Intermittent fasting is a fat-burning strategy that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule. It’s all about when you eat. For clarity, this is Healthline’s definition: “Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It doesn’t specify which foods you should eat but rather when you should eat them. In this respect, it’s not a diet in the conventional sense but more accurately described as an eating pattern.” IF is not just a weight-loss strategy for bodybuilders wanting to lose fat while building muscle. All kinds of healthy and health-conscious women and men have been drawn to this approach to eating.
If Interested, Below Are Two Common Approaches:
- Skip two meals in one day, during which you don’t eat for 24 hours. For example, eat on a normal schedule (finishing dinner at 8:00) and then don’t eat again until 8:00 pm the following day. With this plan, you eat your usual three meals a day but on certain days skip breakfast and lunch. That’s the “intermittent “ part.
- Eat regularly for five days; on the other two days (they don’t have to be consecutive), limit yourself to one 500-600 calorie meal.
That’s just two; there are a variety of IF schedules. Each one prolongs the period when your body has consumed the calories from your last meal and begins burning fat.
To Fast or Not To Fast
All things considered, IF may help some individuals to achieve their health goals. Before trying it, I’d advise seeking the guidance of a qualified dietitian and/or your primary caregiver. This is especially important for those with health conditions or concerns. Fasting may, for example, help some people break an undesirable pattern of eating, such as eating out of habit instead of hunger; in this way, these individuals become more tolerant of the sensation of hunger. However, most health professionals agree that fasting is NOT in fact a healthy way lose weight, if that is the only goal. In general, IF has not been shown to be more efficient than conventional approaches such as combining a healthy diet with regular physical activity.
Denise’s
2 Cents:
There is a body of science that supports research showing that those who consume less food on a daily basis live longer. The amount of food we ingest obviously has an impact on our health. As for IF, there is also some evidence of its health benefits beyond fat burning such as reversing obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
These are intriguing findings, but I’m not convinced that IF is for everyone. I’m finding that those drawn to intermittent fasting are often looking for structure beyond their personal sense of actual hunger and for a better understanding of which foods give them energy. In other words, they need a strict group of food guidelines to learn how to eat with balance. Structure can be useful, but I believe that lasting results come from your understanding of what hunger means and feels like and how certain foods provide your energy. IF can help with that exploratory process, but I don’t see it as a long-term approach to food balance.