Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss – How It Works

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting (IF), as the name suggests – it involves alternating cycles of fasting and eating. In your normal routine life, you already fast as you go to sleep. IF involves a fast that extends a little longer.

It is a kind of diet plan which does not focus on what to eat but puts the focus on when to eat. That is why it is also referred to as ‘time-restricted eating’.

This age-old tradition of India backed up with the latest studies has made a huge comeback globally. It has caught a lot of attention from various health experts, nutritionists, weight watchers, celebrities, doctors and many more.

It has been suggested that with intermittent periods of rest from food to your gut, you allow your body to repair, heal and eliminate toxins.

Research has shown multi-fold benefits of intermittent fasting (IF) like reducing weight, controlling inflammation, regulating blood pressure, keeping a check on bad cholesterol, reducing stress, managing arthritis and much more.

In addition to this,

Benefits of intermittent fasting (IF)

1. Promotes heart health
2. Enhances brain function
3. Reduces risk of diabetes
4. Improves metabolic health

While all this has been quoted ad nauseum, let’s see if all these facts hold the ground in light of scientific scrutiny!

Upon perusing all the scientific evidence and quoted benefits, we found that the benefits of intermittent fasting (IF) are not uniform and evidence is mostly anecdotal.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) in Diabetes/Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Since IF involves long fasting hours, people with diabetes or those who are on medications for diabetes, pregnant and breastfeeding women should not attempt intermittent fasting (IF) without the close supervision of a Health Coach. As a general rule of thumb, there is no one-size-fits-all method.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) as a weight-loss strategy

Intermittent Fasting (IF) involves reduced calorie intake as food is consumed only in ‘non-fasting’ hours or days, so it is used as a smart weight loss strategy.

However, the findings of a recent study published in the reputed medical journal JAMA, in September 2020 showed that intermittent fasting (IF) produced minimal weight loss and had one potential drawback – muscle loss.

IF triggers a hormone—human growth hormone (HGH) when you fast. Earlier it was thought that HGH helps in burning fat faster, but the latest research shows that it can signal your brain to save energy, thereby making it harder to lose weight.

Hence, still more research is needed to draw clear conclusions on the long-term effects of IF.

Types of Intermittent Fasting (IF)

There are different types of intermittent fasting (IF). The most commonly used are:

1. The 16:8 method – Here you will fast for 16 hours daily. You can do this by skipping breakfast, eating your first meal at noon and your last meal at 8 pm. Alternatively, you can plan an early dinner by 6 pm and open your fast the next day at 10 am.
2. Eat-stop-eat – It involves a 24 hour fast for once or twice in a week. You can do this by not eating anything from dinner one day, until dinner the next day.
3. The 5:2 diet – During the two days of the week, you should consume only 500-600 calories.You can count your calories by logging your meal entries in Fitterfly Wellness App with just 10 mins of logging each day.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) may not work for all. If you want to try, give it a couple of months and monitor yourself closely.

If it works for you, you will see better sleep, weight loss and more energy. We know so many people who felt miserable fasting and who did not lose an inch or a pound. So surely it’s not for all.

But for all the noise around, it is worth a try! Do take the help of a health coach and try our Reset23 program if you wish to do it for weight loss or you can try our Diabefly program if you wish to do it for prediabetes or diabetes.