Does your stomach and intestines also need some rest time? Light fasting helps lose weight and reawakens intestinal motility

When it comes to losing weight, the four-character motto of "eat less and exercise more" is indispensable. However, if you don't master the trick, it is difficult to lose weight even if you eat very little, let alone maintain it. In recent years, there has been a trend of intermittent fasting in Europe and the United States. It not only helps to lose weight, but also allows the body to get some rest. The so-called fasting method is to achieve the effect of weight loss and detoxification through a restrained diet for a specific period of time. It is divided into several types according to different standards. There are currently 3 common intermittent fasting methods.

1.16:8 Fasting Method: It originated from The 8 Hour Diet, co-authored by David Zinczenko and Peter Moore in the United States. It condenses the daily dining time into 8 hours, and fasts for the other 16 hours, only drinking water. However, although there is no calorie limit during meal times, you still need to choose your food carefully to avoid the opposite effect. You can choose high-quality protein, fiber, low-fat, low-sugar foods, such as yogurt, boiled chicken, vegetables, guava, bananas, etc.

2.5:2 fasting method: choose 2 days a week as fasting days, and there are no dietary restrictions on the other 5 days. The two days of fasting do not need to be consecutive. When fasting, women should consume 500 calories a day and men 600 calories. To eat a balanced diet within limited calories, you can choose half a bowl of low GI staple food, such as brown rice or oatmeal. Pair it with protein, such as eggs, unsweetened soy milk, and yogurt, and eat more vegetables.

This fasting method originated in the UK. It can reduce the body's intake of toxins and excrete toxins originally in the body during rest days. And after working hard for a day, you can eat normally the next day, so it won’t affect your life much.

3. Monday fasting method: The Monday fasting method comes from Japan, which means fasting for 24 hours and only drinking water or caffeine-free drinks. It should be noted that cold water and caffeinated beverages can cause gastrointestinal discomfort, and when returning to a normal diet, avoid eating large amounts of meat, fish, and high-fat foods to avoid irritating the stomach.

The first meal after resuming your diet should avoid foods that are difficult to digest, irritating, or greasy, as these will put a burden on your stomach and intestines. You can choose yogurt, yam and brown rice porridge, blanched vegetables, lean pork slices, etc. to provide high-quality nutrition for the stomach and intestines.

It should be noted that any type of fasting is not recommended for people with chronic diseases, malnutrition, or low body fat. It is also recommended that people discuss the diet menu with a nutritionist before doing so to avoid any NGs that may affect their health.

Let the intestines rest and help restore intestinal motility

Fasting for a specific period of time allows the stomach and intestines to rest, which can actually help restore intestinal function. But why does the stomach and intestines need rest time? Due to the westernization of diet, we tend to consume too much high-fat and high-sugar food. In addition to three meals a day, eating a bag of fried chicken late at night to reward ourselves for a day's hard work will increase the burden on the intestines. A bad diet can affect the imbalance of intestinal flora. When there are more bad bacteria than good bacteria or too few flora, problems such as stomach pain and gastroenteritis are likely to occur. Moreover, 70% of immune cells live in the intestines. Imbalance of flora not only leads to obesity, but also affects immune function, causing intestinal inflammation, and even dry skin and mood swings.

If you want to keep your stomach healthy, in addition to giving your stomach some rest time, you should also pay attention to taking in an appropriate amount of carbohydrates and high-fiber vegetables. You can also choose yogurt, kimchi, miso, etc. Fermented foods can help enrich the good bacteria in the intestines and make the stomach healthier!