For the last couple of years, there have been whispers about intermittent fasting. There are people who fast who absolutely swear by it, and it’s been backed by many professionals.

But I’ve always been of the opinion that it was an unnecessary evil. Who would want to starve themselves for 16 hours or more? Personally, I love the process of eating. Yes, I admit, I love food. And I love my structured eating patterns of 3 meals a day with a snack or two here and there. No wonder I wasn’t into this fasting idea.

As I started to research about it, I expected to find similar opinions of my own. Surely dietary professionals, who always preached how important breakfast is, would not be advocating skipping meals.

It turns out I was wrong.

That’s not to say that all professionals agree or that we should all drop our forks and start fasting. Not at all. But there were several high opinions on this eating pattern.

Yes, be careful folks, don’t call this a diet, the hungry fasters will snap! This is referred to as structured eating. We all have eating habits built into our schedule. Some of us eat two meals a day morning and night, some of us eat every 2 to 3 hours consistently throughout the day, and some, like me, stick to the traditional 3 meals. Intermittent fasting is another type of eating schedule.

What does an Intermittent Fasting schedule look like?

•  There are a lot of ways to schedule your meals, and obviously, there is not one specific way that works for everyone. Like all diets, there is no one size fits all method. Basically, it’s trial and error.

• There is the 16/8 method in which you fast for 16 hours, then when you break the fast for 8 hours, you can ideally fit in two to three good sized meals.
• The popular 5:2 diet has you fasting two nonconsecutive days out of every week. On the fasting days you are to consume only 500-600 calories, and on the other 5 days, you eat as normal. 

The stop-eat-stop method has you fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. With this method, most people will organize so that they can have at least one meal every day, meaning the 24 hour fasting period spans part of two days, rather than go one full day without eating. For example, eat breakfast on one day then not eating again until breakfast the following day.

Alternate day fasting, as the name implies, is fasting every other day. This is considered one of the more extreme versions of intermittent fasting and isn’t usually recommended for people starting out.

And there are probably hundreds more to choose from. Like I said, one diet won’t work the same for two different people.

But why would you put yourself through this in the first place?

Why on Earth people wanting to fast for their health?

A lot of fasters will be quick to point out that fasting is common among different cultures and religions. As if they need a point to validate their behavior to skeptics like myself. But, it turns out there is more to it than that.

One of the first things that most people like about this structured eating is weight loss. Yes, yes, it promises weight loss just like every other fad diet does. But actually, it kind of makes sense. If you are fasting for 16 hours and eating for 8, there’s a good chance you’re not going to be able to eat as much in 8 hours as you’re used to in a full day. So unless you’re seriously loading up in those 8 feeding hours, you’re most likely going to be consuming fewer calories.

When you are in a fasted state, your body starts to use stored fat as energy rather than the glucose from your last meal. Since you are fasting, blood sugar is low, which in turn means insulin is low and glucagon is high. Glucagon is a lesser-known hormone that promotes stored fat to be used as energy for the body in order to reserve the remaining glucose for brain function. Human growth hormone, which promotes muscle growth, is also raised in a fasted state.

Studies have also shown intermittent fasting improves blood cholesterol levels. This one surprised me. Both LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglyceride levels had been significantly lowered after a period of intermittent fasting.

Some people even claim to gain longer life expectancy and protection against diseases due to changed gene expression, but this one is harder to prove.

Another pro to consider is the flexibility of your eating schedule. If intermittent fasting is something that will fit nicely into your schedule without much effort, you’re more likely to stick with it than another program which requires lots of effort, like eating 6-7 meals a day, meal prepping, or other tactics.

But even as great as all these sounds, there are still some downsides to it as well.

The downsides:

There’s definitely a binge-purge cycle within the foundation of intermittent fasting. This mentality causes concern for anyone who is susceptible to eating disorders. Having strict and set guidelines for when you can or cannot eat can, and sometimes does, lead to obsession. While I’ve never struggled with an eating disorder myself, I do understand the mentality behind it. This mentality, while not necessarily disordered eating in itself, could definitely lead to it.

Skipping meals can also lead to higher cortisol levels. Cortisol is also known as the stress hormone. Doesn’t sound too appealing, huh? Not only does cortisol make you feel more stressed, but it can also make you fat. Super unappealing. Cortisol blocks the release of hormones that inhibit hunger and cravings, meaning you’re hungrier than ever while fasting.

After breaking your fast, once the body starts to digest, blood sugar levels will spike. While you might have been benefitting from low insulin levels all morning, this afternoon meal has caused insulin to spike as well. Then the resulting crash can lead to more food cravings. This spike and crash can vary depending on food choices when you break your fast. Sugary foods or simple carbs make the spike and resulting crash more drastic.

Overall, it can really mess with your body’s homeostasis. Homeostasis is just a fancy word for balance. In a homeostatic state, your body’s hormone levels are in check, and bodily systems are all functioning properly.

It is important, as well, to note the difference between men and women in fasting. It’s been proven that intermittent fasting can seriously mess with a woman’s hormones even more so than men. It can increase hunger hormones as the body thinks it’s starving, so be careful!

The Takeaway

For me, it’s pretty clear that this is not for everybody. But there are enough people out there singing praises for intermittent fasting that I have to concede there is probably some benefit.

I think the majority of the weight loss aspect is simply calories in versus calories out. By which I mean people are eating fewer calories than they are burning in the day because they are simply eating less. That is the basis of weight loss, people.

As for the other benefits, it’s up to the individual to decide if the pros outweigh the cons. As for myself, still yet undecided. Maybe I’ll give it a try in the future. Will check back in if I do!

Has anyone tried intermittent fasting? What are your thoughts?