The human body is an incredible organism that is still one of the most fascinating things to think about. Many people make it one of their life goals to achieve the bodies that they have always wanted, but unfortunately, this is often easier said than done.
Whether the issue is that you are too tall or too short, or whether you believe you are too fat or too skinny, there will always be something about your body that you do not like. The important thing to remember is that if you can change your body for the better, you should find a safe and healthy way to do so. For example, if you believe that you are not muscular enough, then you may end up overworking your body trying to gain more muscle.
One of the most common issues that people face is when they believe that they are too fat. As being overweight often comes with eating too much, most people believe that by cutting out the food from their lives, they can quickly and easily lose weight. However, the truth is a little bit more complex than this.
The body is designed for survival, and when it senses that it is not getting the nutrients it needs, your brain will send signals to your stomach and intestines to hold on to the nutrients and fat as the survival instincts do not know when the next meal will come. There is an art to starving yourself in a manner that you can lose weight in.
If you want to lose weight through fasting, there are a few things to know beforehand, such as how the body reacts to fasting, how you can lose weight during fasting, and knowing what your body is telling you while you fast.
What Happens to the Body When You Don’t Eat?
When you first begin to look at how to starve yourself, there’s a good chance that you will come across a number of sources mentioning all of the things that starvation can do to the body. More often than not, these usually cover the extreme cases of starvation. But what happens to the body during fasting, when you purposefully starve yourself to lose some weight?
As mentioned earlier, the human body is built for survival. Starvation is the opposite of survival, so it can be hard to starve yourself in a way that will be beneficial overall. Something to keep in mind while doing this is that moderation will be key. Fasting will help you lose weight, but if you take it too far, you will also lose muscle mass, lean muscle mass, and organ size, which is not good for the body.
When you starve yourself, your body needs to use its backup reserves of energy, such as fat, to keep everything working as it should. However, because this is not the preferred way your body wants to run on energy, there are a couple of unwanted side effects that come along with this.
One example is that, as your body loses body fat, it will also begin to lose muscle mass. Your body doesn’t break down only fats when it is in starvation mode. It will also break down lean muscle, as this provides the energy your body needs.
This is one of the most prominent changes that your body makes during fasting, alongside other changes such as a change in your BMI, your metabolism slowing down, and reducing your bone density. When fasting for the purpose of losing weight, you will need to be aware of the potential risks involved so that you can keep yourself as healthy as possible.
How Can You Lose Weight While Fasting?
There are three main ways that people will fast, and choosing the one that works for you may take some research, trial and error, and even consultations with people who specialize in nutrition to ensure that when you do eat, you are getting all of the things that your body needs to survive. There is intermittent fasting, which means that you eat every five hours or so, which often involves skipping a meal each day. There is also the idea of eating your meals as a liquid nutrition shake, cutting out all of the ingredients that are not the nutrients your body needs to survive. Then, there is the fasting that everyone thinks of, which is not eating for a full day.
The Methods of Fasting
The first method is arguably the safest method. You still get the nutrients your body needs to survive, but you also allow enough time to pass in between meals that your body goes into starvation mode and relies on breaking down fat, which is the end result you want. It also means that the effects of the starvation will not be as detrimental on your body, which means that it will recover more quickly, allowing fewer of the bad side effects to affect your life.
The next method is the idea of drinking exogenous ketones. If you follow diets, or read about them at all, then you may recognize the term ketone. Ketones are a source of energy that your body uses when you haven’t eaten, or when you haven’t eaten the right foods and it can help you burn fat.
It is commonly regarded as an alternative source of energy for your body. By turning your meals into shakes and relying on these ketone shakes, you can still get the energy your body needs to keep it from consuming your muscles, but you will still ensure that your body is using fat and ketones as an energy source, allowing you to lose weight through technical starvation, since you won’t be eating any meals.
Finally, there is the idea of starving yourself for a full day. This is not something you should do regularly or for prolonged periods of time. It should always be done under the supervision and guidance of a nutrition expert, as it can have a number of hard side effects on your body.
With this process, the day before, you would eat foods with the macronutrients that your body needs to survive. From there, you would simply not eat for the entire next day. After that, no matter how hungry you are, you would return to eating foods that contain only the macronutrients that your body needs for survival. This is the riskiest form of fasting and it is not recommended for most people.
Tips for Safe Fasting
There are a few things you will need to remember to ensure that you end up fasting safely. For one, even if you do not do a thorough checkup visit with a nutritionist to ensure that you will still be getting everything you need during your fasting, you should still check in with one to be on the safe side. This could involve messaging one or getting in touch with one that you may know personally. You should also do some research on this as well so that you can be prepared if a nutritionist is not an available solution for you.
You should also listen to what your body tells you. Fasting is not going to be a particularly comfortable experience, especially if you are used to eating more often throughout the day. However, if you believe that something isn’t right within your body or that something is going wrong, then you should stop the fasting to alleviate that problem. No matter how much you may want to lose fat, it will not be worth it.
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