What you need to know about Intermittent Fasting
"My friend doesn't eat for 16 hours after an early dinner... what are your thoughts?" she asked.
"Intermittent fasting is a new fad and I teach sustainable lifestyle change, so I think it’s lazy and a waste of time..." I replied.
What did I mean by this?
Raise your hand if you’ve spent hours, months, weeks - heck, YEARS - trying to lose weight.
You've been through a couple of years of yo-yoing.
With methods that involved extremes diets or restriction. Some times you're fit and healthy and other times not.
There's a lot of back of forth.
& now you're looking for a solution that will help you maintain your results. (& not go through another yo-yo cycle which I get)
But - and read this carefully - Intermittent Fasting doesn't change the fact that you need to be in a caloric deficit in order to lose body fat.
#RealTalk
Studies show Intermittent Fasting alone is not superior to other forms of caloric restriction long term.
What I tell my clients: Use your caloric deficit and Macros like a budget. When you focus on meal planning long enough to stay within the numbers in your budget and you'll see results.
The results don't come from the time you eat, they come from what and how much you eat.
You may be thinking,"but Massi, can't Intermittent Fasting be helpful for some people?"
Sure. But we have to make sure we have context on whom we're talking about.
So, let's break things down:
1.) What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent Fasting (IF) isn't a diet. It's an eating pattern. IF has morphed into one of the new diet fads of the moment because people think it’s a diet.
IF involves alternating cycles of fasting and eating. When you’re sleeping you’re fasting and when you wake up you are breaking the fast = Breakfast. IF can work by further restricting your eating time window.
IF doesn't tell you which foods to eat - more like when to eat them (you're eating between a certain window of time.) For example, you only eat between 1-9 and fast during other times.
There are several different ways of doing intermittent fasting — all of which involve splitting the day or week into eating and fasting periods.
Who's intermittent fasting for and not for?
Who Intermittent Fasting may be helpful for:
PCOS: a hormonal imbalance and metabolism problems that may affect their overall health and appearance.
Type 2 Diabetes
Insulin Resistance
People who Intermittent Fasting is not for:
Hypoglycemic: Type I Diabetics or Aged
Hashimotos
Those with anxiety or “anxiousness”
Breastfeeding women and Newly postpartum moms
Those with/previously with disordered eating
Over-eaters (or Emotional eaters): if you’re an emotional eater and are triggered by stress or anxiety to eat your feelings, binge, and eat massive amounts during the eating periods, then you may not lose any weight at all
What are the Pros and cons of doing intermittent fasting?
The top 4 pros:
Human Growth Hormone (HGH): The levels of growth hormone skyrocket, increasing as much as 5-fold. This can benefit fat loss and muscle gain
Insulin: Insulin sensitivity improves and levels of insulin drop dramatically.
Norepinephrine: It can increase the release of the fat-burning hormone norepinephrine (noradrenaline).
Metabolism: May increase your metabolism by 3-10% (but most studies have only been done on mice, men, and postmenopausal women)
The cons:
Rebound Eating
Muscle loss
Disordered Eating
Sleep Issues
Metabolic Adaptation
Hormonal Dysfunction
HP Axis Dysfunction
Hunger/Irritability/Loss of Focus/Impaired thinking
Headaches (acidity)
Reduction in food quality
IF may cause too much stress on the body which can lead to:
lower thyroid functioning
become leptin resistant
developing a bad/negative relationship with food
overstimulation of cortisol: Which can lead to weight gain and hormonal issues by storing visceral fat
Elevated cortisol raises blood sugar, which increases insulin levels. This exacerbates the effect of storing calories because insulin is the storage hormone. High cortisol + high insulin can create: HP Axis dysfunction, Hyperinsulinemia, Insulin Resistance, Obesity and Diabetes
My take on Intermittent Fasting:
As a Science-based coach, I strive to do what works best for my clients. I look for the research that shows us something works before jumping on a fad.
Just because something is popular doesn't mean it's healthy or right for you.
& I get it - intermittent fasting makes people “lose weight fast” so it can be tempting. ⠀
Especially, because people feel so strongly about it due to its perceived "health benefits."
But if we really put our critical thinking caps on, we'd know that weight loss in general causes health benefits in all people who are overweight or obese. Period.⠀
It's funny how Keto is slowly dying down and now "intermittent fasting" is in right? That's how fad diets work.
My belief is that most people don't need IF and it's a lazy approach to creating a sustainable lifestyle change.
There has been a low availability of clinical studies on the long-term benefits of Intermittent Fasting as it pertains to sustainable weight loss.
The studies that have been done, show that although it may help people lose more weight in the short term there's not much evidence to show that it makes any difference long term. (compared to regular caloric restriction).
Although Intermittent Fasting has become increasingly popular, to date, no long-term randomized clinical trials have evaluated its efficacy long term.
There also remains debate about whether the actual fasting is responsible for the health benefits, or if it’s simply the reduction of calories.
After working with 100+ women over the years as a personal trainer and weight loss coach, my empirical knowledge shows that lifestyle change trumps all.
Some other reason's I don't believe IF is helpful for most women:
The women I work with tend to already skip breakfast - technically they're already in a fasted state but are still overweight. This happens when they've been eating such low calories that their metabolism slows down and prevents weight loss. The goal of Intermittent fasting is to create an "easier way" to create a caloric deficit. However, if you're already not eating enough or have a healthy balanced routine IF will not make it easier. Instead IF, encourages unhealthy behaviors like not listening to their bodies, skipping breakfast, and developing a negative relationship with food.
Women who struggle to lose weight and keeping it off - are typically not consistent enough with eating healthy in general. Adding a layer of complexity in which we further restrict their eating is counterproductive.
You don’t need to try Intermittent Fasting to change your lifestyle: A better alternative would be to learn more about your body's Macro-nutrient needs and create a plan to eat them each day.
If you're struggling with life stress or being in a weight loss plateau here are the 3 main strategies I recommend you focus on the rest of 2020:
Make the time: to prioritize yourself. Put yourself first, add yourself care to your schedule and meal prep in advance.
Reduce the stress in your life: Whether that is with daily walks, seeing a therapist, getting a massage - do whatever is required to release your daily stressors.
Create a sustainable caloric deficit: Learn more about nutrition and eating for your Macros. This way you won't have to go on another diet or feel deprived ever again.
One last thing... I know my advice isn't sexy but it’s the truth.
My commitment to you is to tell you the truth about this industry and not to convince you to do anything that isn't in your best interest.
If you’ve been thinking about improving your eating and losing weight for good, I encourage you to sign up for my FREE 3-Day reset challenge at reset.theconfitenceblueprint.com. I’ll make sure you know everything you need to be consistent and have all the right strategies in place.
Visit reset.theconfitenceblueprint.com to register for the free reset challenge today!