Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve heard about the latest and greatest way to lose weight… Intermittent Fasting.
But does it actually work?
The honest answer is yes done right (they key phrase, more on that in a bit) Intermittent
fasting can drastically improve your fitness level by targeting several body functions, including:
Weight loss
This is perhaps the main reason people start intermittent fasting because they think it could lead to fast weight loss. The truth is though that IF isn’t really any faster or slower than any other diet if done correctly. Remember weight loss is a function of calories in vs calories out.
Whether you eat those calories in a specific window or throughout the day is irrelevant if you’re eating too many of them.
That said IF can help many people to eat less calories overall which in turn does get the weight off. This is supported by research. When researchers studied this phenomenon to get a full grasp of the underlying mechanisms, they found that intermittent fasting-related weight loss is due to caloric deficit, efficient hormonal regulation, and decreased insulin resistance.
Moreover, the basal metabolic rate (BMR) in people on the intermittent fasting diet significantly increased.
If you’re not familiar with BMR, it is a parameter used by nutritionists and fitness experts to estimate how many calories your body needs per day to keep the organs functioning.
This parameter is subject to numerous factors, including age, gender, weight, height, body type, diet, degree of physical activity, and genetics.
Unfortunately, most diets slow down BMR, which decreases the rate of weight loss. You can think of intermittent fasting as the exception to this rule.
Decreased insulin resistance
Insulin resistance is a major cause of weight gain and obesity. Fortunately, several studies concluded that intermitting fasting improves insulin sensitivity and helps in the regulation of blood sugar levels.
These findings suggest that intermittent fasting is quite beneficial for pre-diabetic individuals and people looking to improve their fitness.
Improved cardiovascular health
Intermittent fasting has been found to increase the efficiency of cardiac function and reduces the risk of diseases, such as coronary artery disease (CAD). This will allow you to be more efficient during exercises to reach optimal performance and increase weight loss.
Now about that key phrase I mentioned earlier.. If Done Right…
The truth is most people don’t do IF correctly especially when it comes to weight loss. They set their window and follow it so yes they’re doing IF but they still overeat. In fact we’ve found that its common for people to eat MORE while doing IF than they did before hand.
The thought processing being.. I can only eat say from 12-8 so at 7:45 I’m going to eat a huge meal so I don’t get hungry till noon. Then noon comes around and they’re starving so they eat another huge meal plus a couple snacks in between. In the end even though they only ate for those eight hours they actually took in more calories than they would have if they’d simply spread it out.
If you’ve struggled with losing weight by all means give IF a try it may work for you… just be mindful to not overeat in your window
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