but when you eat them. Someone who is intermittent fasting is choosing to not eat on purpose for a period of time. They consume calories during a specific window of the day and choose to not eat for a larger window of time. There are many different approaches, but generally the fasting period can last between 16 and 48 hours, and remember, fasting means not eating anything. You can have beverages that don't affect blood sugar like water, coffee, tea, and non-caloric beverages, but fasting will not work if we're consuming food and calories, even if it's healthy. The idea is you're not eating anything, but that doesn't mean that you have to go two full days without eating to incorporate this into your lifestyle. 16 hours really isn't that long. If you finish dinner by 6 p.m. and then don't eat again until 10 a.m. the next day, that is 16 hours, so your window of eating would be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and fasting would be 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. It doesn't have to be more extreme than that for people to see results. Another approach is the five-to-two diet. You fast two days per week, eating only 500 to 600 calories, and then eat a normal amount of calories on the other five days. You can also alternate between eating normally one day and then fasting for the next. Now, I definitely encourage you to do your own research if you wanna try out intermittent fasting, but remember, it does not have to be extreme. A lot of you might be thinking, what the heck, I thought we were supposed to eat all day long. What happened to not skipping breakfast? What happened to eating a bunch of small meals throughout the day? Breakfast does not actually kickstart your metabolism to help you lose weight. Now, that being said, some people may benefit from eating breakfast or multiple smaller meals. Sometimes skipping a meal leads to overeating at the next meal, but that ultimately comes down to portion control. The problem with eating so many small meals is that a lot of us are more likely to overeat at each of those meals, so we end up consuming more overall than we would have otherwise. The bottom line is eating many meals throughout the day doesn't really rev up your metabolism. Whether our calories are spread out across six meals in a day or eaten in a small window of time, our bodies will still burn up about the same number of calories processing that food. After we eat, our body processes the food for a few hours, burning what it can. Our bodies will use that energy first because it's the most accessible rather than burning stored fat. But if we stop eating so often, our body isn't digesting food constantly and it turns to the fat stored in our body for energy instead. So essentially, you're getting into a fat-burning state of ketosis for a period of time without eating a high-fat diet. For more on ketosis, watch that Keto 101 video. I promise it will explain a lot. And if you are finding this episode helpful so far, don't forget to subscribe, and if you wanna be notified of new videos each week, be sure to hit the bell. Overall, much less of the food we eat after fasting is likely to be stored as fat. Basically, intermittent fasting can teach our bodies to use the food we eat more efficiently by depriving the body of constant calories or not eating all day long, we can learn to burn fat as fuel. So intermittent fasting doesn't necessarily mean you're eating less calories, you're just eating them in a shorter window of time. So what are the benefits of intermittent fasting? Body changes to facilitate weight loss. While fasting, our insulin levels drop significantly, which helps facilitate fat-burning, and human growth hormone levels increase, maximizing muscle gain and fat loss. Lose weight and belly fat. Eating fewer meals mean you may end up naturally eating fewer calories, but this won't be true if you binge during your eating windows. Plus, intermittent fasting has shown to cause less muscle loss and burn more calories even at rest. Reduce insulin resistance. Intermittent fasting can reduce our fasting blood sugar levels and insulin levels, which can help protect us against type 2 diabetes. Prevent chronic diseases and live a longer life. Studies have shown promising results that intermittent fasting can help prevent neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, fight inflammation, and reduce oxidative stress. Less oxidative stress means slower aging and a longer life. You can incorporate intermittent fasting while following whichever kind of lifestyle suits you, but it's become common among low-carb dieters. If you watch my Keto 101 video, you know that a diet high in fat can get you into ketosis, which I mentioned earlier. When you're in ketosis, you tend to stay satiated for much longer, and you don't have as many cravings. So adjusting to intermittent fasting and skipping a meal can feel easier or more bearable. If you aren't on a low-carb diet, you can still try intermittent fasting, just recognize that you may feel hungrier, especially at first. If you struggle with portion control or have an addictive relationship with food, it can help to track calories to make sure that you don't overeat at those meals. But I really don't recommend intermittent fasting for someone who doesn't have a healthy relationship with food because it's so important that you're able to view food as fuel rather than a reward for this to work effectively. Who else should be careful with considering intermittent fasting? But you should also know that there aren't enough long-term studies on intermittent fasting in humans to draw definitive conclusions just yet, so really listen to your body. Everyone will respond differently, and just like any other lifestyle choice, intermittent fasting won't be for everyone. What's most important is that you inform yourself as best you can. Keep in mind that there's nothing dangerous about intermittent fasting in general. If you're healthy and well-nourished overall, then it can be a helpful tool. One thing I don't love about intermittent fasting is that a lot of people try to use it as an excuse to not eat well. I've always said that if you don't have the eating whole foods and avoiding processed foods thing down yet, don't waste your time. What you eat matters more than when. The when that intermittent fasting tackles is more of a specific detail for those who have truly reached a plateau following a healthy lifestyle that nourishes their body. One last note I wanna bring to your attention is that while intermittent fasting can help some people overcome a weight loss plateau, remember that our bodies can adjust to this new schedule too. So if you've been incorporating intermittent fasting for a while, it could be time to switch it up or you may wanna do a few weeks on and a few off to keep your body guessing. I hope you found this helpful. Remember, I definitely recommend doing your own research to find which approach to intermittent fasting resonates with you if you choose to try it out. But first and foremost, really be honest with yourself about whether or not you've truly hit a plateau before making any extreme changes. It could be that tightening up your existing routine and finding that discipline will make a big difference. If you want more educational videos like this, be sure to give this video a thumbs up and share it if you thought it was helpful. I will see you all in a few days and remember, it's all a matter of mind over munch.