Is it scientifically proven?

According to scientific studies, intermittent fasting can have many health benefits, the most significant being weight loss. It also leads to improvements within certain metabolic parameters. It can also restore microbe diversity in the gut, slow down the aging process, and much more.

With its emphasis on time restriction (rather than calorie restriction) intermittent fasting is shown to be just as effective for weight-loss as conventional diets. In other words, you can eat normally during the food intake window and still lose weight. This occurs because intermittent fasting allows the body to switch to a metabolic state that promotes fat burning, while maintaining muscle mass. By further limiting your calorie intake, you may lose even more weight.

However, there is still only limited scientific data to support this. More long-term studies will be necessary to understand exactly the effects of intermittent fasting on health.

Why intermittent fasting is the new trend?

Unlike most diets where the main focus is on what you eat, intermittent fasting, is all about when you eat.

Intermittent fasting can be described as a pattern of eating with an eating window. It is a practice which consists of alternating periods: periods when you eat normally and periods of restricted eating, in which only non-caloric drinks are allowed such as water, herbal teas, sugar-, milk- or even sweetener-free tea or coffee. There are different ways of fasting, but intermittent fasting is the most flexible and accessible, as the fasting cycle usually lasts 12 to 20 hours.* Studies point out that, initially you may suffer from some side effects, such as, fatigues, headaches, and low energy, but will improve eventually (Nain et al, 2020). However, extending the fasting period beyond one’s capabilities, do not necessarily imply it is better, but may become risky (Wang et al, 2022).

Although, it is not necessary to count the calories and there are no specific rules about what foods you should eat, having a healthy and balanced diet is essential for reaping the greatest benefits from this type of fasting.  it’s important to combine an appropriate diet with fasting to get the most weight loss benefits.

Overview on the types of IF:

Since we are well aware that weight-loss is not a one-size fits all plan, is equally true for intermittent fasting. While the latter can work wonders for some, others may not find it a sustainable approach to their lifestyle.

There are different ways to do intermittent fasting, but first you should find out which one best suit your daily life (Bayram et al, 2018). The most common ones are: the 16/8 method (Time restricted eating), the eating window is 8 hours of the day, while  you fast the remaining 16 hours; the 5/2 method (twice-a-week), 2 days fasting with only 500-600 kCal allowed; alternate day fasting, you fast every other day with 0 to 500kCal on fasting days and weekly IF (24 hours fasting), 0kCal for 24hr and normal eating for the other days.

Each method may eventually help you shred some fat providing that a healthy diet and moderate exercises are also involved.

The 16/8 method is the most popular intelligent fasting among the other mentioned program. It can be easily incorporated in your daily life without much fuss, simply because it has one of the largest eating windows.

How fat is lost during intermittent fasting?

To grasp how intermittent fasting helps to lose weight, we need to know what is happening in the inside.

We have two states: the fed state and the fasting state.

During the fed state our body is digesting and absorbing food. This state begins the moment we start eating until the food is absorbs lasting between 3 – 5 hours. The insulin level throughout this period is high to help “store” the food we have consumed, thus, making it difficult for the body to burn the pre-existing fat.

After that timespan, when the body ceased to digest and absorb food, the fasted state starts, which lasts for 8 to 12 hours. The body can now burn fat more easily since the insulin level is lower.

But our body seldom reaches that fat burning state, because we usually end up eating or snacking before the 12 hours (after our last meal) is over. This explains the basis of intermittent fasting and how people can lose weight, irrespective of the quantity or eating habits.

Bottomline, fasting, helps your body to reach the fat burning state which is not possible during the normal eating routine. (Laza, 2020, Health, Sports & Rehabilitation Medicine, 2021, Harvard Health Publishing Staff, Harvard Health).

We should keep in mind that intermittent fasting is not a miracle cure for obesity or weight-loss treatment. It is designed to help lose weight, while it may bring some other health benefits.