Keto Vs Intermittent Fasting
Isnt that the ketogenic diet? Not exactly the diets are different, but they have parallel benefits. Keto prohibits specific foods, while Intermittent Fasting focuses on healthy eating during certain times.
Evidence supports that the diet can help in losing weight, so how does it work?
Ultimately, the concept isnt strict when it comes to eating a well-rounded diet of whole foods. The goal is to restructure precisely when you eat food rather than what you eat.
Mainly, you dont eat or drink anything while fasting. Then, when its time to eat, youll load up on low-carb, healthy foods like:
- Complex carbohydrates
The beauty of the diet is that you can still eat many of your favorite foods, but only during your eating window. Next, well look at your eating window options.
Food And Meal Plans During Intermittent Fasting
There is no hard and fast rule related to meals that one takes during the fasting window in IF. However, to maximize the benefits of intermittent fasting, it is essential to follow a healthy diet full of nutritious foods, including
- Green vegetables,
- Eggs and other protein sources ,
- Whole grains, including rice, oats, buckwheat, etc.
You must remember to not have any food during your fasting hours except for unsweetened tea and coffee, as well as water otherwise, your hard work will not be fruitful. It is also advised to avoid fruits during your fasting days since they have natural sugar.
It is suggested to avoid packaged products, deep-fried items, frozen food, and sugary beverages altogether. If you keep up with it for a month, you will see a good change in your body.
Your Metabolism Is Slower Than Before
That decrease in muscle mass is likely to slow your metabolism, a complex process that converts food calories into energy, according to the Mayo Clinic. Having more fat and less muscle reduces calorie burning. Many people also become less active with age for various reasons, which further slows the number of calories you burn. Age isnt the only thing that determines your metabolic rate, however your body size and sex play a role. So do certain health conditions, such as hypothyroidism or Cushings syndrome, which become more prevalent with age as well.
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Healthy Habits To Lose Weight After 70
In old age, weight gain occurs due to several reasons other than aging. For instance, lifestyle, eating habits, and lack of physical activity may cause you to add more pounds, so you have to cut out these habits for a healthier life. Have a workout routine and diet plan that is best suited to your needs, bearing in mind that your body is not the same as it was when you were younger. As you grow older, your bones and muscles are more delicate therefore, too much weight loss, extreme exercise, and weight loss diets may not be the best way to lose weight for women and men over 70.
The Truth About Intermittent Fasting For Seniors
The truth about intermittent fasting is that it isnt some magic bullet for weight loss and improving health. Its just a dietary tool that you can use if you find it suits your lifestyle. Its also a fad diet.
The scientific evidence on its efficacy is still only preliminary and we dont know how it will affect your health in the long run. That said, I actually do intermittent fasting myself. I follow the 16:8 principle loosely, which basically means I skip breakfast.
I do this for a couple of reasons. The first is that Im not hungry in the morning and the second is that I love eating larger meals. I have a desk job so my activity levels are limited even though Im otherwise active.
If I eat the typical recommended 3 meals with a snack in between, the meals will be very small. I prefer eating one large meal at lunch, a smaller one at dinner and another smaller one before bed. I typically try to squeeze them in the 8-hour window but Im not pedantic about it. If it goes to 10 hours, so be it, Im not going to sweat over it.
And this is the key take away intermittent fasting as a trend has shown: The amount of daily meals and at what time you eat them doesnt really seem to matter. The only thing that matters is what you eat and how much you eat.
So if you eat exactly the same amount of calories with the same macronutrient split on one meal vs six meals makes no difference. Its only a matter of personal preference.
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Is If Right For You
Intermittent fasting isnt for everyone. If you are underweight or have a history of eating disorders, check with your doctor before making any significant changes to your diet. Seniors, in particular, have important nutritional needs that you want to make sure are continued to be met with any diet, such as getting sufficient iron, calcium, and Vitamin D.
How Fasting Works To Promote Good Health
Essentially, going without food is a positive stressor on your body. It is similar to rigorous exercise that tears down muscle and rebuilds it to become stronger. To learn more about how it can benefit seniors, I turned to Dr. Joseph Mercola and his book Ketofast. Here are the mechanisms of fasting that are beneficial.
Detoxification
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Intermittent Fasting For Seniors: The Key To Staying Young & Living Longer
The desire to look and feel one’s best doesn’t diminish with age for most women. The 16/8 method of intermittent fasting can be a safe and effective weight loss and anti-aging method for senior women. It promotes fat loss, improved memory, and a longer life span.
