Traditional diets are often unsustainable, causing you to lose your hard-earned results quickly. Or the well-known yo-yo effect. If we are to believe the intermittent fasting results, you could well break this effect. Fasting helps people eat fewer calories and also helps boost hormones closely related to our weight (insulin, growth hormone, and norepinephrine).
Scientific
research shows that 2 months of intermittent fasting can lead to up to 5%
weight loss. Learn in this blog why intermittent fasting can lead to
better results, what results people achieve and how you can create the most
favorable conditions for yourself.
Why intermittent fasting can improve results
Weight
loss is made easier by intermittent fasting, because this lifestyle does not prohibit foods. As long as
you don't particularly overcompensate for the periods you eat, this method
leads to reduced calorie intake, because you feel full faster and often can't
eat enough in such a short time.
Reduced
calorie intake will make you lose weight and belly fat , but you probably already knew this.
What
makes intermittent fasting special is that fasting affects your hormone
balance.
The
moment you do not eat anything, your body will make various adjustments to use
the stored energy and fat reserves more easily. The activity of the
nervous system changes, but there are also major changes under several crucial
hormones:
1.
Insulin. Insulin spikes
when we eat. When we fast, insulin decreases. And the low insulin
stimulates fat burning.
2.
Growth hormone. Growth
hormone rises sharply during fasting, even with the less extreme 16/8
method. But the longer you fast, the higher the peak. To illustrate:
after a few days of fasting, this is even 5 times higher! Growth hormone
stimulates fat loss and muscle building.
3.
noradrenaline. When you
fast, the nervous system sends more norepinephrine to the fat cells, which
breaks down body fat into free fatty acids that can then provide the body's
cells with energy.
It
is a misconception that 5-6 meals a day boost your metabolism. On the
contrary, you will only get more hungry because your body expects to eat more
often and as a result starts to release more hunger pangs.
In
contrast, fasting can stimulate fat burning and metabolism in the short
term. Two scientific studies have shown that a 48-hour fast boosts
metabolism by as much as 4-14%. Please note, if you fast for more than two
days, the metabolism can be suppressed again.
In
the beginning you will still suffer from hunger pangs, but once your body has
adapted to less frequent meals, you will also experience fewer hunger pangs.
How Much Weight Can You Realistically Lose With Intermittent
Fasting?
The
amount of weight you can lose with this depends on your starting weight, the
number of hours you fast and your food intake. Other factors may also play
a role, such as your lifestyle, age, activity level, and medical conditions.
If
you only eat sugary desserts, drinks and refined/processed carbohydrates, it
becomes more difficult to lose body fat with fasting. However, if you do
eat nutritious and healthy food, it is much easier to lose weight and achieve
your ideal weight. A number of scientific studies are summarized below.
Intermittent fasting results from scientific research
According
to a 2014 review, intermittent fasting can lead to significant weight
loss. This study showed that after fasting, body weight decreased by 3 to
8% over a period of 3-24 weeks (2). Participants lost approximately 0.25
kg per week with the fasting and 0.75 kg per week with the alternating or
alternating fast.
In
addition, they also lost 4-7% of their waist size, which clearly indicates that
they lost belly fat. These very positive results show that intermittent
fasting can be a useful weight loss aid.
Study 2. 5% Weight Loss in 10 Weeks
A
systematic review of as many as 40 studies published in The journal of
Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology concluded that intermittent
fasting was effective for weight loss. The average weight loss was 3.2 to
5 kilograms over a ten-week period. Participants weighed about 90 pounds,
so that's equivalent to a five percent weight loss. A huge loss in just
ten weeks.
What is the best intermittent fasting method for weight loss?
There
are dozens of different intermittent fasting methods and not all of them focus
on weight loss. Of course we want permanent weight loss and that makes the
best protocol 'the best' if you can stick to it for a longer period of
time. This means that it is better not to start with very drastic forms
such as the eat-stop-eat diet.
You
may want to fast for the minimum number of hours each day or you may prefer a
method where you fast most of your day for a few days a week.
The
most commonly used methods are:
·
Intermittent
fasting 16/8 : Fasting for 16 hours and eating for 8 hours, seven days a
week.
·
The 23:1 or one meal a day (OMAD) diet: Fasting for 23 hours and eating one meal a day
in a one-hour window.
·
The 5:2 method: Eat as you normally would for five days a week and limit daily
calories to a maximum of 500 (female) 600 (male) for the remaining two days of
"fasting".
·
Eat, stop, eat: This method is similar to alternating fasting, but you choose to
fast for an entire day for once or twice a week and return to your routine
eating habits the other days.
Expert advice on losing weight with intermittent fasting
Most
of us want to lose weight as quickly as possible, but doctors advise you not to
do it too quickly. Gradual weight loss is also best for good results with
intermittent fasting.
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention' (CDC) and the National Health
Service (NHS) of England recommend that you lose 0.5 to 1 kilo per
week. This is a safe range. In addition, this has an additional
advantage. The CDC indicates that if you lose weight gradually and safely,
you will have more success in keeping that weight down in the future.
In
short, losing half to 1 pound a week with intermittent fasting is safe, effective
and the best to maintain in the long term.
When intermittent fasting gives no results
While
the scientific research supports the effectiveness of fasting, there are many
possible reasons why you may not see results. It may sound
counterintuitive, but you may not be eating enough calories while fasting.
If
you limit the number of calories too much, it can actually have the opposite
effect: a metabolic adjustment. This is a process in which your body is
forced to use the energy and stored fat more efficiently. This means that
you will burn fewer calories, because your body has entered a saving mode.
Again,
the goal is not to reduce food intake, but to limit the timing of food
intake. It helps enormously if you continue to eat enough and
healthy. If you mainly eat ultra-processed and high-calorie foods, you can
overeat undetected and fasting is more difficult to maintain.
Finally,
make sure you drink plenty of water while fasting. Hydration makes you
feel full and satisfied. Plus, it's easy to confuse thirst with
hunger. If you are not hydrated enough when you can finally eat again, you
often opt for an unhealthy meal.
If
you want to learn more about why you aren't losing weight with intermittent
fasting, read 12 reasons
why you aren't losing weight with intermittent fasting .
Intermittent fasting results: Take home message
Intermittent
fasting affects your hormones and metabolism which speeds up fat burning. Intermittent
fasting leads to lower insulin, increased growth hormone, enhanced
norepinephrine function and a small boost in metabolism.
Scientific
studies have shown that fasting increases your metabolism and gradually
decreases your weight. Losing half to 1 kilo per week with intermittent
fasting is safe, effective and best to sustain in the long term.
To
positively influence the result, do not eat too little, continue to eat
healthy, stay hydrated and work towards longer fasting periods.
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