Intermittent Fasting
It’s not quite the buzz-word of “keto” status, but I think it’s climbing in popularity. In fact, folks actually use Intermittent fasting (IF for short) to aid or kick their plateaus in other diet platforms like Keto.
So, when I say Intermittent Fasting, what am I really talking about?
There are quite a few accepted definitions of IF on the webs these days. Some, I would term Intermittent fasting and some I would call time-restricted eating, and some I would call severe caloric restriction.
There are several types of Intermittent fasting:
- Fasting/Feeding during a 24 hour period
- Every 24 hours the cycle repeats.
- Common modalities are 16:8, 20:4 and OMAD (one meal a day) – fasting typically over 14 hours in a 24 hour period.
- 16:8 refers to fasting 16 hours within a 24 hour period and eating during only 8 of the hours in that 24 hour period. Likewise 20:4 is fasting 20 hours and eating during a 4 hour window.
- Every other Day
- Eat for 24 hours, fast for 24 hours
- Fasting/Feeding during a weekly period
- Fast one day a week and eat 6 of the 7 days. This logistically would probably end up with a slightly longer than 24 hour fast for the fasting window.
- Fast 2 consecutive days per week.
- Fasting/Feeding during a monthly period
- Similar to the weekly fasting, picking 2 or so days to do 24 + hour fasts.
For clarity, When I say “fasting” I’m not talking about ‘eating very few calories’ I’m talking about not eating any calories. Mostly
It seems the jury is still on what actually breaks a fats. And it largely depends on what you are using to measure fast breaking. So, some people consider any calories consumed to break a fast. Some consider only the rise of insulin.
I don’t like to count calories. And I don’t have any fancy schmancy devices to measure blood sugar, insulin or ketones.
So *MY* definition of fasting is: Not eating any food or calories or anything that the body could probably think is a calorie. So it’s easier to list the things I allow myself in my fast:
- Black coffee
- Black tea (usually iced but definitely unsweetened)
- Green tea
- Water
- Some medications (NSAIDS, prescriptions that aren’t in gel capsules/oil based pill forms)
The wine I’m drinking while writing this post? Not fasting.
With regards to my fasting protocol, I use the protocol of fasting for a specific number of hours in a 24 hour period. While I’m not defining my specific hour ratio of fasting:feeding because it changes given my circumstances, I do keep it in a 24 hour period.
Why Intermittent Fasting works for me:
First I want to address why fasting works for me before I even attempt to dive into the scientific evidence of fasting.
I am, by nature, a snacker.
Fasting mentally gives me a “reason” to not snack. If I know I’m fasting, and I’m in my fasting window, I’m much less likely to mindlessly shove snacks and whatever into my mouth.
What I found was during my previous job, I had to travel a lot. While on site, we often had to prep and teach a lot of different topics. While we knew the stuff, we knew that brains like sugar, so there would always be snacks in the room for the attendees of the classes. Those snacks would also be available for us. And I liked to “graze”.
Fasting gave me a reason to not graze till at least noon.
I’ll be honest. During my heavy travel weeks, I probably hit 14:10 fasting at best most days. And, I was good with that. Work days were 14+ hours long. There was a mental drain and often an emotional drain as well. I would decompress with comfort foods and drink each night, often in the company of coworkers.
I knew that every morning I would forego eating till lunch time. So I had to make sure whatever I ate at dinner would be substantial enough to “carry me over”. I also knew that lunch would happen… most likely… anyway.
Fasting actually helped me not worry about getting fed on time. I got “good” at fasting. And could ignore my growling stomach and know it would go away. So, on that one day when the delivery person got stuck between a train and a jack-knifed semi and our lunch ended up arriving 2 hours late, I was OK. Because I had been practicing fasting.
My mental stress decreased. Little things didn’t trigger me as much. So, when the lunch was going to arrive 2 hours late, I just rolled with it. No worries. Though, I did kind of worry about my non-fasting colleagues. (I hope they brought some snacks!)
On non-travel days, when my eating window is closer to 6 hours, fasting works for me because it’s just not that easy to get a bunch of extra calories into my belly in 6 hours and not feel really horrible. Therefore, my calories can be significantly restricted easily (when I don’t consume additional liquid calories in the evening, like the wine I’m drinking while writing this post.)
