Common Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

In Facebook group Mediterranean Diet, the question often comes up on what to expect when starting Intermittent Fasting. Keeping in mind that this is different for everyone there is a range of physical and mental changes you can expect. In this article, I will shed some light on common challenges and benefits of adopting Intermittent Fasting. Not surprising this may differ between men and women so that will be addressed as well.

Although there are many variations to Intermittent Fasting the one recommended for beginners is 16:8, which is an 8 hour “feast “window followed by a 16-hour “fast” window. Just like your body needs to recover from a strenuous workout or a hard day’s work with sleep, your digestive system benefits by having a complete rest. According to the Mayo Clinic, “After you eat, it takes about six to eight hours for food to pass through your stomach and small intestine.” So if we take that as a measure 16-hour fasting window there are 8 to 10 hours when the upper digestive system will be at rest. To put it another way, the typical western diet of 3 meals plus snacks only allows the digestive system to rest 2 to 5 hours each day. If we keep eating throughout the day, we never let our insulin levels get low enough for our stored fat to be used.

A common misconception is that you will make up for the missed meals and snacks by eating more during the feast cycle, consuming a similar number of calories, just at different times. While this may happen initially, my experience is that your stomach will shrink and your capacity and willingness to eat large amounts of food will diminish at the same time. This means a natural outcome of Intermittent Fasting is calorie reduction without counting calories.

Hunger cues will start to change as you become fat-adapted; burning fat first instead of carbohydrates. You will continue to have hunger pangs but they will become milder and easier to control by drinking water or coffee or tea. Your body automatically will feed itself with fat first and have a reduced reliance on carbs. For me, those hunger pangs started to feel like the natural order, and after an adjustment period are easily ignored. 

The research also shows that fasting may affect women’s menstrual cycles, as women’s bodies are sensitive to calorie restriction. Fasting can affect the part of the brain that regulates hormones, causing stress. Stress elevates cortisol and in turn, your body uses progesterone to keep up, which will ultimately deplete the beneficial hormone progesterone. So extreme fasting can disrupt the reproductive cycle. Some professionals suggest a shorter fasting window to be extra safe, but then you lose most of the other benefits of intermittent fasting.

How much weight could you lose? According to a recent review of the literature, intermittent fasting can affect a range of 3% to 8% weight loss in as little as 3 weeks, although it may take up to 3 months before you stabilize. That is five to twelve pounds for a 150-pound person. Remember that results vary widely. I tell my coaching students not to focus on weight loss, and do not weigh in every day. There are so many other benefits that should be celebrated, the weight loss will come so don’t worry about it.

Studies have also shown people losing 4% to 7% of the all important waist circumference. This is all-important because this is a reduction of dangerous visceral fat or belly fat that shortens lives. That is very encouraging for those who are starting Intermittent Fasting primarily for health reasons.

Along with that belly fat loss, the A1C test for type 2 diabetes will show blood sugar heading back down into the normal range. This is due to much better insulin resistance that helps lower blood sugar levels. The studies show particular benefits for both fasting blood sugar and fasting insulin by adopting this Way of Eating.

 Intermittent Fasting is the only way to accelerate autophagy, which is the state the bodies enter into where damaged cells are removed and much more. The benefits increase each hour of fasting up until 54 hours or so. Extending the autophagy process as long past the 12-hour “start” is always increasingly beneficial.

What autophagy does for your body is as follows: “provides cells with molecular building blocks and energy; clears damaged endoplasmic reticulum and peroxisomes; eliminates intracellular pathogens and enhances the immune system; helps prevent damage to healthy tissues and organs; may prevent cancer and other major illnesses; reduces inflammation by clearing damaged proteins, dead organelles, and oxidized particles to make your body function optimally; recycles damaged organelles and proteins; protects against heart disease and supports the growth of heart cells; regulates cell mitochondria that can be damaged by oxidative stress; improves cognitive function, brain structure, and neuroplasti

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Created on Aug 17th 2020 07:17. Viewed 201 times.

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