Intermittent fasting helps the girl keep her waist 60 cm

Bui Hong An, a freelancer, has a balanced body with a height of 1,62 meters, weighs 52 kg and measures 3 rounds of 80-63-94. However, an unhealthy lifestyle makes her unable to keep her original figure.

An said, because she is afraid to go to the kitchen, she often eats at restaurants, often drinks alcohol and drinks, buys ready-to-eat food to take home. In 2022, An's weight increased to 55 kg, waist circumference reached nearly 70 cm, or was often sick, digestive disorders, abdominal distension. She felt the body becoming weak, loose fat in the thighs, buttocks, biceps.

Worried about her health and low self-esteem, the girl began to learn scientific methods of eating, determined to change herself. An's principle is not to choose a way to lose weight "instantly" in a week or a month, but choose a sustainable method to maintain health. After a period of experience, she found that the clean eating method was most suitable for her, not having to fast or eat hard to squeeze fat.

“Eat clean” focuses on choosing minimally processed foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. This way of eating contributes to promoting health, keeping the natural flavor of food. Along with eat clean, An chooses 4-4-12 or 16-8 intermittent fasting depending on the schedule.

Intermittent fasting is a term that describes cyclical diets and fasting. The method gives the body enough time to fully consume food, while strictly limiting the amount of calories tolerated. Intermittent fasting is usually a time-limited form of fasting (eating for 6-8 hours and fasting for the remaining 16-18 hours). This stimulates the body to convert glucose-based energy to ketone-based energy, which helps to reduce stress, reduce the incidence of cancer, obesity and increase longevity.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in late 2021 found that intermittent fasting reduced stress, reduced cancer risk, increased obesity, increased longevity, and aided in weight loss.

When he wakes up in the morning, An drinks a cup of vegetable juice such as celery and apple; or warm mixed cassava, warm chlorophyll water to purify the body. Breakfast is oats, nut milk, fruit and salad. She limits the consumption of vermicelli, pho, and bread because of their high starch content and almost no fiber. Lunch and dinner are 4-5 hours apart, enough 4 groups of substances are fiber, protein, starch, good fat.

Besides intermittent fasting, An also eats in its own order, from vegetables to meat, and finally to starch to quickly feel full. This is an effective weight loss method recommended by many nutritionists.

According to Doctor Truong Hong Son, Director of Applied Medicine in Vietnam, eating vegetables before meals will help stimulate the digestive system to work. This activity is not too heavy but takes place gently and smoothly because vegetables are rich in fiber, not too dry. If you eat rice and meat at first, it will cause the stomach lining to secrete a lot of gastric juice to digest dry and hard foods, which can easily lead to stomach pain.

“Therefore, the habit of eating vegetables first will benefit the digestive system as well as the way our body absorbs food,” said Son, adding that filling an empty stomach with vegetables will make you quickly feel full, not wanting to eat more. From here, we can control the sugar and fat content in food in a better way.

An chooses to buy a lot of clean fruits and vegetables, giving priority to eating fruits such as avocado, banana, orange, dragon fruit, pineapple, apple, green vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli. In addition, she adds nuts to add good fats, takes more omega 3, uses olive oil in the cooking process.

She finds that the most difficult part of the change process is maintaining new habits and giving up the habits that have been with her for more than 20 years.

“Most people always think that eating like this is difficult and difficult, but for me, the spirit is very important. So, every week, I eat 1-2 meals according to personal preferences to be more comfortable, not too affecting weight loss, "she said.

In addition to eating, An maintains 15-30 minutes of exercise every day. After three months, her body improved positively, weight from 54 kg to 50 kg, waist 67 cm to 60 cm, lower abdomen reduced to 72 cm, buttocks, thighs, body firmer, fat percentage reduced. The condition of minor illnesses is also improved, from which the spirit is refreshed and sleeps better.

An said that her priority is to choose beauty - health - rejuvenation from the inside, so she persists in applying 4 groups of essential substances in food. From her experience, she advises people not to lose weight by fasting, cutting substances such as starch, fat; Listen to your body to find the right diet.

Thuy Quynh