Also, I’m not much of a cook. So, only having to prep (or think about) two meals a day is significantly easier. And I like easy.
So, summing up, IF works for me because:
- I’m lazy and only dealing with 2-ish meals a day is convenient
- I like to graze on snacks and fasting gave me a really good excuse/reason to avoid snacks till noon
- Fasting helped me mitigate my “hangriness”.
Scientific Benefits of Fasting
There have been several studies (mostly in rodents) on the health effects of Intermitting Fasting, Time Restricted Feeding or Periodic Fasting. While a lot of the studies are done on rodents and therefore the results should be taken with a grain of salt with regards to the effects on humans, there have been some promising outcomes for the health of humans from fasting protocols. And some studies are now being done in humans corroborating the findings of the lab animal studies. Here are a few of the health benefits found from both animal and human studies:
- Blood Sugar regulation (low normal range)
- Increased alertness and mental acuity
- Inflammation Reduction
- Insulin sensitivity/resistance improvement
- Fat Burning/Fat Loss (with little lean mass loss)
- Autophagy (The body’s way of removing damaged cells and replacing with healthier cells)
- Increased Longevity
Is Fasting Right for you?
Ultimately, only you (and your health care professional) can answer that.
However, here are some reasons IF might NOT work for you.
- You need to take medications with food more frequently than you would be eating (ie every 8-12 hours)
- Food is a part of your identity or culture
- Your doctor strongly advises against it
- You want free pass to eat as much and whatever you want.
Medications
If you are prescribed a course of antibiotics for that ear infection and have to take them every 12 hours with food. Fasting is not for you (at least during the course of the antibiotics). If you’re an IF, this will pass and you can get back to your fasting protocol when you’re healthy. You must tend to your health first.
However, some medications prescribed for chronic issues or preventative issues are recommended (or required) to be taken with food every 8-12 hours. If you are on any of these, check with your doctor before even thinking about fasting.
Food Identity/Culture
The reality is that food is so much more than just nutrients and sustenance. It’s part of our culture, it’s a way we socialize, it’s a hobby or even an identity (“I’m a foodie”). With so many emotional ties to food, it would be ridiculous to think that everybody can just stop eating for 16 hours every day. So there are some of you out there who fasting won’t work for you because it is not really sustainable.
I’ve been practicing intermittent fasting for over a year now. I often tell folks that I Intermittently intermittent fast. … because there have been days when I threw the 16:8 out the window and just ate breakfast with my family or had drinks into the night with the colleagues.
Additionally, cultures or religions have different dietary protocols throughout the year. Some involve time-restricted eating (fasting).
But Not eating (aka fasting) is not for everyone. It might not be for you.
Doctor’s orders
You might have some reason your are medically advised to avoid fasting such as being pregnant, or a child, having low blood pressure or a history of eating disorders. There are other medical conditions which fasting may be advised against. Talk to your health care professional.
License to eat anything you want:
Even when you are fasting, your body still must abide by the energy balance equation. Calories in = calories out. There may be some metabolic shift in your body changing how it burns calories. But Fasting is NOT a free pass to eat anything you want in any quantity you want and not gain weight. If you eat more energy than you use, you will gain weight.
Bottom Line
Intermittent fasting is showing to be a healthy eating protocol for many reasons. There are reasons beyond weight loss to try intermittent fasting.
It, like many other “diets”, is not a guaranteed magic pill for any of the above mentioned benefits. And only you and your health care professional can ultimately decide if fasting is right for you.
Should you want to try fasting, here are some considerations:
- Know the risks. Talk to your doctor, be aware of any reasons you may need to “Pull the plug” and go back to your regular eating schedule.
- Start slow. You don’t’ have to jump into a 16:8 fast. That may be where experts say the “benefits start”. But you can ease yourself into it by just lengthening your current fasting window a little at a time.
- Keep it real. You don’t have to go all in and be perfect all the time. This is true for fasting just as it is for any other diet protocol. So, keep a healthy outlook on your journey and remember you’re trying something and can change your mind at any time.