As a society, we’re not in the best shape ever. For some, this is obviously unavoidable, but for many who think they could do with losing a few pounds, the term ‘intermittent fasting’ has likely done the rounds – on your phone or among mates.
On a base level, intermittent fasting means a reduced timeframe in which you ingest your daily calories, eating intermittently (see?) in order to more clearly control what you put in your stomach. The theory is that this is a more natural way for us to consume calories, and gives our bodies more time to digest efficiently, burning more energy along the way.
Besides the more extreme forms of fasting (which we’re not talking about here), the most sustainable techniques seem to involve neatly numbered names, depending on whether you’re looking at dealing with your food over days or hours. On the 5:2 diet, you eat normally five days a week and restrict your calories to around 500 on the other two. The 16:8 method focuses on restricting your food intake to a specific time frame – eight hours – while fasting for the rest. As humans sleep on average for around eight hours anyway, this seems like the easiest way in, and is the most popular form of intermittent fasting.
This way of controlling when you eat is easier for our barely-past-neolithic brains to process than other more complicated (read: faddy) diets that prescribe nutritional overhauls or long-term calorie restriction. It’s not like this is a new-fangled way of doing things: after all, our very first ancestors weren’t worrying about getting three square meals at the same time of day when they lived off berries for three weeks of the month while hunting big game to drag back to their caves. “They naturally performed intermittent fasting because they had no choice,” says Dr. Nick Knight. “Their body and metabolism adjusted and they survived (up to a point). All we have done is retrofitted modern society with a diet that may well have been the only diet, prehistorically.”
Our very first ancestors weren’t worrying about getting three square meals at the same time of day.
The benefits of intermittent fasting are plentiful, especially if you use Dr Google and Reddit, MD as your sources. There’s plenty of actual research that indicates real health improvements too, though, from lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s and potentially cancer, to reducing inflammation, improving cholesterol levels and elevating physical performance. The potential downside? What you’d kind of expect from lessening the amount of food you eat: cravings, low energy and mood, feeling weak and generally being an absolute fun sponge.
There are also those of us who shouldn’t go anywhere near intermittent fasting, including those recovering from illness or injury, people with low blood pressure, type 1 diabetics, anyone currently underweight and those who have a history of eating disorders. Women who are either pregnant or trying to conceive should also steer clear. Basically, if you think it’s going to put too much of a strain on you, check with a doctor.
The main risk in general is binge eating during the non-fasting period, cramming as much unhealthy food as possible into those sweet eight hours like you’re following the Butterfield Diet Plan. “This is a diet that tells you when to eat but not what to eat,” says Dr. Knight. “As such, there is a risk that when coming off the rather cumbersome and (I am sure) no-fun fasting period, it’s tempting to binge on the high-calorie, salty, fatty foods that your body would likely be craving. This will simply (and trust me, it’s a whole other article) undo any good work that the intermittent fasting has done.”
Ultimately, intermittent fasting probably isn’t worth it if your life becomes a long-lasting living hell of stomach rumbles and ice cream binges. Some might say that focusing the mind and body to stick to the rules is a meditative part of the process, and that’s a great point: but don’t overdo it. “It often boils down to the same question: can you do this long term?” asks Dr. Knight. “You can live full, healthy lives without needing to do so. That said, intermittent fasting is exciting and the evidence, albeit in its infancy, is promising.” Just make sure you speak to your GP if you think you have any conditions or take any medication that might be negatively affected by fasting.
So, for all you fasters out there: keep being you. The research is growing, the benefits seem to be stacking up, and if nothing else, it’ll make you more mindful of what you eat. Most of us need a bit more of that. And remember: fasting doesn’t mean not drinking. As we all know, hydration is king.
