Nutrition and Diet Blog#1: Intermittent fasting
Hello everyone. Today I would like to express my thoughts on a topic that most people that have had issues with weight management have some familiarity with; that being Intermittent fasting. Once in a while I am asked about my thoughts regarding the effectiveness of intermittent fasting, and I usually have the same thing to say. I usually say that the efficacy of the technique is obvious but with anything the benefits compared to the costs vary from person to person. So exercise caution. In this article I will discuss the Positives the Negatives and how to transition back into normal eating to keep as much as possible of the progress that you have made in regards to your weight loss.
What is Intermittent fasting?
In contrast to the normal eating pattern of consuming your nutrition throughout the day, Intermittent fasting is when one chooses a set time block to consume food. The thought pattern behind this is that by limiting the amount of time you are able to consume calories you are able to eat less. By taking in a substantially less amount of calories (due to the time window) your body will then began to utilize the stored fat as Energy. This will of course results in quick weight loss overtime.
The Pros
An in depth detailed analysis on Intermittent fasting published in the New England Journal of Medicine listed the following benefits based on the author’s research that are associated with making the metabolic switch from a glucose based energy system to a ketone based energy system.
Increased metabolism
Lower blood sugar
Lessens inflammation
Better sleep
Prevents obesity and in turn diabetes.
The Cons
In my humble opinion there are two potential cons of Intermittent fasting, both depend on the individual.
- Over eating during non fasted periods: By reducing the time window allotted to eat, the desired results is supposed to a reduction in choleric intake. Undesirable weight can be gained when some dieters try to make up for lost time and overeat during the time window by eating flavorful calorie dense foods.
- Worsening of pre-existing eating disorders: For example, If someone with pre-existing anorexia implements Intermittent fasting, that person could have the potential of fasting for harmful amount of time resulting in a hypoglycemia. No bueno.
My Suggestion
I suggest that when you start getting close to your desired weight that you start keeping track of the calories you consume daily for one week. After that week, start being intentional about maintaining a similar choleric intake daily. As you start loosening up the time window make sure that you continue consuming the same amount of calories that you were taking during your last week of the intermitting fast. If you follow this game plan you will either continue to lose weight or should maintain. The reason for this is that if you start to extend the time window while your weight is still going down, and as long as you maintain the same amount of calories, your weight will continue to drop until it plateaus and reaches maintenance. Either way you get to keep the majority of the results that you worked so hard for.
Well, team that’s it. If you like what you read please comment and share. I’ll talk tp everyone next week. Peace.
Sources: Effects of intermittent fasting on health, aging, and disease. de Cabo R, Mattonson MP. New England Journal of Medicine, December 2019.