“Aging is out of your control. How you handle it, though, is in your hands.” â Diane Von Furstenberg, fashion designer, age 74.
A mature woman may have seen a few more sunrises, but it doesn’t mean she is ready to fade into the sunset.
Sixty-five and older is the consensus on what is considered senior, but an arbitrary number doesn’t define how a woman feels about herself on the inside. The body ages a lot quicker than the brain. Many women say it is not until they catch a glimpse of themselves in a mirror that they remember they aren’t 20, 30, or 40 years old anymore.
There typically appears to be a shift in wellness priorities as women age, from looking good to the desire to feel good. However, one study of women ages 61-92 revealed that although older women will state health as their primary reason for losing weight, the #1 driver is actually vanity . Many senior women, regardless of age, still desire to be at an ideal weight to feel sexy and confident.
If you are under 60 but above 50, you may want to check this specific article for women above 50 that fast.
Im Trying To Gain Muscle Is If Beneficial
Intermittent fasting is often linked to weight loss, since it aids in healthy fat loss and can also make it easier for you to stay in a caloric deficit. However, while losing weight you can lose not only body fat and water, but muscle, too. The best way to preserve and gain muscle is by combining a high-protein diet and strength training. If youre having trouble reaching your daily protein goal, you should consider incorporating a non-GMO Collagen Peptides supplement. Not only is it a great, carb-free source of pure protein, but collagen has also been shown to aid in the muscle gain process and protect muscular structure.
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Can If Work For Women Over 50
The short answer is yes. Intermittent fasting has shown promise for both premenopausal and postmenopausal women.
One study looked at alternate-day fasting in 75 obese men and women. For 12 weeks, participants ate 500 calories on fasting days and as much as they liked on non-fasting days.
Regardless of sex or menopausal status, everyone benefited on average. All groups saw similar reductions in fat mass, fasting insulin, insulin resistance, and blood pressure. Interestingly, postmenopausal women saw greater declines in LDL cholesterol than premenopausal women.
Another group of researchers looked at a type of fasting called time-restricted feeding . When you practice TRF, you eat all your daily calories in a compressed time frame.
In the study, obese women ate within a 4 to 6 hour feeding window for 8 weeks. For those familiar with IF protocols, this is somewhere between 16/8 and OMAD.
The results were similar to the previous study. Both pre and postmenopausal women lost weight and showed metabolic improvements.
These are desirable benefits for women over 50. Due to declines in the hormone estrogen, postmenopausal women are at higher risk for weight gain, cardiovascular disease, and blood sugar regulation issues. More research is needed, but IF may help offset these risks.
Up Until What Age Can A Person Adopt Intermittent Fasting
As weve already mentioned, there arent any strict, age-related limitations when it comes to IF. This dietary pattern could be a great choice even for the elderly, as long as theyve consulted with their healthcare provider/nutrition specialist. Whats more, there isnt any firm evidence regarding the risks of this kind of lifestyle in older individuals. Fasting could, however, pose a problem for people who need to take their medications with food, or who take heart or blood pressure medications, since they could be at risk of imbalances in potassium and sodium during the fasting window.
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Youre Busier With Work
You may also find yourself too busy to break for lunch, increasing the odds that youll scarf down something from the vending machine or order in calorie-dense takeout food, notes Rachel Lustgarten, RD, a nutritionist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. As for work-related stress, that can militate against a healthy weight, too. The stress hormone cortisol increases the level of the hormone ghrelin, which causes you to eat more, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis in the March 2021 Nutrients.
When Should I Exercise
When Varady and her colleagues conducted a study that combined alternate day fasting and exercise, they allowed the participants to pick whether they wanted to exercise on a feasting or fasting day, and found there was no strong preference one way or the other. But the researchers were surprised the dieters actually reported feeling more energetic on fasting days.
That being said, exercise before you eat because people get hungry about half an hour after they finish working out and may find it too hard to stick to their plan if they cant eat anything at all afterwards, Varady noted.
If youre on the 16:8 plan, exercise before or during your eating window. If youre doing alternate day fasting and are exercising on your 500-calorie day, save food for after your exercise session.
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Mistake #: Youre Not Sure What Counts
The one greatest thing about intermittent fasting is it allows a lot of wiggle room in your daily diet. Thats why people love it so much and what actually makes it an effective weight-loss tool your favorite treats lose their gorge appeal because they arent ever off-limits.
But thats also where it becomes a little tricky when you do it on your own. Because its easy to take it too far.
You can definitely have your favorite treats without destroying any progress. But whats key is finding that happy medium between eating what you love and a healthy, well-rounded diet.
