What is intermittent fasting and how to follow it?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am curious about intermittent fasting and wanted to know more. I wanted to include it in my lifestyle. What are the things I should be aware of before starting such diets? How long should it be followed? Are any specific foods to be avoided? How long is the fasting period? I want to look fit and healthy.

Please help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I went through your query and understood your concern.

It is important to check with your doctor before starting intermittent fasting. Once you get his or her go-ahead, the actual practice is simple. You can pick a daily approach, which restricts daily eating to a six- to eight-hour period each day. For instance, you may choose to try 16/8 fasting: eating for eight hours and fasting for 16.

Although some people find it easy to stick with this pattern over the long term, that was not designed specifically to look at an intermittent fasting pattern and found that limiting your daily time window of eating does not prevent weight gain over time or yield significant weight loss results. That study’s results showed that reducing the number of large meals or eating more small meals may be associated with minimizing weight gain or even with weight loss over time.

Another intermittent fasting plan, known as the 5:2 approach, involves eating regularly five days a week. For the other two days, you limit yourself to one 500–600 calorie meal. An example would be if you chose to eat normally every day of the week except Mondays and Thursdays, which would be your one-meal days.

Longer periods without food, such as 24-, 36-, 48- and 72-hour fasting periods, are not necessarily better for you and may be dangerous. Going too long without eating might encourage your body to start storing more fat in response to starvation.

During the times when you are not eating, water and zero-calorie beverages such as black coffee and tea are permitted.

During your eating periods, “eating normally” does not mean going crazy. Research shows that you are not likely to lose weight or get healthier if you pack your feeding times with high-calorie junk food, super-sized fried items, and treats.

However, what some experts like about intermittent fasting is that it allows for a range of different foods to be eaten and enjoyed. Sharing good, nutritious food with others and savoring the mealtime experience adds satisfaction and supports good health.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.