How I Lost 5 KGs Weight Without Exercise
Disclaimer: I am not a medical expert, this is just about what worked for me.
The best diet is the one you can stick to.
The title isn't a clickbait, but rather it is what exactly this post is going to be about - nutrition or strength training is not the focus, weight is the only number of focus. I didn't starve myself and didn't become unhealthy - my blood tests show the same results before and after.
I didn't intentionally reduce my calorie intake nor did I do any cardio. I lost weight because of Intermittent Fasting(IF). If you are new to IF, it's a process where you eat and fast in certain time slots. There are several variants of this - alternate day fasting, 5:2 diet, 16/8 diet. Our body goes into fasting state after 12 hours of fast - this is when the body can access the fat which is generally not accessible otherwise. IF is also supposed to increase metabolism rate which results in more weight loss. It has many other benefits, but I will stick to weight loss which is our topic.
16/8 is the most commonly followed IF where you eat within the 8 hour window and fast for 16 hours. I have started with 14/10 as 14 hours fast is supposed to be enough for women and as I was a beginner to IF. Skipping breakfast and having one or two large meals from noon to night is the most common practice. But I have chosen to skip dinner and my eating slot is between 8 AM and 6 PM - because I love breakfast food and didn't want to miss on it. I snack enough just before 6 so that I don't feel hunger later. I had enough of my pizzas, ice creams and other junk food within this slot. I barely moved a bone. I managed to lose 5 KGs in about four months eating heavily and not doing any exercise.
I took this slow, because I wanted IF as a lifestyle and not like a 30 day challenge. IF is something which has suited me. Every body is different and may be some other diet plan works better for you than IF - like having 6 short meals through out the day. The best way to learn what suits your body is through experimentation.
If you intend to take up IF, research enough about it. There's plenty of information and you will find many tips about eating right during IF for maximum benefit and to avoid muscle loss by taking up more protein.
The idea of this post is stating about the simplicity of IF. I didn't plan on eating healthy, but I plan to now. Less rules and simplicity always work for long term. Sticking to IF was the only rule I had so far, now that IF is a stable habit of my life, I plan to focus on nutrition first and may be on strength training later.
~
The best diet is the one you can stick to.
 |
| Weight Loss |
The title isn't a clickbait, but rather it is what exactly this post is going to be about - nutrition or strength training is not the focus, weight is the only number of focus. I didn't starve myself and didn't become unhealthy - my blood tests show the same results before and after.
I didn't intentionally reduce my calorie intake nor did I do any cardio. I lost weight because of Intermittent Fasting(IF). If you are new to IF, it's a process where you eat and fast in certain time slots. There are several variants of this - alternate day fasting, 5:2 diet, 16/8 diet. Our body goes into fasting state after 12 hours of fast - this is when the body can access the fat which is generally not accessible otherwise. IF is also supposed to increase metabolism rate which results in more weight loss. It has many other benefits, but I will stick to weight loss which is our topic.
16/8 is the most commonly followed IF where you eat within the 8 hour window and fast for 16 hours. I have started with 14/10 as 14 hours fast is supposed to be enough for women and as I was a beginner to IF. Skipping breakfast and having one or two large meals from noon to night is the most common practice. But I have chosen to skip dinner and my eating slot is between 8 AM and 6 PM - because I love breakfast food and didn't want to miss on it. I snack enough just before 6 so that I don't feel hunger later. I had enough of my pizzas, ice creams and other junk food within this slot. I barely moved a bone. I managed to lose 5 KGs in about four months eating heavily and not doing any exercise.
I took this slow, because I wanted IF as a lifestyle and not like a 30 day challenge. IF is something which has suited me. Every body is different and may be some other diet plan works better for you than IF - like having 6 short meals through out the day. The best way to learn what suits your body is through experimentation.
Why IF worked for me and may work for you?
- Unintentional calorie deficit: Without me intentionally going on a calorie deficit and counting every calorie, IF ultimately forced me to eat less food - because I had less time to eat! There's only a limited amount of food you can eat in 10 hour window.
- Less junk food: Extending the first point - despite your cravings, you can't consume more junk food in 10 hour window.
- I have realized that all my comfort food(junk) happen in the evenings - when I am comfortably lying on the sofa, late night cravings, midnight depression and so on. Hard stop for eating at 6 PM has cut down all these. Identify your eating patterns and plan your slots accordingly.
- Everyday is a cheat day in IF - I don't have to worry about missing out on pizza and wait for some cheat day to arrive. I only have to plan well to find a pizza before 6 PM.
- Less restriction : My mind rebels when I impose rules on it. To stick to IF, I relaxed all the other rules and just set one rule - eat between 8 AM and 6 PM. It's easy to stick to just one rule, especially when the rule seems more granting than restricting(Eat all the pizza but by 6).
- Easy to follow : It may at first seem like a daunting thing to stop eating for 16 hours, but it's easy once you get a hang of it. You don't have to cook, plan and eat for so many meals in IF, as you may have to in a 6 meal per day diet. It took me about a week to figure out what I need to eat just before 6 PM, so that I don't feel hunger later. IF isn't starving, it's just finding the filling meal just before you finish.
If you intend to take up IF, research enough about it. There's plenty of information and you will find many tips about eating right during IF for maximum benefit and to avoid muscle loss by taking up more protein.
The idea of this post is stating about the simplicity of IF. I didn't plan on eating healthy, but I plan to now. Less rules and simplicity always work for long term. Sticking to IF was the only rule I had so far, now that IF is a stable habit of my life, I plan to focus on nutrition first and may be on strength training later.
~
Comments
Post a Comment