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Writer's pictureDeepika Chalasani

Intermittent Fasting – Are you doing it right?

When it comes to losing body weight, there’s a number of ways one can go about doing this. Intermittent Fasting has become a trendy and popular method in recent times with many achieving fantastic results. But finding the right formula for you, even for a method such as Intermittent Fasting is best done under the right guidance.

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a type of eating pattern or meal schedule to achieve a variety of weight loss goals. Intermittent fasting can mean simply not munching in between meals or an eating pattern where one consumes no or fewer calories for time periods ranging from 12 hours to several days.

According to the best nutritionists and top dieticians in Hyderabad, IF has an amazing array of benefits but it is important to understand the concept of IF and actually practice it. It is widely assumed that IF is simple and that you are allowed to eat during a certain period of time, let’s say 12 hours and then not eat for the next 12 in a 24 hour period. But it is not as simple as that, and consulting a nutritionist in Hyderabad before starting your IF journey is highly advised.



Here are some of the basics you need to know about Intermittent Fasting.

· Intermittent Fasting does not simply mean ‘not eating’. It means ‘not eating’ and also making use of the body’s stored fat during the fasting phase.

· This switching from Meal Calories, to actually using the calories from the body’s fat store is called Metabolic Flexibility.

· Intermittent Fasting without Metabolic Flexibility actually starves the body because calories from both sources i.e. from Meals and Body Fat are cut off.

· A starving body goes into famine mode and just creates and accumulates more fat by cutting down on its maintenance, which is known as BMR (Body Metabolic Rate). To understand this, think of what you do when you are threatened with the loss of your job – you cut on expenses and increase your savings – essentially planning for a rainy day. Your body does the same here when it is in starvation mode; it starts to store the energy and fat instead of burning it.

· In addition, quick digesting carb meals like Idlies, oats, white rice and even rotis, further push the body into famine mode which may linger on until the next meal and turn most of this into fat. Unfortunately, famine signals make Indians produce more fat than others because in our historical past, we as a people have suffered long famines, due to causes like monsoon failure which meant up to 9 months of famine. All this fat shows up as bulging bellies, which has almost become a trademark for Indians, as other communities of carb eaters do not have this problem.

· Before indulging in Intermittent Fasting, one must check if they have Metabolic Flexibility or not. The following are rough indicators of Metabolic Flexibility:

o BMI – around 23.5 with no signs of a bulging belly

o Fasting Blood Sugar – closer to 90 mg/dl.

o Triglycerides / HDL – 2 or less. (These figures are available in the Lipid Profile)

Before you begin your IF journey, take time to read up about it from good scientific sources.

Better still; consult with a registered nutritionist near you to get the right kind of diet and the best advice on what you need to do, to help you achieve your nutrition and fitness goals.

Watch out for future blogs to learn how you can do simple practical things to improve your Metabolic Flexibility.


Deepika Chalasani is a Clinical Nutritionist, Mind and Body Transformation Coach and co-founder of Fit4Life India, an integrated nutrition and wellness organisation for Indians that provides complete solutions, addressing health and wellness challenges of individuals by working on their overall well-being. Deepika, best nutritionist in Hyderabad for weight loss and online dietician can be contacted via email deepika.chalasani@gmail.com or Mobile +91 94910 11202.


Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent Fasting

Deepika Chalasani is a Clinical Nutritionist, Mind and Body Transformation Coach and co-founder of Fit4Life India, an integrated nutrition and wellness organisation for Indians that provides complete solutions, addressing health and wellness challenges of individuals by working on their overall well-being. Deepika, best nutritionist in Hyderabad for weight loss and online dietician can be contacted via email deepika.chalasani@gmail.com or Mobile +91 94910 11202.





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