Intermittent fasting and how to lose that stubborn holiday weight

Jan 08, 2023 News

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By: Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – Most people would agree that during the holidays because people indulge in the extra goodies and yummy foods that are being passed around, weight gain is common. This week, this publication takes a look at a diet plan that includes fasting—intermittent fasting, which is guaranteed to help you lose the extra pounds.  Let us first look at what is intermittent fasting? It is an eating plan that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule.

Research shows that intermittent fasting is a way to manage your weight and prevent — or even reverse — some forms of the disease.

But how do you do it? And is it safe?

With intermittent fasting, you only eat during a specific time. Fasting for a certain number of hours each day or eating just one meal a couple of days a week, can help your body burn fat. And scientific evidence points to some health benefits, as well.

According to an article from Johns Hopkins University, Neuroscientist Mark Mattson has studied intermittent fasting for 25 years. He says that our bodies have evolved to be able to go without food for many hours, or even several days or longer. In prehistoric times, before humans learned to farm, they were hunters and gatherers, who evolved to survive — and thrive — for long periods without eating. They had to. It took a lot of time and energy to hunt game and gather nuts and berries.

How does intermittent fasting work?

There are several different ways to do intermittent fasting, but they are all based on choosing regular time periods to eat and fast. For instance, you might try eating only during an eight-hour period each day and fast for the remainder. Or, you might choose to eat only one meal a day two days a week. There are many different intermittent fasting schedules.

Mattson says that after hours without food, the body exhausts its sugar stores and starts burning fat. He refers to this as metabolic switching.

It is recommended during the times when you’re not eating, water and zero-calorie beverages such as black coffee and tea are permitted. You can hardly go wrong when you pick complex, unrefined carbohydrates such as whole grains, leafy greens, healthy fats, and lean protein.

Mattson said “Intermittent fasting contrasts with the normal eating pattern for most Americans, who eat throughout their waking hours,” Mattson says. “If someone is eating three meals a day, plus snacks, and they’re not exercising, then every time they eat, they’re running on those calories and not burning their fat stores.”

Intermittent fasting works by prolonging the period when your body has burned through the calories consumed during your last meal and begins burning fat.

How to do it?

It’s important to check with your Doctor before starting intermittent fasting. Once you get your Doctor’s permission, the actual practice is simple. You can pick a daily approach, which restricts daily eating to one six- to eight-hour period each day. For instance, you may choose to try 16/8 fasting: eating for eight hours and fasting for 16. Williams is a fan of the daily regimen: She says most people find it easy to stick with this pattern over the long term.

Another, known as the 5:2 approach, involves eating regularly five days a week. For the other two days, you limit yourself to one 500–600 calorie meal. An example would be if you chose to eat normally on every day of the week except Mondays and Thursdays, which would be your one-meal days.

Longer periods without food, such as 24, 36, 48, and 72-hour fasting periods, are not necessarily better for you and may be dangerous. Going too long without eating might actually encourage your body to start storing more fat in response to starvation.

Mattson’s research shows that it can take two to four weeks before the body becomes accustomed to intermittent fasting. You might feel hungry or cranky while you’re getting used to the new routine. But, he observes, research subjects who make it through the adjustment period tend to stick with the plan, because they notice they feel better.

Benefits

Research shows that intermittent fasting periods do more than burn fat. Mattson explains, “When changes occur with this metabolic switch, it affects the body and brain.”

One of Mattson’s studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed data about a range of health benefits associated with the practice. These include a longer life, a leaner body and a sharper mind.

“Many things happen during intermittent fasting that can protect organs against chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, age-related neurodegenerative disorders, even inflammatory bowel disease, and many cancers,” he says.

Some intermittent fasting benefits research revealed that it has so far benefited one’s thinking and memory, heart health, physical performance, type 2 diabetes and obesity, and tissue health.

Mattson, therefore, deduced that intermittent fasting is completely safe, particularly for persons who do not have major health issues or are on medication.  If you are sick, pregnant, or on medication consult your Physician before embarking on a fast.

Sourced from: www.hopkinsmedicine.org

 

 

 

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