Fasting is one of the oldest practices. Some do it for religious reasons, others wish to detox their bodies and lose weight. Once you plan to follow a healthy diet for weight loss, you will find endless options that can improve your eating pattern. Every diet is not meant for everybody. It always depends on the body weight, blood sugar level, calorie intake, inner strength, and more. However, these days fasting diets are quite a rage and are considered to be effective for weight loss. But does fasting work?
Yes, for some people it does. Even science has also supported some of the fasting diets for weight management and presented their health benefits.
How Does Fasting Work?
Normally, a human body needs energy to function and its primary source of energy is sugar (also called glucose). The sources of glucose are fruits, dairy products, sweets, grains, beans, and some vegetables. The function of the liver and muscles is to store glucose to release it into the blood when the body needs it.
However, in a fasting body, the normal actions of the body change a bit. When you fast for eight hours, the liver uses every ounce of stored glucose. After that, the body goes into the state known as gluconeogenesis, which is an indication of the body shifting to fasting mode.
During the state of gluconeogenesis, the number of calories the body burns decreases. Since there is zero intakes of carbohydrates, the body develops its own glucose and when your metabolism slows a bit, the body starts burning muscle tissues for energy. Eventually, as the bodyweight decreases, you overall lose weight.
Does Fasting Help Weight Loss?
Many people are not able to comprehend if fasting is effective for weight loss or is it just a myth. Some say that fasting helps you lose weight, but you can’t pause this practice because it leads to a rapid hike in body weight.
During the fasting period, the person avoids overeating which helps maintain the weight loss momentum and ensures a healthy eating pattern. However, some studies have shown that fasting helps in weight loss, but this is not true for everyone. Obese people who have practiced fasting diets lost a significant amount of weight as compared to those who adopted regular weight-loss diets. However, it is a difficult practice to continue in the long run.
To help understand it better, let’s break down the pros and cons of fasting.
Fasting Pros
1. Belly Fat Loss
Fasting promotes eating fewer meals which leads to fewer calorie intake that helps one lose weight. There is a fasting method known as intermittent fasting where a person fasts for straight 16 hours and is allowed to eat in the remaining 8. Benefits of intermittent fasting plans include belly fat loss. Also, it enhances your hormone function by catering to the low insulin levels and higher number of hormones that are responsible for breaking down fat and energy in the body.
2. Healthy Brain
Fasting diets may also improve brain functions. In the case of intermittent fasting plans, the body may experience a reduction in inflammation, stress, and blood sugar levels. As a result, your body tends to feel relaxed. It may also increase the growth of nerve cells which ultimately impacts brain functions.
3. Heart Health
Heart diseases are the most common of all. One of the benefits of intermittent fasting is that it lowers the risk of heart disease or other factors that may contribute to its development by improving blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
4. Strong Immune System
A fasting diet can help improve the immune system. How? It triggers the regeneration of old cells in your body which helps the immune system become stronger and enables it to fight off diseases. Moreover, it releases toxins that enhance the ability to combat sickness.
Fasting Cons
Along with many health benefits, fasting may have some disadvantages too.
1. Moody and Exhausted
When you refrain your body from food intake for a long time, you may end up feeling tired and moody, especially in the initial days of its practice. This adds stress to your nervous system which can result in low energy, fatigue, drowsiness, low blood sugar level, and irritation. However, it gets better when the body gets used to it. To keep you nourished during fasting, doctors suggest dietary supplements such as Green & Blue Spirulina Extract and Garcinia & Green Coffee.
2. Possible Overeating
When we talk about intermittent fasting plans, it consists of fasting and feasting time – the duration you are allowed and not allowed to eat respectively. During feasting time, you are not restricted to a small food portion and can eat anything you like, so sometimes you tend to overeat as a way to compensate for your deprived cravings and hunger. Since your body doesn’t have food for long hours, your hunger becomes extreme which can lead to overeating, especially of the choice of foods that are not so healthy.
3. Eating Disorders
Fasting is restricting your body from eating to lose weight, right? The longer you fast, the more calories you will burn, which results in weight loss. In case you have previously experienced disordered eating issues, the fasting diet can relapse or develop more eating disorders.
4. Lack of Physical Activity
Fasting for long hours can leave your body low on energy. This results in a lack of any physical activity or exercise because you may end up feeling fatigued and lethargic. This is not a positive sign of fasting as it minimizes exercise from routine which is one of the main components of a healthy lifestyle. That’s the reason fasting is not recommended to athletes, immunocompromised individuals, or pregnant women.
The Bottom Line
Skipping meals and following fasting diets may not be the best method to lose weight. However, it works great for some people. So, before you adopt any of the fasting diets, consult your doctor for approval. Despite its popularity, this diet is not for everyone. Fasting has various health benefits, yet it is insufficient. Never forget to take your vitamins to make up for the nutrients you’ve lost.