For many people, fasting is a healthy and effective dietary practice that has many science-backed health benefits. However, it’s important to start any fasting practice with caution and a good system in place for planning and tracking your journey. These are just some of the many ways you can fast safely and effectively, and these apps and gadgets will make it easier.
1. Use a Fasting Tracker
According to research in CMLS, restricting calories can prevent many age-related diseases in mammals. When you are planning to fast, the timing is important when deciding to fast. Different types of fasts have different timing of meals, and each person may respond differently to fasting. Thus, a personal fasting tracker can be of immense help. Xero is a popular intermittent fasting tracker with a library of content.
In this app you can learn from some of the world’s leading researchers and doctors. Xero covers diets like keto, vegan and low-carb, as well as simple calorie tracking. The app gives detailed statistics about your fasting duration, including different stages of fasting, and syncs data from Google Fit.
With milestone rewards and achievements, Xero brings simplification to fasting. You can enter challenges and even invite friends to start fasting together. Xero makes all types of fastening easy and enables you to create custom presets. With a paid subscription, you can also access videos and articles from health experts.
2. Keep yourself hydrated
During intermittent fasting, you typically abstain from food for 12–16 hours at a time. It is very important to keep yourself hydrated during intermittent fasting. According to a study in the journal Nutrients, water from food accounts for more than 20 percent of the average person’s daily water intake.
Thus, if you don’t actively increase the amount of water you drink, you can risk dehydration when fasting for extended periods.
Water Reminder App is a simple yet feature-rich app that can help you stay hydrated throughout the day. You can select different water doses, create a reminder schedule, and track your progress over time. On a smartwatch, you can get reminders without reaching for your phone.
If you want a more concrete water reminder throughout the day, then a smart water bottle is the right choice. While they may seem unnecessary, smart water bottles are better for tracking daily water intake. Since they can accurately track how much water you drink, the reminders are also more personalized to your needs. Additionally, LED information built into the bottles makes them hard to miss.
3. Distract Yourself
Dietary restriction can promote blood sugar control, according to 21 Days of Heroes. However, staying away from food for long periods of time takes practice. If you’re just starting out, this will probably be the hardest part. Hence, keeping yourself busy with other activities can help in diverting your attention. Guided meditation, podcasts, brain training, and language learning are great ways to keep yourself busy.
Calm is one of the best apps if you want to practice meditation. A subscription gives you access to their extensive library of guided meditations, breathing exercises, soothing music and more. Or complete a quick session in less than five minutes. You can also listen to guided sessions narrated by popular personalities.
Mentally stimulating apps like Duolingo, Elevate, and NeuroNation are a few other apps that provide a lot of value and can distract you from eating. They are highly engaging and fun and can help you develop new skills. So these apps can keep you busy for a long time. Plus, mentally stimulating apps can keep your brain young.
4. Count Your Calories
Calorie tracking is useful even when you’re not fasting. But tracking calories during a fast will ensure that you don’t overeat or consume excess calories, as breaking the fast should be a gradual and controlled process.
Mealime and Lifesum are two of the best meal-planning apps that promote healthy eating. They have plenty of diet-specific dishes curated by the chefs to cater to all your needs. By using these apps you can plan what to eat before and after fasting and reduce the risk of excess calorie consumption.
According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, you burn more fat when you exercise during fasting periods. Therefore, it is important to monitor how many calories you burn. Fitness trackers like Fitbit, Apple Watch, Garmin, and WHOOP can help you keep track of your activity levels.