For many Americans, eliminating excess pounds is an ongoing challenge — with weight gain skyrocketing at an alarming rate over the past several decades.
Nearly 75% of adults are overweight or obese in the United States, alone. Some turn to the weight loss industry and fad diets for support, yet few achieve long-range success.
The weight loss industry worldwide earns nearly $300 billion a year and continues to grow. From the Keto diet, to Zone and more, consumers are in a constant struggle to find a forever solution. One popular diet intended as a long-term lifestyle is intermittent fasting.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is restricting eating hours each day to a window of time. Most often, fasters will eat over the course of an eight-hour period. They will follow this up with a continuous fast for 16 hours. During fasting periods, consumption should be limited exclusively to water.
Popular intermittent fasting time frames encourage eating periods that range from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to as late as 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The Origins of Intermittent Fasting
Considering how our ancestors ate as hunters and gatherers, the diet makes sense. Hunting and gathering were typically limited to daylight hours. People ate fresh food each day since refrigeration and other preservation methods were not widely available. As such, most people ate during daylight hours and fasted during the evening and overnight.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?
Internally, the food we eat is broken down by gut enzymes that become molecules in our bloodstream. Carbohydrates and grains are quickly broken down into sugar that travels into our cells via insulin, a hormone in the pancreas, which our cells use for energy. Insulin moves what we do not immediately use into our fat cells where excess sugar is stored as fat.
Between meals, if we avoid snacking, our insulin levels go down, and our fat cells release stored sugar for us to use as energy. Weight loss occurs, for many people, when insulin levels are lowered. The ultimate goal, then, of intermittent fasting is to lower insulin levels long enough for sugar, stored in our fat cells, to be burned off.
Potential Benefits
This sounds promising since nighttime eating has long been associated with increased risk for obesity and diabetes. What’s more, our bodies have naturally adjusted to a circadian rhythm of daytime eating and nighttime sleeping.
And, researchers have seen some benefits of fasting. For many, these include weight loss, lower insulin levels, lower blood pressure, reduced hunger and improved insulin sensitivity.
Cautionary Guidance
However, before you jump on the intermittent fasting train, there are some considerations.
First, fasting isn’t for everyone. Those attempting a long-term dietary change should consult their primary care provider for guidance. Individuals must be made aware of their own health risks before beginning any weight management program. In particular, those with diabetes, eating disorders, pregnant or trying to become pregnant and those requiring meals for medication intake should be closely monitored by a provider if they want to consider intermittent fasting.
Second, some studies have shown that long-term fasting leads to muscle loss which is not ideal over the course of a person’s lifetime. Muscle is needed to support the body as it ages and bones lose density.
Intermittent Fasting Alternatives
In the end, we urge those considering intermittent fasting to incorporate these rules:
- Eat a mostly plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet. These foods are typically fresh and full of nutritional value to help keep your body healthy and strong.
- Reduce snacking. Grazing all throughout the day and into the evening packs on the calories and does not give the body an opportunity to adequately regulate insulin levels.
- Do not eat at night. Just say “no” to that bedtime snack. You may have the occasional slip up, but for the most part, try your best not to eat in the evening.
- Avoid sugars and refined grains. Consumption of candy, soft drinks, cakes, cookies, pies, pastries and even white rice are not ideal for a healthy diet.
Make an Appointment
If you’d like to learn more about how to manage your weight, schedule an appointment with one of our WakeMed Primary Care providers. We will be happy to assess you, suggest a goal weight and help you navigate your options for healthy weight loss. Remember, too that our Bariatric Surgery and Medical Weight Loss team is also here for you. We’d love to see you win the fight against obesity in the new year!
Sources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm
https://www.insider.com/doctor-no-longer-supports-fasting-diet-study-found-few-benefits-2020-10
