Should You Try Intermittent Fasting?

4 Things You May Not Know About Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that involves fasting for a period of time and eating during a specific window of time each day or week.

If you are relatively healthy and eat a well-balanced diet, intermittent fasting can help you lose weight and break down more fat in your body.

While studies on intermittent fasting are relatively new, research has shown that fasting can boost your body systems and increase your overall health.

Intermittent fasting has been suggested to:

Increase your metabolic rate. When you fast, your body releases norepinephrine — which boosts your metabolism. And your body starts breaking down body fat for more energy.

Increase cell repair. Your body’s hormone levels shift to transition to breaking down stored body fat — which also leads to cell repair and removing stored waste from cells.

Fight inflammation and free radicals. Studies show fasting boosts your body’s ability to ward off oxidative stress.

Lower blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Thus lowering your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and other health issues.

Some people will fast for 16 hours of the day and then eat within an 8 hour window (16/8). Others may fast or limit calories for an entire day 2 days a week (5/2). Skipping a meal because you aren’t hungry is even considered an intermittent fast.

There is no cookie cutter pattern that suits everyone — or everyone’s lifestyle.

I personally do not recommend intermittent fasting.

Firstly — fasting should be short termed and is thus not sustainable. Rather than fasting, learn how to eat to promote health

Secondly, majority of people approach Intermittent fasting simply by cutting out meals out of their diet and thus not giving their body enough nutrients. Normally people do not get enough essential nutrients throughout the day as it is — by introducing fasting, they cut out even more building blocks of life.

Lastly, intermittent fasting can be detrimental to your relationship with food and can introduce eating disorders and anxieties around eating

If you are considering intermittent fasting for weight loss reasons, think nutrients vs amount of meals

Are you considering intermittent fasting but still have questions? Shoot me a message!

Categories: Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition, Weight management