One of the latest diet crazes isn’t really new and actually works. It’s intermittent fasting—IF. There are all types of IF. Some require you fast for a day or two and then eat normally. Other types, the more popular type, is eating all your meals in a specific 6-8 hour window and fast the other 16-18 hours. Fasting has been around for centuries. It was used as part of religious ceremonies and even an early treatment for epilepsy before medications. Fasting was part of early man’s normal life. Food wasn’t always available. Then it became part of religious ceremonies for centuries. Today it’s being popularized for weight loss.
Early animal studies in the 30s and 40s showed fasting may slow aging.
Animal studies in the 1930s and 40s focused on mice and the effect of fasting by eating just once a day, 30% calorie restricted feeding twice a day and on demand food. Mice that fasted lived longer, had a darker coat compared to their counterparts as they aged and remained more active and youthful. The calorie restricted mice lived 11% longer than those on demand and the fasting group increased their life span by 28%.
IF health benefits, besides looking younger.
IF not only helps you lose weight, it helps you lose fat around your middle. It can boost insulin sensitivity, increase HGH—human growth hormone, boost your metabolic rate and reduce inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a major cause of serious illness. During those fasting times, it allows for cellular repair and waste removal, which is known as autophagy. The body removes old cells and replaces them with new ones. However, this normally occurs after 24 hours, so it requires the type of fasting where you eat one day and not the next. IF helps reduce the risk of cancer and improves brain health and concentration.
Does intermittent fasting work for you and your body?
That all depends on you. If you have diabetes, intermittent fasting isn’t an option without a doctor’s supervision. People with reactive hypoglycemia should be careful when trying It can interrupt your sleep cycle if you eat too early, so beware if you have insomnia. People with eating disorders shouldn’t use it, neither should pregnant and lactating individuals. If you’re working out hard at the gym, don’t fast that day. People with digestive issues may have more problems on the days or times they eat. People with a compromised immune system or those who take meds that require food first should also avoid fasting.
- One mice study showed fasting caused the body to produce Beta-hydroxybutyrate, a molecule that reversed vascular aging, while building more cells to line the interior of blood vessels.
- When you do eat on an IF program, make it healthy. Even though it’s all about timing, it doesn’t give a license to consume junk food either.
- One reason IF may work for weight loss is that it restricts the time you eat to a smaller window, which means you’ll normally consume fewer calories than you would in a full day. It also boosts your metabolism.
- Some more recent research shows IF can boost the fat burning of a keto diet and speed up ketosis for maximum weight loss.
For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym