Overview Of The Pros And Cons Of Intermittent Fasting
Weight Loss: the faster the better is what people actually look forward to. And recently intermittent fasting has been gaining so much attention among people in weight loss methods. There are also commercial package products that are specially designed for the intermittent fasters available in the market. So, what is intermittent fasting? Why is it popular on the weight loss road map?
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
This article will help you to break down all the important details of intermittent fasting including its pros and cons. Intermittent fasting is the dietary pattern that involves eating less or no food at a specific interval, usually, certain days in a week or it could be specific time periods in a day.
When compared to a normal diet plan, intermittent fasting is more dependent on how much time, whereas other diets mainly focus on which or what types of food. Intermittent fasting criteria help the body fat to burn since the food intake is less or none on certain days. Some People might consider intermittent fasting as a way more simple and useful since it doesn’t follow a strict diet plan, but it has some health risks too.
Types of Intermittent fasting.
There are different types of intermittent fasting practices practiced by people. But it is recommended to ask the opinion of a health physician before selecting one.
Two Common Among Them Are:
5:2 diet plan
In this approach, you eat 5 days a week and the rest two days are set for intermittent fasting. You would consume very less calories ( about 500-600 calories) during these fast days. You can consume noncaloric beverages like water, plain tea, flavored mineral water, etc.
16:8 diet plan.
The plan includes taking an interval of 12-16 hours between your dinner and breakfast. Usually, the individual eats early in the night and a little late in the morning to achieve this specific time interval. The approach will give some rest to your digestive system and also help to burn fat for energy.
Who Should Not Follow Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting includes starving your body for a longer period, which might not be suitable for everyone. People with eating disorders, diabetes type 1, advanced diabetes, pregnant/ lactating women, people who are frail, people having other medical conditions are restricted from intermittent fasting.
Intermittent fasting – pros
Helps To Lose Weight
It can easily be understood that the less you eat, the body also tends to lose some weight. In the case of intermittent fasting, when you intake no food, the body tries to maintain the calorie deficit.
When your body gets triggered due to less energy available to maintain body function (due to longtime starving). The body uses glycogen for its energy needs. The store glycogen is converted into glucose and used as an energy source.
But once the glucose is depleted, your body uses the fats in the adipose tissue for fuel. This is how your body will attain less weight in the time of fasting.
Some researchers have reported that intermittent fasters have also lost weight, just like the people who follow normal weight loss methods. But research and studies about Intermittent fasting are very few, so its health risks need to be taken care of before deciding whether to follow this trend or not.
Easy To Schedule And Follow
When compared to most diet plans, intermittent fasting is a way easier to understand and follow. Other diet practices involve following special rules and special categories of food. It needs more commitment and patience.
Support Heart health
Intermittent fasting may help to improve heart health and protect it from other health risks. Because when you fast, your body cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, and insulin become lower. But most of the evidence on these topics comes from animal studies, not from human clinical trials.
Fast And Feast
When you follow normal dietary plans, there are times you crave foods that are restricted to eating. But intermittent fasting is different. You can eat whatever you want on nonfast days or times, and starve in the fast times.
Though it is not restricted to eating any food during the non-fast days, it is recommended to eat healthy foods to achieve the full benefit of intermittent fasting.
Intermittent Fasting- Cons
Suffer From Severe Hunger
Then people who follow intermittent fasting in fact starve their bodies for long. This might bring the severe hunger sensation in human bodies. Also fasting for a long time when others do not, your hunger increases when you see others eat.
Less Intake Of Nutritional Food
Some people may show more affection to intermittent fasting, because of no restriction on food eating on nonfast days. And they follow a food plan without concerning the amount and type of oil they used, the type of ingredients they choose, etc. Many people follow an unhealthy diet in non-fasting times. But it is recommended to follow a healthy diet for more benefits during and after intermittent fasting.
 More Sleep, Less Physical Activities
Some people tend to sleep during intermittent fasting due to exhaustion and weak body energy. One fact is that there are no or less recommended exercise plans during fast days. People usually change their normal routine or perform no physical activities at all due to fatigue.
Other problems include dehydration, weakness, tiredness, constipation, heartburn, etc. People with other medical conditions like hyperglycemia, kidney disease, uric acid, hypertension are restricted from intermittent fasting.
Conclusion
Though intermittent fasting is one of the trending weight loss methods in recent years, it still lacks evidence from a thorough scientific study. More studies conducted were on animals, and there are only a few studies conducted on humans. If any of you want to follow intermittent fasting, it is recommended to consult a physician to make sure that your health is fit. Also, make sure to include healthy diet plans in your nonfast day meals to ease your weight loss journey and benefit more from it.
