This is a question I had for many years. I wasn’t very familiar with intermittent fasting and had heard how effective it was for weight loss but didn’t understand why and how. After doing some research I found that intermittent fasting is good for weight loss.
Why? Because the premise of intermittent fasting is to only eat at specific times. So, you are decreasing your timeframe for eating by 12 hours, since you are fasting for 12hrs every day, which can help you burn fat. How? Your body can burn your fat stores when you are not constantly eating.
According to John Hopkins Medicine, there were studies conducted that showed that intermittent fasting was beneficial for obese people, as they were able to lose weight. The best part about intermittent fasting is that you don’t have to worry about counting calories, weighing your food, or being confused with counting total carbs or net carbs.
Intermittent fasting doesn’t get any easier, just don’t eat for 12 hours straight. Simple.
I personally don’t eat from 10 pm to 10 am. After 10 am, I will eat some seeds to help until my lunch break. One of the things I noticed was that I wasn’t hungry.
In the beginning, it was difficult, I’m not going to lie, but eventually, you get used to it, and you don’t start to get hungry until it’s time to eat again.
So, if you decided to start intermittent fasting today, how many pounds should you expect to lose? I think it’s important to stress, that with any healthy eating plan you choose, you must be consistent.
According to Harvard University, they systematically reviewed 40 studies which found that intermittent fasting is good for weight loss. According to the studies, people typically lost 7-11 pounds over 10 weeks. That is roughly .7 – .9 pounds per week.
I know you are probably thinking that’s not a lot of weight. So, if I may suggest one thing, I would combine our Good Food/Bad Food list ( healthy eating plan), with intermittent fasting. So that you are eating foods that your body needs, while not constantly restocking your “shelves” (your body) with empty calories.
When I first heard about intermittent fasting, it was introduced to me as a great way to lose weight. However, after researching this program in more detail, I learned that it’s way more than a weight loss program. Intermittent fasting is not only for weight loss.
Some of the additional benefits from intermittent fasting, according to John Hopkins Medicine, are:
Benefits | Results |
Repair Cognitive Function | Boosts memory |
Improve Heart Health | Improves blood pressure, and maintains resting heart rates |
Stronger, Leaner Physique | Fat loss, while maintaining muscle mass, and physical endurance |
Reverse Diabetes & Obesity | Prevents obesity and increased weight loss |
Improve Tissue Health | Reduces tissue damage for surgery patients and improved results |
Now that you know all that intermittent fasting has to offer, your next question is, are you going to try it?
Intermittent fasting is not a gimmick or a “fad diet”. Just like with any healthy meal plan, you must be patient and consistent. Remember what we learned from Harvard University; it takes 10 weeks to lose between 7-11 lbs.
To see a full transformation, you will need to commit to making intermittent fasting a part of your life.
Here at Hungry Fit Foodie, we recommend weight loss programs that can be done long term. Why? Long-term weight loss programs should add to your overall health. By replenishing your nutrients and making sure that your body is nutrified so that you don’t gain weight.
The beautiful part about intermittent fasting is that since it is not a gimmick or fad diet, it can become part of your lifestyle without compromising your health. Do you remember the Atkins Diet? If you recall, the Atkins diet was under a lot of scrutiny for being associated with health concerns.
Well, according to the National Library of Medicine, in an abstract called, “ Low-carbohydrate diets: what are the potential short- and long-term health implications?”, it describes how the Atkins diet is harmful to your health over a period of time.
The abstract goes on to say that “Complications such as heart arrhythmias, cardiac contractile function impairment, sudden death, osteoporosis, kidney damage, increased cancer risk, impairment of physical activity and lipid abnormalities can all be linked to long-term restriction of carbohydrates in the diet”, while on the Atkins diet.
I can’t express how important it is to choose a weight loss program that can be done long-term and that will contribute to your overall health.
Weight gain is due to nutrient deficiency. How is that? Well, if you are nutrient deficient, then your gut will send signals to your brain that you need to eat because you are still missing vital nutrients.
Your brain will then send signals for you to eat. Have you ever had a great meal, and 30mins later was like,” Why am I hungry? I just ate a big meal; I should not be hungry right now.”
Well, it could be that your body wasn’t able to get the vital nutrients it needed for you to be healthy, and everything functioning properly. As a result, your brain told you to eat again, hoping that you will give it what it needs for your overall health.
As a result, I highly recommend trying intermittent fasting.
Although I really like Keto, based on the research, I personally believe that intermittent fasting is better for weight loss. Why? As we discussed earlier, intermittent fasting is safe and recommended for long-term metabolic support.
Whereas Keto comes with some concerns. If you are not familiar with the Keto diet, Keto is short for Ketogenic. The Ketogenic diet is a low-carb diet, with an emphasis on getting more calories from protein and fat, and far less from carbohydrates, which leads to weight loss.
However, as mentioned earlier, Keto does come with some concerns.
According to the Mayo Clinic, “there’s very little evidence to show that this type of eating is effective — or safe — over the long term for anything other than epilepsy. Plus, very low carbohydrate diets tend to have higher rates of side effects, including constipation, headaches, bad breath and more.
Also, meeting the diet’s requirements means cutting out many healthy foods, making it difficult to meet your micronutrient needs.”
As you can see, Keto is not for everyone, and can be harmful in the long-term. Which is why I recommend implementing intermittent fasting into your daily life, and adding keto for short periods of time.
