8 Hour Diet- A Complete Guide
Do you want to know the secret to losing weight while still being able to eat delicious foods? It is the 8-Hour Diet! This is one of the simplest diet plans out there, and it has many other benefits apart from helping shed those unwanted pounds.
Would you like to know more about this diet plan? Keep reading!
What Are The Principles Behind The 8-Hour Diet?
The 8-Hour Diet is guided by two scientific principles, even if you follow it for just 3 days in a week. Firstly, it is the manner in which calories are stored by your body, which is in the form of glycogen. The glycogen present in your liver is the source of energy that is most easily accessible. By burning through these stores, your body is forced to start burning fat to gain energy. The 8-Hour Diet teaches you how to trigger the “furnace” in your body that burns fat while you sleep, so that the flab can get stripped away right from the moment you wake up!
Secondly, the 8-Hour Diet stimulates the function of the mitochondria, the source of energy that is inside the cells of your body. When this function is enhanced, the energy output is maximized while the level of intracellular damage caused by poor diet is reduced. This results in the slowing down of the aging process and minimization of the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and even Alzheimer’s Disease.
How Does The 8-Hour Diet Work?
According to David Zinczenko and Peter Moore, authors of the book ‘The 8-Hour Diet: Watch the Pounds Disappear Without Watching What You Eat!’, those unwanted extra pounds will drop when you eat only within an eight-hour period for 3 days a week.
The theory behind this diet is that you give your body a chance to reset when you only eat food during the eight-hour period. This in turn allows your body to process nutrients and effectively eliminate toxins the way it is supposed to. According to the authors, lifestyles in this modern age involve grazing, or eating around the clock, and this does not give your body sufficient time to burn all the calories that it is required to. This is what it says in an excerpt in the book: ‘In the simplest terms, the 8-Hour Diet is a way of extending the period between your last snack and your ‘breakfast,’ giving your body the chance to burn away your fat stores for the energy it needs. And burn them it does.’
With this diet, calorie intake is restricted to an eight-hour window while the other 16 hours of the day is spent fasting. In this fasted state, you cannot take in any calories, which can be converted into usable energy. You can fast for 16 hours a day anywhere between 3 to 7 days weekly; this depends entirely on your goals. During the eight-hour window where you can eat, you can take any food or beverage that you desire in as many meals as you want.
Restriction of calories is not required, but the authors recommend:
- Eating a specific combination of certain foods that are rich in nutrients – fruits and vegetables, high-fiber whole grains, healthy fats and lean protein.
- Taking in an adequate amount of water throughout the day.
When you follow the 8-Hour Diet, you can choose your own non-fasting eight-hour period. It could be from 9 AM to 5 PM or 3 PM to 11 PM. However, it is highly recommended that you break your fast during the later hours of the day so that the burning of fat and weight loss are maximized. To make sure the effectiveness of the diet is boosted, some form of exercise just before your first meal is also recommended. The authors provide 8-minute exercise routines that are comprised of resistance training and cardio intervals.
Benefits Of The 8-Hour Diet:
This diet has quite a few benefits, which is why it is popular among fitness enthusiasts, athletes and people who are looking for a way to lose weight. Although it is considered to be just another “diet fad” by many fitness and health professionals, eating food the way the 8-Hour Diet recommends has been proven to be actually beneficial for effective management of weight as well as overall good health.
Apart from lowering the risk of the health conditions mentioned earlier, the 8-Hour Diet also comes with the following pros:
- The foods that you consume (lean protein, healthy fats and high-quality carbs) help in filling your stomach, thus keeping cravings and overeating at bay and controlling your appetite. This makes it easier for you to lose weight.
- The inclusion of daily workouts is another benefit of following this popular diet plan. The 8-minute exercise program will help in promoting muscle maintenance. This, in turn, will help in the preservation of metabolism that is important when you follow any type of diet.
- You have the freedom to choose your own eight-hour feasting period. This means that you can create a window that works for you and your schedule. All you need to do is keep in mind that fasting should be broken during the later hours of the day to boost fat-burning and weight loss.
The 8-Hour Diet could be the answer that you are looking for if you are looking for a way to lose weight without having to eat pitiful amounts of food. With this diet, you get to eat delicious and nutritious foods that contain calories. All that is required on your part is making sure that you eat foods that are nutrient-dense and getting a little exercise before you eat your first meal. Once you start the 8 Hour Diet, you will get awesome results in a matter of weeks, and your overall health will be greatly improved as well.