And that becomes especially important when you hit your 60s. Why?
As you age, your metabolism starts to slow. Your body needs a certain amount of nutrients, including carbs, protein, and fat, plus the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that come with those foods to keep it going, says nutritionist Christine Ellis.
If it doesnt get enough, it simply wont be able to burn calories efficiently and will end up storing them as fat. That doesnt mean you have to change your whole diet drastically just vary your foods a little.
Pro Tip #2: YES! Eating the foods you love and losing weight is possible. But you will need to balance out carbs, fiber, fats, and protein-based on your age, physical shape, and medical conditions if you want to achieve sustainable results. The easiest way to do that is to find a personalized fasting program that offers a custom meal plan based on your needs and preferences.
Learn The Risks Before Diving Into This Experimental Eating Style
Intermittent fasting is a popular eating strategy being studied in labs and practiced in kitchens across America. And it’s more than a fad. Restricting your calories or mealtimes may have the potential for many benefits, such as weight loss and reduced risk of various diseases. We don’t have much evidence, however, about intermittent fasting’s effect on the health of older adults.
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Expect To Gain Back Most Or All Of The Lost Weight
Another important note, especially for those who fast to lose weight. Most of the weight you will lose during a fast is water weight, and quickly returns as you reintroduce foods. This is normal and natural. Dont be discouraged. You have still improved your metabolism and have taken a considerable step toward better health.
If it happens that your doctor advises you against fasting, but you still would like to participate in the observance of a ritual fast such as the upcoming Lenten season, there may be alternative ways to do so. For instance, you can choose to cut out sugar, coffee or alcohol. You could also try a media fastsuch as no TV, switching off internet on your mobile devices, etc.
However you fast, just be sure to keep your safety and well-being in mind, and follow the proper steps to ensure that not only you are doing it safely, but also that you are not minimizing the positive effects the fast can have on your life.
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If Youre Over 65 The Mediterranean Diet Can Lower Mortality Risk By 25%
New research shows the Mediterranean diet is a healthy choice for adults at any age.
Even if youre in your golden years, its never too late to consider changing your diet.
Nutritionists have touted the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for years, and new research suggests that its beneficial for adults of any age.
The Mediterranean diet was associated with lower all-cause mortality and prolonged survival in elderly people, according to a study published this month in the British Journal of Nutrition.
We already knew that the Mediterranean diet is able to reduce the risk of mortality in the general population, but we did not know whether it would be the same specifically for elderly people, said Marialaura Bonaccio, PhD, researcher at the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, and first author of the study Italian Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed .
But it does appear to do exactly that.
Bonaccio and her team found that adherence to a Mediterranean diet resulted in a 25 percent lower risk of mortality of all-cause death in a large sample of elderly individuals. Additionally, through a meta-analysis of seven other studies on the Mediterranean diet, they found that the closer individuals followed the diet, the greater the health payoff.
For their own prospective study, they recruited a cohort of more than five-thousand individuals age 65 or older in southern Italy, and followed up with these individuals for up to eight years, on average.
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How To Break An Intermittent Fast
There really isnt much to do in the way of breaking an intermittent fast. However, to get the most out of your fasting, you can eat some specific foods that will be wholesome and good for your body. These include raw fruits and vegetables, bone broth, leafy green vegetables , and vegetable soup. Include antioxidant foods like pumpkin, grapes, berries, mango, carrots, and green tea. Extra virgin olive oil is recommended for cooking or salad dressings. For dessert, be sure to have fresh fruit or dark chocolate.
Youre Undergoing Normal Hormonal Changes
According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, both men and women undergo changes in hormone levels that help explain why middle age is prime time for putting on pounds.
For women, menopause which tends to happen between ages 45 and 55, according to the National Institute on Aging causes a significant drop in estrogen that encourages extra pounds to settle around the belly, explains Dr. Griebeler. This shift in fat storage may make the weight gain more noticeable and increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes.
In addition, Griebeler notes, fluctuations in estrogen levels during perimenopause, the years leading up to menopause, may cause fluctuations in mood that make it more difficult to stick to a healthy diet and exercise plan. As a result, the average weight gain during the transition to menopause is about five pounds, according to UC San Diego Health.
Men, on the other hand, experience a significant drop in testosterone as they age. It begins to decline gradually around age 40 at a rate of about 1 to 2 percent per year, notes Harvard Health. Testosterone is responsible for, among other things, regulating fat distribution and muscle strength and mass. In other words, lower testosterone can make the body less effective at burning calories.
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