IS INTERMITTENT FASTING RIGHT FOR YOU? Find Out Now!
Today, the rage is all about Intermittent fasting….…the popular weightloss/diabetes control/healthy living method. Intermittent fasting is not about what you eat, it’s about when you eat. Basically you switch between fasting and eating on a regular schedule. Most research, and experts and nutritionists recommend that intermittent fasting can be a way to lose weight and reverse some types of lifestyle diseases. Let us explore today how eating on an intermittent fasting schedule can help in moving towards better health and happiness.
We have all mostly been brought up on an eating schedule that gets us to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with a mid-morning cup of tea or snack and an evening snack too. Since ancient times, there has been a tradition of fasting in every religion and culture. Some are simply one day a week fasts where you keep off grains and eat only vegetable based foods, some are fasts where you eat only one time a day, some call you to eat only fruits, and some prohibit you from eating non-vegetarian food on specific days of the week. The extreme fasts call for keeping off water as well as food for a significant period of time. Some ask you to abstain from alcohol and non-vegetarian food for an entire month. The act of fasting has many benefits including body detox, practicing self-control, spiritual cleansing etc.
WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?
Of late Intermittent Fasting is a new lifestyle option that people seem to convert to on a permanent basis. The idea is to stay off all food during a certain period, from 12 hours to 18 hours a day. It is popularly known to be a pattern of eating that gets you to stay off food for up to 18 hours a day and eat only during a 6 hour period, typically from 2pm to 8pm. Sometimes daily fasting periods could be as little as 12 hours. But there are many other forms of intermittent fasting that sometimes have you eating full meals on alternate days and fasting with calorie restricted meals on other days.
Intermittent Fasting impacts the digestive system by giving it a rest and giving your entire body a space to focus on repair and healing processes instead of being busy with the energy consuming process of food digestion all the time. Digestive enzyme producing organs get a break and a chance to repair and heal themselves. Accumulated toxins in the body get the space to be excreted out of the body. Hunger hormones like leptin (satiation hormone that reduces hunger) and ghrelin (the hormone that signals hunger in the body) get a chance to make their presence felt in the body. Production of hormones that regulate metabolism in the body like insulin and thyroid hormone get a reset and reboot. In short, fasting can trigger the innate and inborn capability of the body to heal and repair itself.
So, fasting is a good idea in general, and intermittent fasting is something that folks generally do not feel too difficult and challenging to do, unlike many other fasts which are more rigorous.
BENEFITS
Why is it becoming so popular these days? Well, that’s because there is evidence that Intermittent fasting can have plenty of benefits.
- Triggering self-healing mechanisms of the body
- Reduction in inflammation which is the underlying cause of diabetes, PCOS, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, asthma, stroke, etc.
- Weight loss
- General sense of lightness and wellness
From a psychological point of view, we all know that we are human beings first and foremost. We have emotions and behavioural patterns that define who we are and our relationship with ourselves. The act of eating and nourishing oneself is an important part of the relationship we have with ourselves and if that relationship is a healthy one, then how and what we eat contributes hugely to our sense of well-being and happiness.
Intermittent fasting is a great way to shift yourself from unhealthy eating habits to healthier ways of eating that reinforce your self-care routines.
So, as a part of a health transformation journey, Intermittent fasting can provide you with the space to understand your psychological relationship with food and to re-set your mind and body response to the food we eat. Some of the psychological benefits of intermittent fasting I have experienced in myself and witnessed in my clients are:
- Increased sense of self-control over what and when we eat. This reduces mindless eating patterns and enables us to conquer food cravings
- Taking a break, reflecting and re-assessing our eating habits create an awareness of biological hunger patterns in our body and allows a shift towards eating according to the real needs of the body
- The body detox during fasting periods, also supports a mental detox and while letting go of unhealthy food habits, we also let go of a lot of negativity and toxicity in our lives. The mind becomes sharper and more alert.
Research shows that intermittent fasting, if done right, helps in clearing brain fog, improved thinking and memory, reduced blood pressure and heart disease, diabetes reversal, weight loss, better physical stamina and endurance.
