Intermittent fasting: A Healthy Diet or A Waste of Time?
Read to find out
Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that consists of periods of eating and fasting, with the promise of helping people lose weight. Even though it has gained a lot of popularity in the health and wellness space these past few years, the science behind it is still not well understood by most people. IF may cause weight loss in the initial stages, but if not done right, the human body’s ability to adapt will quickly pull the rug from under your feet. In this article, we’ll discuss what intermittent fasting is all about, the science behind it, and a more sustainable way to go about it.
What is intermittent fasting?
As mentioned earlier, intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that consist of different periods of eating and fasting. This dieting plan is more focused on food timing than on the food itself. There are various types of intermittent fasting but the most common ones include;
- The 5–2 method: In this routine, you maintain your regular diet for five days a week but eat not more than 500 calories for the remaining 2 days of the week.
- The 16/8 method: This involves fasting for 16 hours a day and eating within the remaining 8-hour window.
- Water/Juice fast: as the name suggests, this involves drinking only water or juice for a set amount of time within the day ( or week).
Many fad diets thrive due to some cultural and media push for a particular shape or size. This has caused a rise in a trend to lose weight quickly at all cost, this the trend in diets like IF.
The science behind the initial weight loss
Does IF lead to weight loss? Yes, but only in the beginning. This is how it works; (a very simplified version)
When you eat less or fast, your body begins to burn down stored energy in the form of fats, instead of normally using glucose.
The more fat the body uses for energy, the smaller you get.
The body’s adaptation mechanism
Remember when I said that human physiology will pull the rug from underneath your feet, this is how it happens. When the body is subjected to fasting, it reduces its metabolic rate. This is because cells become less active due to lack of energy. Here are 3 ways in which the human body will try to correct this;
- Increase the secretion of the hunger hormone, ghrelin. This stimulates your urge to eat. The higher its concentration in blood, the stronger the urge to eat, even more than necessary.
- Due to the drop in metabolic rate and cell energy, less fat will. Thus no more weight loss.
- Hormonal imbalances due to prolonged fasting may also cause an increase in cortisol, a stress hormone, and one of its side effects is weight gain.
The limitations of IF
There’s already a lot of attention on the advantages of intermittent fasting, so let’s shed more light on its disadvantages.
- There’s not enough research on the long-term benefits of IF, even though it’s said to be effective short term.
- It’s a big health risk for people with preexisting conditions.
- IF focuses more on the timing of eating than the. nutrients and this causes most people to neglect to consume nutrient-dense foods, and this might lead to imbalances and deficiencies.
- Substances called ketones are released in the body when the body uses stored fats for energy (like in intermittent fasting). Over-accumulation of these ketones can cause headaches, shortness of breath, brain fog, and serious life-threatening conditions like diabetic ketoacidosis.
Sustainable wieghtloss strategies
While you will get some results with intermittent fasting, it’s not a sustainable weight loss regime if your focus isn’t right. A good weight loss strategy must emphasize long-term resilience and general health.
- The foundation of a good weight loss plan is a good calorie-deficit diet. That means you eat healthy foods that contain fewer calories than what you usually eat. Focus on whole Foods, fruits, vegetables, and also dietary fibers.
- Portion control and being mindful of your calorie intake (not obsessing over,) is better than simply fasting. Using smaller plates could help you easily measure your portions.
- Regular physical activity is very important if your goal is healthy weight loss. Exercises that increase strength and improve cardiac activity also help increase metabolic rate. This will your body use up the food you eat faster, amongst other things.
- A behavioral change is the most critical part of your weight loss journey. And it starts with your mindset. The way you think about food affects your relationship with it.
You can eat better without eating less than you need to.
To conclude
Intermittent fasting will (usually) help you lose weight but that’s until the body’s adaptive mechanisms kick in. Its long-term impacts and overall health benefits are questionable, then there’s also the neglect of proper nutrition.
There are healthier and more efficient ways to loose weight. Cutting corners and using quick schemes won’t help you in the long run.
Focus on long-term lifestyle changes so you can sustainably lose weight and also improve your overall health and well-being.
