Published on September 21, 2019
Wilson Fisk, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
I was recently asked my opinion about intermittent fasting for weight loss.
I’m not a fan.
Intermittent fasting severely limits calories during certain days of the week or during specified hours during the day. If someone who is slim, fit, and healthy in every way does an occasional fast to rid themselves of fluid or toxins, I can’t speak to that. But obviously, these folks already have a healthy eating and fitness lifestyle ingrained into their psyches so, for them, getting back on track is easy.
I, however, deal with people who are overweight and obese.
There are real-life drawbacks from switching between feasting and fasting.
The theory is an intermittent fasting diet will help decrease appetite by slowing the body’s metabolism. Yet, when you eat with a slower metabolism, you gain weight faster — even with less food.
It’s human nature for people to want to reward themselves after doing very hard work, such as exercise or fasting, so there’s a danger of eating unhealthy on non-fasting days. Also, there’s a strong biological push to overeat following fasting periods because your appetite hormones and hunger center in your brain go into overdrive when you are deprived of food.
Intermittent fasting is not a lifestyle.
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Additional reading:
When Intermittent Fasting Goes Wrong – written by a young man and his experience which lead to an eating disorder.
Slimcerely yours℠,