Wow, so many good things can come out of not eating three meals a day? Its amazing! Why did we not discover it before? I am sure that for some folks, it may be difficult or not recommended to do intermittent fasting. I am sure that there are some cons, or pitfalls to avoid along the road when eating in an intermittent fasting pattern.
WHEN INTERMITTENT FASTING DOES NOT WORK
When I first heard of Intermittent Fasting, it came from an American friend several years ago, and he claimed to enjoy eating all kinds of “high calorie” fried foods, with no real concern for nutrition and balance of macro and micro nutrients. He ate like a pig during a 6 hour window beyond his heart’s content. Of course I did see him losing weight but there is something that is definitely wrong here.
Intermittent fasting is not a cure for a bad attitude towards one’s health. There are many folks who sleep late at night, and can’t get up in the morning, so they skip breakfast in the name of intermittent fasting. To many, breakfast is the best start to the day and ought to be the healthiest meal of the day with nuts, seeds, fruit and legumes. Skipping breakfast and going straight to lunchtime might amount to intermittent fasting but it is not necessarily a good practice as the body wakes up after a good night of rest and repair and after elimination, the body needs nutrition. Also, morning is the best time to work out, go to the gym, go for a walk, run, cycle. So, if you are an active person in the morning, you need to give some nutrition to your body before and after workout, and if this is during the “fasting” period, it will do damage in the long run. Working out on an empty stomach and not replenishing thereafter is definitely not a good idea.
The best window for intermittent fasting in my opinion is to start fasting late evening, say 5pm or so and continue through the night until breakfast around 8am in the morning. In many places and families in India, eating before sunset is a good practice and has been found to contribute to good health in those who practice this.
Intermittent fasting needs to be supported with the right and balanced nutrition. In my personal opinion, I have seen many folks who adopt intermittent fasting as a permanent lifestyle but I believe that intermittent fasting should only be done for short periods of time, perhaps four to six weeks as a part of a health transformation journey especially for diabetes and weight loss. When the human body evolved, we were hunters and gatherers who foraged and ate continuously throughout the day, from sunrise to sunset. It was only at night that we did not eat. Civilisation saw us eating three meals a day with snacks in between. Our bodies need nutrition on a continuing basis to carry out the daily tasks of various organs, muscles and tissues. When we got civilised and ate in communities, and agricultural revolution saw us eating grains which our bodies were not used to, the system of fasting came in as a counter practice to help cleanse the body of toxins that got accumulated because of poor eating habits and nutrition.
If you are nourishing yourself in the right way, there is no real need for intermittent fasting For that reason, I believe that intermittent fasting is only a means to an end. The goal is to eat to nourish yourself properly. The role of intermittent fasting is to help you achieve that transformation. Hence intermittent fasting cannot and should not become a permanent way of life because the cells in your body will be deprived of nourishment for significant periods of time on a daily basis.
Psychologically, Intermittent fasting can create a sense of deprivation and I have seen many clients who get really “Hangry” and land up eating the wrong foods during the eating periods. All their cravings come to the fore and they “restrict” their eating so much, that when the do get to the time window of eating, all hell is let loose. The focus needs to remain on eating more fruits, salads and veggies even during intermittent fasting.
Diabetics on medication should not do intermittent fasting as it could lead to hypoglycemia as your medication works to remove sugar from your bloodstream and sugar levels could plummet downwards during fasting periods. Also, athletes and physically active people should not do intermittent fasting as the body requirements for food are continuous and ongoing. We need food to support our exercise routines with the right food before and after working out.
FINAL WORDS
Each person’s body is unique and each person has a unique relationship with food. It is important to understand the context in which intermittent fasting is done before making these changes to eating routines.
Intermittent fasting is not about skipping meals. Especially not about skipping breakfast which is the most important meal of the day. Its a temporary measure that helps reset the body metabolism and insulin response to food. It cannot be a permanent way of life. It is best to eat three meals a day at least for the rest of your life, and fast only to detox the body and give a short period of rest for the body to heal. This is why, consulting your Health Coach is important before deciding what is the best way to initiate intermittent fasting for yourself.
Intermittent fasting has shown proven results for diabetes reversal and weight loss and has many benefits when done right. Stay in constant touch with your Health Coach when intermittent fasting to make sure you are taking proper care of yourself.
Aneeta Madhok, PhD.
