17 Oct Intermittent Fasting
What is intermittent fasting?
“Intermittent fasting” is a term used to describe ways you can manipulate eating patterns. It involves not eating for specific periods of time, with the intent to lose weight and improve health. Many people consider it appealing because it doesn’t involve large daily calorie restriction.
There have been claims that intermittent fasting offers other health benefits besides weight loss, such as:
- Improving the body’s sensitivity to insulin
- Lowering inflammation
- Improving the digestive system
- Reducing body fat
While some research does show short-term benefits such as these, more studies are needed to confirm these findings. Much remains to be learned about the long-term health effects of intermittent fasting.
In one study, fasting helped halt the spread of intestinal bacteria into the bloodstream. Researchers have also suggested that the positive results from fasting can help with brain function. This could possibly benefit leaky gut treatment.
Below are the Types of Intermittent Fasting. The easiest on the body and schedule is to stop eating 12 hours before breakfast.
Types of intermittent fasting
The 5/2 method – Most popular
Restrict your calories on two consecutive days of the week.
Pick two days of the week, such as Monday and Tuesday. They must be consecutive days. On these two days, only eat 500-600 calories total or do a complete fast for the two days.
- On the other days, you can follow your regular diet. Be sure to not binge on unhealthy foods. This is key!
The 16/8 method
In this version, you only eat during an eight-hour period each day.
- Skip breakfast every day
- Eat only during a set 8-hour period, such as between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. You should keep this time consistent every day. You should base these hours on when you need food for energy, such as when you’re at work and when you exercise. During these hours, you should eat mainly unprocessed, whole foods.
- Fast for the other 16 hours. You might find in other articles you can drink diet soda and chew sugar free gum but if you know me, I do not recommend diet soda or regular soda for that matter under any circumstances. You should drink plenty of water and chew sugar free gum (sweetened with xylitol).
Eat-stop-eat
In this version, you fast for 24 hours at a time.
- Once or twice a week, you don’t eat from dinner time to dinner time the next day. You fast for 24 hours straight. You can drink calorie-free beverages during these hours.
- You can follow your normal diet the other 5 to 6 days per week. You don’t need to count calories or restrict your diet on the non-fasting days, although you should stick to healthy foods as much as possible. This can also be problematic because most people don’t have good eating habits or choices to begin with.
The Warrior Diet
This version involves eating one meal per day.
- Fast for 20 hours per day. You can eat a few servings of raw fruit and veggies, fresh juice, and protein, if needed. Be aware that fruit juice spikes the blood sugar. Best to do a blend of veggies with a little fruit.
- Eat one large meal at night. You should eat veggies first, followed by protein and then fat. If you’re still hungry, you can eat carbohydrates. You can do this only after consuming those foods in the given order. Issue I see here – eating your meal at night as opposed to mid-day or mid-morning.
Risk factors to consider
As with any change to your diet, you should consider the risk factors. You should also consult your doctor prior to beginning any diet program.
Things to consider
- If you’re diabetic or hypoglycemic, fasting could be dangerous. If you start to feel faint or your body begins to shake, you need to eat.
- People with heart problems should not fast. Fasting can make heart problems worse.
- Your age can play a part in how well your body deals with a lack of food. Older adults may function better with an overall decrease in calories than with denying themselves food for extended periods of time.
- High-level exercisers need the calories to keep their energy levels up and performance at its best.
- Your profession is also an important consideration. If you have a job that keeps you on your feet or requires a high level of concentration, skipping meals may keep you from doing your job to the best of your abilities.
Potential side effects for anyone who fasts include:
- fatigue
- dizziness
- low energy
- trouble concentrating
If you decide to follow an intermittent fasting diet, you should drink lots of water. This will help with the loss of hydration you may encounter when eating less food.
The bottom line
With the heightened media attention surrounding intermittent fasting, more evidence is needed to support this type of diet. Though some studies do show that intermittent fasting results in short-term benefits like weight loss, there are few long-term studies. It’s still unclear what this type of periodic eating does to eating behaviors, body composition, metabolic rate, and overall health in the long run. It also hasn’t been confirmed that intermittent fasting has any advantages over regular daily calorie restriction.
You should consider your health history, such as:
- any issues you’ve faced with regulating your blood sugar levels
- the impact of fasting on your emotional and psychological state
- your age
- your daily activity level before starting this type of diet
- your current weight (one short-term study reports individuals of normal weight who intermittently fasted had worsening insulin sensitivity)
- Lack of understanding intermittent fasting
