What is this intermittent fasting all about?
What does it look like and how will it help you?
Fasting or intermittent fasting diets have received lots of public attention since British physician, Dr. Michael Mosley released his 5:2 fasting diet. But what is fasting, what does it look like and how will it help you? Fasting is a way of eating that includes periods of time-restricted eating (TRE) and replicates an evolutionary process that the body uses to maintain itself.
Fasting can take many forms and can be easily adjusted to fit around your work/life schedule. True fasting means having nothing but water, though other methods can be used. Some may drink black coffee which helps to alleviate hunger, or consume a spoonful of fat, such as coconut oil, which will also help to keep hunger at bay. A pinch of quality salt under the tongue can also help by satiating your body’s need for sodium, which can often be confused for hunger. The body will also require extra sodium during periods of energy restriction, so don’t fear the salt. I also like to go for a cup of home-made bone broth to get me through my fast!
Fasting benefits
What is it about fasting that seems to be effective for weight loss and how is it good for my health?
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Fasting facilitates cellular autophagy. Put simply this gives cells in our bodies like mitochondria, which are our energy producing cells, the chance to ‘clean house’. This aids by detoxing, reducing inflammation, improving metabolism and can have an anti-aging effect. Just imagine, if you eat or snack every few hours, like many of us do, our cells are constantly at work, not giving them a chance to remove any debris or excess by-product from cellular metabolism, which ultimately makes our cells less efficient.
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Fasting also improves insulin resistance, which is the first step on the path to Type II Diabetes and is a known factor in heart disease. Insulin resistance is a reduction in your body’s ability to utilise insulin in response to energy intake from carbohydrates, hence it’s obvious why fasting would be of great benefit to your health.
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Fasting can improve hunger regulation by helping to indicate when your body actually needs food. Simply, hunger, along with weight loss, is tightly regulated by hormones. High carbohydrate diets can block the hormone receptors that tell us when we are satiated and we should stop eating. We can eat a high carbohydrate meal and two hours later be hungry again, but are we truly hungry when this occurs?
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Fasting also improves our ability to metabolize fat. Our key goal in weight loss is to lose fat, whilst maintaining our lean body mass such as muscle and bone. How fasting does this is by reducing our cortisol levels, which is a stress hormone that promotes weight gain; and conversely by increasing our levels of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) which stimulates fat loss and maintenance of muscle mass and bone.
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There are many other benefits of fasting, such as increased longevity, reduced cancer risk and clearer skin, but I have only touched on some of the key ways that fasting improves health and helps with weight control. It can take some time to adjust to this process. So initially fasting may be a challenge for you, but with some practice and self-control, your body will adjust quickly to this way of eating.
The 5:2 diet
As mentioned, the 5:2 diet has really increased public interest in fasting diets, but what is it?
The basic premise is that for five days a week you eat normally and two days a week you eat only one, calorie restricted meal, which is approximately 25% of your regular calorie intake (500-600 calories or 2200-2500kj.)
You can have your two fasting days one after the other or separated during the week. Also, when you have your one meal, it could be lunch, or it could be dinner, whichever is more appropriate for you. It has been a misconception that you can eat anything you like on your eating days, but this is not the case. It is ideal that you eat as well as possible. I would recommend eating real food, avoiding processed foods and getting a good balance of healthy fats, proteins and carbs to meet your energy needs.
Avoid fat restriction as this helps to regulate hunger and is also essential for human health (every cell in our body is surrounded by a layer made of fat!).
Fasting day tips
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Start fasting on days when you are not at work initially.
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The key is plan ahead, schedule your eating and fasting for times when it suits you and your body’s needs.
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Should you need to break a fast for any reason, don’t stress about it, and just reschedule it for a time that suits you.
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If you are already at, or manage to get to your ideal weight, you may only want to restrict your eating a couple of days a week for the health benefits and weight management.
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If I happen to go out for a large meal or a few drinks, I try to fast the next morning, aiming for a 16 hour fast. This helps to reduce any guilt of having a night out or over indulging on great food!
Making changes to your diet should be done in consultation with a professional, especially if you’re pregnant, you have other health concerns or take medication. Most dietitians should be able to see the benefit that fasting has on the body. It shouldn’t be considered a diet, but a way of eating and an evolutionary process that is beneficial to human health.
Author: Michael Benham
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the view of the ESSSuper.