Intermittent fasting (IF) indeed is an interesting one, yet, very different diet to others. However, I want to include intermittent fasting to the Diets-series, since the hype around it is at its top at the moment. Previous parts of the Diet-series you can find here (FODMAP) and here (ketogenic diet).
WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?
There’s no one correct way to do intermittent fasting. However, one of the most popular version of the diet seems to be the following: you fast for 16 hours of the day, and have 8 hours to consume your meals. This is called the 16/8 diet. There also are other forms of IF, such as fasting for 24 consecutive hours a few times a week, but since the 16/8 seems to be the one people want to follow, let’s keep our focus here. Therefore, when I’m talking about intermittent fasting, I mean the 16/8 diet.
WHY PEOPLE START INTERMITTENT FASTING?
People have different reasons to start intermittent fasting, but oftentimes people tend to try the diet in order to lose weight, control their appetite or they just enjoy fewer, but larger meals instead of more smaller meals.
WHAT CAN YOU EAT WHEN YOU’RE DOING INTERMITTENT FASTING? WHEN?
Intermittent fasting isn’t a typical diet where you have a list of foods you can and cannot eat. Instead, intermittent fasting is all about when can you eat. Let’s say that you’ll stop eating at 9 PM. This means that you’ll break your fast at 1 PM the following day. During the fast it’s OK to drink water, but not to eat anything. Nonetheless, the idea is not to stuff your face with cake and chocolate the whole 8 hours, but rather to consume larger, more filling meals.
PROS & CONS
Studies have shown positive health effects, such as reduced blood pressure and lowered cholesterol, to intermittent fasting, despite skipping “the most important meal of the day” (breakfast). However, intermittent fasting isn’t made for everyone. If you have a long-term illness (e.g. diabetes mellitus), adopting this kind of lifestyle may not be the best choice. Moreover, intermittent fasting isn’t usually recommended for children or adolescents, but let’s remember that everyone is an individual.
Intermittent fasting has become a widespread way of living, especially during this decade. Combing the previous with the fact that most of the studies on intermittent fasting focus solely on one form of the diet, the amount of data, especially on long-term effects, is lacking. All the same, intermittent fasting most likely will work for you if you find it fitting to your lifestyle and enjoy it. On the other hand, if you wake up hungry at 6 AM and hate the idea of fasting, this one probably isn’t the one for you.
Have you tried intermittent fasting, and if you have, how do/did you find it? I'd love to hear your experience!
-Jasmin ❤