Why Intermittent Fasting is Good for You? Will It Give You Abs?

“Will intermittent fasting give me abs?” is one of the most common questions right now. Well, who doesn’t want to have a ripped midsection, right? Having six-pack abs is the goal of many who are going to the gym.

There are many ways to achieve a ripped abdominal section. One of them is intermittent fasting.

Read: Dangers of Intermittent Fasting

But will IF help you get six-pack abs?

Will Intermittent Fasting Alone Give Me Abs? 

Unfortunately, IF alone won’t help you melt off fat. It means that when you do IF for about a week, you won’t instantly get six-pack abs.

IF isn’t a magic bullet. There’s no such thing as a magic solution for the ripped midsection.

Remember that to get six-pack abs, you need to lose weight and fat while you build muscle. The only way to lose weight and fat is through a calorie deficit.

Read: Should You Do OMAD or Keto?

Intermittent fasting can help you lower your calorie intake. However, you should remember that even if you’re fasting intermittently, your calorie intake might still not be lower than what your body can burn.

It’s easy to overeat.

Many people failed to lose weight with IF because they thought that they could just eat anything and not worry about their calorie intake.

But it’s a wrong assumption.

IF won’t help you lose weight if you continue to eat more than what your body can burn.

Now, if you have lowered your calorie intake through IF, you’re on your way to losing weight and fat.

What’s the Next Step? 

After losing weight and fat, you still might not get six-pack abs. The reason for this is that achieving abdominal definition requires diet and exercise.

You already have tackled diet through IF. Now, it’s time for you to define your abs with exercise.

As mentioned earlier, IF alone won’t help you get abs.

Training to Get Killer Abs 

Abdominal muscles are like every other muscle in your body. That is, you need to train them to improve their appearance.

Working out will shape your midsection to look more defined. The abdominal muscles will show once you remove the belly fat that covers them.

Do Cardio 

Cardio or aerobic exercise can increase your heart rate. It burns the extra fat from your body and speeds up your way to get a set of six-pack abs.

This study reveals that doing cardio three times a week could decrease belly fat. The more you do cardio exercise, the great amount of belly fat you will lose, according to this review.

Choose to do vigorous activities each day for 40 minutes.

Running, walking, swimming and biking are just some of the exercises you can do every day to help you lose weight and get rid of the belly fat covering your abdominal muscles.

Exercise Your Abdominal Muscles 

In addition to intermittent fasting and cardio exercises, you also need to exercise your ab muscles to define them.

Plank 

It’s a classic ab exercise. Since it requires minimal movement, there’s less chance for you to get it wrong.

Mountain Climber 

It’s another great exercise for beginners. Here, you need to begin in a straight arm press-up position.

To add intensity, pull your stomach muscles in. It’s not only great for burning calories but it’s also ideal in developing your abs.

Weight Training 

It can prevent muscle loss when losing weight. In a study, researchers found that weight training three days a week could help in maintaining muscles during a fat loss because of intermittent fasting.

Should You Exercise During Fasting Period? 

It doesn’t matter whether you exercise fasted or choose to exercise in your eating window.

However, training may increase your hunger pangs. Furthermore, training while fasted could affect your exercise performance.

It’s especially true if you’re a serious athlete.

But it’s all just a matter of personal preference.

If you think that you can exercise more while fasted, then do it.

What Supplements to Support Your Goal of Getting Abs with IF?

Supplements may help define your ab muscles during intermittent fasting.

Protein and Creatine

Protein supplements will ensure you get enough protein if you don’t get a sufficient amount of protein from your diet.

If you are physically active, these supplements may improve your muscle size. They may also boost your exercise performance.

Creatine supplements may also be beneficial to support your muscles. Although creatine is normally found in the body, you can boost its amount by taking dietary supplements.

But should you take them during fasting periods? Will supplements break your fast?

Read: Are Nutrisystem Shakes Lactose-Free?

They may break your fast if the supplements have calories. However, the main question is if they can negatively affect IF results?

Taking supplements during fasting periods may break your fast but they won’t necessarily affect your intermittent fasting goal. That is, you won’t gain fat just by taking supplements while fasted.

Conclusion 

Will intermittent fasting give me abs? It’s one of the solutions to help you define your abdominal muscles. But it’s not a magic trick. You need to exercise your abdominal muscles, too, so that the belly fat covering those muscles will be gone.

Wondering how to start intermittent fasting safely? Should you try eating one meal a day to hasten your weight loss results? Get our tips here.