Sixteen hours of food break is the formula for intermittent fasting. A method that is suitable for any adult in good health well documented or followed by a professional. The most comfortable way to do this is to have a full dinner before 7 p.m. and eat normally at noon the next day. Exit the breakfast.

Healthy people can get started after having researched well.

Adaptable and modifiable

The advantage of this way of eating is that it is easy to implement, it is adaptable and modifiable, compatible with an active social life, by sacrificing only breakfast. And the result is quickly felt on the level of the body and the spirit “with a feeling of mental relief, due in particular to the better balance of the microbiota”, Specifies Audrey Elsen, nutrition therapist and nutrition coach,”and the fact that digestion uses 30 to 50% of our energy: if we snack all day, we are tired”.

When we fast for at least 16 hours, the body automatically goes into deep cleansing mode during which the body’s homeostasis and its regenerative forces can operate. “In short, we eliminate toxins and pounds of fat”. Dangerous for your health ? No ! First because “overeating, it tires out and prevents the body from self-healing, so it is much more dangerous to overeat than to indulge in periods of digestive rest”, Explains the specialist,“and it has nothing to do with fad diets which are of concern for the health”.

The benefits are numerous

Fasting for 16 hours allows you to regulate your weight and satiety, it reduces inflammation, fights against oxidative stress, encourages cell regeneration, contributes to the slowing down of the aging process, the intestinal flora is better balanced and we also noted a improvement of the hormonal profile: among other things, intermittent fasting will help normalize the level of ghrelin (the hunger hormone). “What people see the fastest is visceral weight loss, you see that little belly or the “love handles.”, Smiles Audrey Elsen.

But is it as easy as having dinner early and skipping breakfast? Yes and no. First of all, the good observance of the fast also depends on the metabolism and the glycemia of each one. And the psychological fear of “missing out”. Audrey Elsen often advises her patients to fast first “one day out of two or three days a week or off on weekends. Varying the rhythms is like running in intervals, we see more results. You have to be able to get used to it before you crack and feel like a failure and give up. ”

Then, the corollary of this fast is to drink a lot to drain and eat properly during the 8am window. “A priori there is no restriction but you must eat a balanced diet and vary your poisons, as a saying goes: a little bit of everything including lean meats, fish, whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables with a little sauce that gives flavor”. We can then also benefit from the calorie reduction necessarily at the rendezvous: “Between 200 and 600 calories per day depending on metabolism and up to 800 when you drop a sweet breakfast”. Audrey Elsen advises to monitor your weight every two weeks but above all to measure your well-being at the waist in test pants!

Contraindications, there are ultimately few. Women in preconception, pregnant or breastfeeding should not have recourse to it, as should children and adolescents. People exhausted over time or in burnout either.

And the breakfast?

But then, breakfast totally has-been? “No ! For some people, I recommend adapting your breakfast by eating salty: eggs, bacon, salmon, beans, the rest from last night, a spread of vegetables, goat cheese, nuts, hummus … . Sugar is eliminated as much as possible and it is replaced by a supply of good fats and fibers ”. Result: we are not hungry at all because the glycemic peak will not rise high, we do not snack and we conserve energy that is good ”. And we can consume 5 eggs per week without problem.