*Intermittent Fasting here is being addressed around the concept of using it as a weight loss strategy and not meant to make any comment on those who practice fasting for religious or physician prescribed purposes.
What’s Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent Fasting is the practice of one having a certain “fasting window” and “feeding window” within a 24 hour period. The different “windows” time frame can vary but it’s typically 16 hours fasting and 8 hours feeding with the typical feeding window being set at 1:00pm to 9:00pm. Why would someone want to do this? Intermittent Fasting (which I’ll refer to as IF) can be used as a weight loss strategy and many have indeed seen successful results from it BUT what we need to note is that the results seen from IF are NOT specifically just from the fact that someone is having a “fasting window” and let me explain why.
The Overarching Principal
When it comes to weight loss the overarching principal of energy balance is what ALWAYS needs to be considered. Meaning that someone MUST be in a calorie deficit (burning more calories than they are consuming) in order to lose weight. So any “diet” or weight loss strategy you see has this principal in mind, and the same goes for IF. Because fasting itself doesn’t burn more fat or calories, but instead fasting and having a smaller amount of time to eat can make it “easier” for someone to consume less calories which can put them in a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. This can be a useful tool for someone that maybe doesn’t want to track their calories or macros or focus on making adjustments to every meal they’re eating, but instead can just have one less meal a day to create a calorie deficit (this typically looks like skipping breakfast but some will fast in the evening and skip their later meal instead). Ok, so this seems pretty straight forward and not harmful at all right? Well let me explain why I don’t personally do IF and who I recommend to do so and why and how they should do it.
The Possible Problems with Intermittent Fasting
As someone who previously suffered from a restrict and binge disordered eating cycle, I do not do IF, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone with previous disordered eating to do so, as it can become REALLY easy to make IF it’s own restrict and binge cycle. If someone just feels starving during the day and then binges as soon as the “feeding window” starts then they’re not probably consuming food in a healthy or fueling way. Also, if someone tries doing IF and ends up doing it this way then they could easily develop their own severe disordered eating patterns that they may not have previously had. And if they are trying to use IF for weight loss then they will likely not even be creating a calorie deficit as they are likely taking themselves out of a calorie deficit by over consuming calories after feeling starved all day. These are major problems that can occur with IF in regards to both physical and mental health.
Also, some people (myself included) just like to have breakfast and find themselves lacking energy without it. I typically don’t eat the moment I wake up but wait a few hours as I typically wake up at 7:00am and will typically eat around 9:00am when I’m hungry, but I know personally that there is no way I could wait until 1:00pm to eat my first meal. I would be lacking energy and also just thinking about food as soon as I became hungry until whenever I ate. Being this food focused could give me less energy and brain space for my work or anything else I needed to get done. And I’m also totally one to get “hangry” (aka cranky when hungry) so being like this all morning would just put me in a terrible mood that would seem to be only solved by eating. And the goal with food is that it should be fueling and satisfying. We should hopefully be able to enjoy whatever we eat and feel fueled from it and then leave the meal to be productive in the rest of our day. Thinking about food all morning could then leave me having too large of a meal for lunch if I went into feeling too hungry. And having a large meal may backfire to me feeling lethargic and sluggish which could then in an opposite way give me less energy to get work done. These are the reasons I don’t Intermittent Fast, BUT that doesn’t mean that it may not be a helpful tool for some.
Who Should Do Intermittent Fasting?
IF is something I would maybe suggest to those who either don’t like breakfast, don’t have time for breakfast, or when they are on lower macros/calories they would rather have larger lunches and dinners. My approach to any nutrition strategy with clients is asking them what their current typical meal and snack timing looks like, and if they tell me they don’t want to do breakfast because it doesn’t work with their schedule or maybe they would rather save more calories around their workouts later in the day, then I will suggest maybe not having breakfast. IF can be a helpful tool for those who wouldn’t enter their first meal starving which can lead to overeating like explained above, but instead are just eating their first meal when they are hungry and needing fuel which may be later in the day. BUT there is no “feeding” or “fasting” windows set, there are no rules around what time they can or cannot eat. Rules around food can create way too much unnecessary anxiety. Instead, it’s presented as an option for those who don’t want to or have time to eat at a certain time of day as a way to make transitioning into following macros or macro balanced meal ideas easier. Because whatever someone can easily adhere to is what they will be consistent with, and consistency breeds results!! And if some days they want breakfast then that’s fine! Whatever their fitness goal may be (losing fat or building muscle) as long as they are averaging out their macro and calorie goal for the overall day then they WILL make progress. It does NOT matter in regards to weight loss if you have 2 meals or 6 meals a day; if you’re in a calorie deficit then you will lose weight.
The Bottom Line
Intermittent Fasting can be a tool for some to make being in a calorie deficit easier BUT for others it could make it harder. If you’re considering IF as a tool for weight loss just know that the fasting itself does not have any special “fat burning” powers, but being in a calorie deficit is what will ultimately result in weight loss. And if IF makes being in a calorie deficit easier for you then maybe try it out. BUT if it makes you feel too much food anxiety and like a restrict and binge cycle could occur then probably drop the idea. And if you love breakfast then FORGET about it J ! And if you do decide to try it out, know that it doesn’t need to be super strict or structured. You don’t HAVE to wait until 1:00pm to eat but you also don’t have to eat the minute you wake up, find out what works best for YOU and YOUR GOALS and eat when you’re hungry and when you need to!
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*This post was created by Ashley Cates who is not a Registered Dietician or a Medical Professional, nothing said should be taken as medical advice or replace any advice given by a Physician. This information does not in any way intend to diagnose or treat any health condition/disorder. The information provided is based on Ashley’s education and experience.