Intermittent Fasting

There are 3 main reasons why people fast it seems. Either you are dieting, interested in longevity or want to improve your gut health. People who do it regularly swear by it and there are many suggested health benefits to it. I wanted to look at some of the benefits as they relate to both of these and try to pick out the key points.

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What is intermittent fasting?

In simple terms you’re skipping a meal during the day (usually breakfast) hence the name break-fast, you’re breaking an overnight fast. Skipping your first meal usually gives you a fast of 14-16 hours during the night and throughout the morning in an attempt to reduce calories or reset your metabolism.

Another technique is known as 5:2. Eating regularly for 5 days with 2 days of next to no calories consumed. In order to fast correctly you need to not consume anything with any calories. This includes liquid calories and sugar in your tea. You should continue to stay hydrated through this period.

Although, if you don’t eat between 7pm -7am you’re probably getting many fasting benefits anyway. From a weight loss perspective, longer fasts can actually slow down the rate of metabolism to keep pace with the amount of food being provided.

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Fasting for longevity

There are various studies supporting the idea that fasting and eating fewer calories in general can have an impact on longevity. This follows the notion that food can cause inflammation on the body and course cells to replicate and become damaged.

Previous studies show beneficial health effects such as weight loss and lower risk of cardiometabolic diseases. The anti-aging effects are largely down to the changes to microbiome in the gut. ?

Fasting can give the body a chance to clear out cells from the gut and also repair them in some sense. ?The more food you eat, red meat, saturated fat, sugar, the more chance there is that something can go wrong. Not to mention the other heath risks associated with being over weight or obese. Generally speaking, those with a lower body fat percentage tend to live longer based on the relative strain on the body and heart. Have you ever seen a very old over weight person?

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Suggested benefits

Gut health

Studies suggest that intermittent fasting can alter the composition of the gut microbiome through diversity of bacteria and microbial remodelling. It increases the amount of a bacteria called lachnospiraceae which thrives in an empty stomach. lachnospiraceae produces a short chain fatty acid called butyrate which seems to be important for gut health. For example, it has an innate inflammatory response to the immune system and can help with problems such as leaky gut by improving barrier functions. The body’s barrier and ability to deal with waste problems.

It can also:

Reduced Calorie intake

Missing a meal can mean you’re less likely to overeat with fewer windows in the day for eating. This can benefit anyone looking to reduce their calories.

Increase Alertness

Make you Feel more alert, focused, and less sluggish through the day. Large amounts of food can make you relaxed and lethargic.

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Potential Negatives

• ?????? 2 meals a day gives you less opportunity to include essential nutrients and manage protein intake. It’s very difficult to get adequate and beneficial amounts of protein in just 2 meals a day. Without sufficient protein while in a calorie deficit will lead to losing muscle mass as well as body fat.

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• ????? Going 16 hours without eating any protein can result in slower recovery, feeling more hungry and reduced protein synthesis. This makes building muscle more challenging.

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• ?????? You can over eat on the meals you do have due to hunger. This can in term make you eat more during meal times and in the afternoon so you do feel sluggish after meals rather than eating regular portions throughout the day.

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• ????? Energy levels can be lower, especially if you have an active job or trying to increase exercise at the same time.

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Myths

Fasted cardio is better

Absolutely not.

Not true, just because you are using less glucose as a fuel source this does not mean you will lose more fat through exercise. Fat does become a more used fuel source used in order to provide energy, but this does not mean you lose more fat.

If this training works best for you then great, there are some benefits such as proficiency of fat as a fuel source and you may feel more comfortable training on a empty stomach. However, I would only advice this for low intensity sessions or cardio less than 30 minutes. Exercising without carbohydrates will reduce performance and can be dangerous.

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Can you reset your metabolism?

Not really, I don’t buy in to this idea that your body needs to be reset. Your body is constantly working to replace cells and carry out millions of functions to keep everything working. It doesn’t turn off or on and doesn’t need to be reset by not eating.

Longer periods of fasting can be beneficial for gut health but this is separate from resetting your metabolism. If you want more info on metabolism, check out a previous post of mine.

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Conclusion

I have spoken to several people alone this week about intermittent fasting and how it has helped them lose weight or change their relationship with food. Its not something I would recommend straight away but I think there are far worse diets out there and would actually be interested to try it for a first-hand experience.

There is no doubt that you can lose a significant amount of weight however, the main reason people fail diets is due to hunger. For many it is simply not a sustainable method. They can leave you back at square one with the taste of failure between your teeth and blaming yourself for not sticking to it.

If you want to try it, then please give it a go and let me know how you get on! If you want to learn how to follow a sustainable, healthy diet while still making progress then send me a message.

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