Fasting is itself a type of diet. It is a diet where you restrict or totally cut your caloric intake in order to jump start your body into burning stored body fat for energy. There are long held beliefs and debunkers who claim that fasting is counterproductive to a weight loss routine because it will slow metabolism and restrict your bodies’ ability to add new muscle. While some of the concepts this is based up are true, the facts just don’t add up. Losing weight is a function of calories in versus calories burned. Intermittent fasting is a great way to reduce your caloric intake, thereby allowing you to burn more than you intake. But we aren’t going to dive into the reasons why this works in this article. This article is focused on the benefits of exercising while fasting.

According to a recent study (http://www.springerlink.com/content/w8712615714k8150/) performed by Dr. Loise Deldicque, its has been found that during a fasting state, exercising can actually have a multiplied beneficial effect on the body – allowing more benefit to be done than during a non-fasting state. By supplementing your exercises with the minimal amount of nutrition to support the exercise, and allowing your body to be in a fasting state before and soon after your workout, you will see greater results of your efforts. This is great news for those that thought intermittent fasting could not accompany an exercise program.

The ultimate conclusion of the article revealed this – take two test groups of individuals. For the first test group, allow the individuals to consume a healthy meal consisting of carbs, proteins and fats prior to resistance training. For the second test group, have the individuals fast prior to the workout. When each group is finished with their resistance training, allow both to consume a recovery meal consisting of carbs and protein. It was found that the second group actually experienced greater ingestion of the carb/protein meal and thereby a greater increase in muscle building. This is groundbreaking research as it bucks the long held idea that pre-workout nutrition is essential to building muscle. The research actually pointed to the opposite conclusion that fasting before resistance training can actually help produce greater carb and protein ingestion and will result in more efficient rebuilding of the muscle tissues.

For anyone that’s a long time weight lifter, runner, or for the average joe wanting to add a little muscle and drop some fat, the study really seems to point out that a combination of intermittent fasting and the proper exercise will produce the best results.

One of the main advantages to South Beach Diet Bars is that they have a low calorie count ranging from 100 calories for the snack bar to 180 calories for the more substantial meal bar.  They also come in delicious flavors that most people enjoy such as chocolate,peanut butter, and cinnamon raisin.

When incorporating South Beach Diet Bars into your daily diet, there is no need to be concerned that you’ll only be consuming empty calories.  These bars are high in protein and other essential nutrients such as fiber, iron, folate, and vitamin A.  Because they’re made with ingredients such as granola, fiber, and soy, you will feel satisfied and will be better able to resist the temptation to eat a higher calorie, less beneficial food.  You can also feel confident in this product as it does not contain artificial flavors or synthetic sweeteners.

South Beach Diet Bars should be available in most major grocery stores and other retail stores in 2012.  If you can’t find the product in your local store, you can check online with merchants such as Amazon which may have lower prices.  The price is typically around $27 for a pack of eight.  You can also speak to your grocery store’s manager, and request that the product be special ordered.

South Beach Diet Bars are another weapon you have in your arsenal in your battle to lose weight.  They come in delicious flavors, are filling yet substantial, and are a good low calorie choice.