24-hour fasting is one of the methods of intermittent fasting. This is a dietary method in which food is consumed only during specific time windows.

Clearly defined periods of the food admission alternate with likewise clearly defined phases of the food renouncement. 24-hour fasting is a way of improving the flexibility of the metabolism. The body learns to use its own stored energy reserves for energy metabolism. In the Western world, most of our energy needs are met by the food we eat.

We recommend fasting for 24 hours at a time, once or twice a week. It is important to then eat consciously for the rest of the week.

On which days you perform the 24-hour fasting and at what times you start the 24-hour fasting period, you can choose as you wish.

Nevertheless, the principles of habit advocate that you define fixed days and start times for yourself. This has the advantage that you can adjust your everyday life and your environment specifically to the fasting period.

With this form of fasting, it has proven practical to have the last meal at noon, for example, and then not to eat again until noon the next day. The fasting period thus runs from lunch to lunch and in that case is exactly 24 hours. In this time only calorie-free beverages, like for example water or tea, are permitted. Nothing is eaten during the 24 hours.

A highly recommended variation is 5:2 fasting, which involves fasting twice a week for 24 hours. This method is suitable for people who want to lose weight and normalize the feeling of hunger and appetite.

If you have already reached your ideal weight and only want to benefit from the further health effects, then one fasting day per week is perfectly sufficient.

Intermittent fasting has numerous positive effects on your physical and mental health.

Physiologically, 24-hour fasting offers two basic benefits:

All these effects of intermittent fasting provide a rationale that losing weight with this method is also possible. In conjunction with proper periodization, physical activity and a healthy lifestyle, significant weight loss is achievable.

But intermittent fasting can also have positive effects from a psychological point of view:

In the state of fasting, especially the blood sugar is stable and there are fewer hormonal fluctuations. In principle, it has been proven that man can manage without food intake even for a longer period of time. It is during these periods that humans can switch from glucose metabolism to fat metabolism and thus even produce more energy (more ATP). This is the reason why people are often more efficient during fasting periods, be it in sports, work or everyday life. Likewise, fasting also has an impact on the mental state, because it has been scientifically proven that mental flexibility is linked to metabolic flexibility. The moment your metabolism is no longer flexible, psychological flexibility decreases at the same time. People find it much more difficult to change or discard habits in this state. This makes high metabolic flexibility all the more important for people who not only want to improve their physical health, but also achieve mental changes.

Intermittent fasting therefore not only has purely physiological benefits, but can also have a positive psychological effect.
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If fasting is done for 24 hours a day, a mechanism is activated in the organism that, on the one hand, converts body fat into energy and, on the other hand, can trigger autophagocytosis. Autophagocytosis describes the self-cleaning power of the body. The cells start to process "themselves". Old cell components are recycled in autophagocytosis and can thus renew themselves all around. This not only makes the cells more efficient, but also prolongs their lifespan.

Many people have difficulty clearly distinguishing between the sensations of thirst, hunger and appetite. This often leads to eating something even though their body has signaled thirst, for example. Likewise, people often eat because of appetite or simply out of habit, not because their body really needs food.

Through the principle of intermittent fasting, you will learn to perceive your hunger better after a short time. In addition, you will then be better able to distinguish hunger from appetite.

Plenty of fluids in the form of tea and water can help you to curb your appetite and, if necessary, hunger during the fasting period.

It is also advisable to inform your environment, family, friends and colleagues when your fasting day is, so that you can be supported.
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Yes, physical exercise is even expressly encouraged!

Sport on an empty stomach even intensifies the positive health aspects of fasting. This is because it helps the body to draw energy from its energy reserves.

Often the phases of the chamfering count to the particularly efficient hours, because the body during the chamfering phase draws increased energy from the fat metabolism and from this clearly more energy than from the glucose metabolism can be made available. Likewise, the body is less busy with digestion during this time, which means that more energy can be provided for the muscles in particular. Many people experience a natural urge to move again during this period, paving the way for a return to sport after long periods of inactivity.

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