Is intermittent fasting good for weight loss? I do intermittent fasting. But should I? Periodic fasting has become quite popular for its purported health benefits. But does my fasting habit help me with my weight, immune system function, exercise endurance, chronic disease risk, or longevity?
Today, let’s briefly explore whether intermittent fasting has health benefits (or maybe even lengthens life). Let me get this out of the way: We do not recommend IF if you have an eating disorder. It could also be a problem for those with underlying health conditions. Would you please check in with a valued healthcare professional before heading down the fasting pathway?
If a man has nothing to eat, fasting is the most intelligent thing he can do. Hermann Hesse
We begin by defining intermittent fasting. This approach to eating uses cycles that alternate between periods of fasting and eating. Intermittent fasting is not so much about what you eat; it is about when you eat. I think of it as an eating pattern rather than a diet.
Fasting has been practiced for millennia, with ancient folks sometimes not finding food to eat for extended periods. Some fast for religious reasons, with the practice seen in various faiths (including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism).
Here are some selected examples of fasting events: Lent in Christianity; Yom Kippur, Tisha B’av, Fast of Esther, Tzom Gedalia, the Seventeenth of Tamuz, and the Tenth of Tevet in Judaism. Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, and sex during the entire daytime for one month, Ramadan, every year.
In medicine, we ask that patients fast before surgery (or any procedures involving general anesthesia). Without fasting, the risk of stomach contents coming up and entering the lung (a process known as pulmonary aspiration) rises. Aspiration can result in potentially life-threatening aspiration pneumonia.
Getting a cholesterol test (such as a lipid panel) or specific blood sugar measurements? You need to fast. But can you use fasting to improve your health?
Weight loss
We begin with weight loss. Does intermittent fasting help? There are various strategies, ranging from alternate day fasting to time-restricted fasting. The evidence for effectiveness is mixed.
For example, a 12-week trial of 32 average- and overweight subjects looked at alternate-day fasting (that is, one-quarter of the energy consumed on “fast” days, alternating with eat-what-you-lie “feast days). The fasting group had a 5.2-kilogram weight loss.
The researchers concluded that alternate-day fasting effectively reduces weight loss and cardio-protection in average-weight and overweight adults. Still, the study is small, and there are no solid conclusions.
Other studies have not been so positive. A one-year trial involving 100 participants with obesity also looked at alternate-day fasting. Participants consumed only 25 percent of their total energy on “fast” days and 125 percent on “feast” days.
At six and twelve months, the subjects had an average weight loss similar to a daily calorie restriction group. In summary, alternate-day fasting is similar to producing weight loss or weight maintenance compared with a typical calorie-restrictive diet. A complete fast every other day seems a bit extreme, so it would not be my preferred approach.
The warrior diet
This approach entails consuming small volumes of raw fruits and vegetables during the day and one massive meal at night; in other words, you mainly fast through the day before consuming food with a four-hour window in the evening. The Warrior Diet mimics the eating patterns of ancient warriors, who consumed little during the day and then feasted in the evening.
I am not a fan of the Warrior Diet. It seems extreme and may lead to dysfunctional eating patterns. Oh, and there is this observation by Ori Hofmekler, the guy who popularized the diet:
The Warrior Diet is based on [my]own beliefs and observations — not strictly on science.
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