Jennifer Aniston says it changed her life. No, we\u2019re not talking about a sitcom. We\u2019re talking about the current trending diet of intermittent fasting. But before you dismiss it as just a fad, Jeffrey Hooper, MD, says for some people intermittent fasting has real benefits that may go beyond weight loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not new,\u201d says Dr. Hooper, medical director for the MultiCare Center for Weight Loss & Wellness. \u201cLike so many things in weight loss, the pendulum swings, and intermittent fasting is getting popular again.\u201d<\/p>\n
And because it\u2019s been around for a while, intermittent fasting \u201cactually has science behind it,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
In late December, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article reviewing previous intermittent fasting studies, giving the method another big publicity boost.<\/p>\n
The review highlighted findings that, along with promoting weight loss, intermittent fasting decreases insulin resistance and the chances of developing diabetes, reduces risk for some cancers and forms of dementia and increases cardiovascular health and stress resistance. Studies in rats showed that intermittent fasting greatly increased their lifespans and slowed the aging process.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of these things are connected to weight loss, but others are less related,\u201d Dr. Hooper says. \u201cThere\u2019s benefit from doing this that goes beyond just the weight loss effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researchers know it works, but not necessarily how, he says. The New England Journal review theorizes that the key is something called \u201cmetabolic switching.\u201d The body always needs energy, and when you\u2019ve eaten, that energy comes from the glucose in your food. But when you haven\u2019t eaten for a few hours, your body turns to glucose stored in your liver. When you still don\u2019t eat, your body runs out of its stored glucose, then turns to burning ketones from your fat cells.<\/p>\n
This process is also the basis for the ketogenic diet, Dr. Hooper says. The difference between intermittent fasting and a strict keto diet is that you don\u2019t have to restrict any foods. In other words, you can still eat carbs, just not all day.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor some people, that\u2019s a really attractive extra,\u201d Dr. Hooper says.<\/p>\n
There are two versions of intermittent fasting. The first, which has been studied a bit more, is alternate-day eating or the 5:2 plan. In this version, you eat only 300 to 500 calories either every other day or two non-consecutive days each week.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to get patients to do it,\u201d Dr. Hooper says of those daylong fasts. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to do and in my experience, they don\u2019t stick to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, Dr. Hooper recommends patients try the 18:6 method of intermittent fasting. That means you limit your calorie consumption to just six hours a day. That usually means skipping breakfast and starting with a late lunch for most people, although you can move your meals to the first part of the day if you\u2019d prefer. In any case, eat two meals, one at the beginning of your six-hour window and one near the end.<\/p>\n
Whichever kind of intermittent fasting you take up \u2014 day long or 16-hour long \u2014 it won\u2019t help you lose weight if you feel so deprived that you eat far more than you normally would, so it\u2019s not for everyone, Dr. Hooper says.<\/p>\n
Fasting is most difficult when you initially start, as your body expects food throughout the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going to be hungry? Yes, you are,\u201d he admits. \u201cBut it\u2019s less than you might think.\u201d<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll typically feel hunger at the times you normally eat, but as the day progresses, those hunger pangs go away. They\u2019ll return at the next meal time, probably more intensely, but they should ease with a regular, healthy meal.<\/p>\n
For many, the idea of skipping breakfast goes against years of messaging that it\u2019s the most important meal of the day. Dr. Hooper says there\u2019s no evidence that is true \u2014 except perhaps in children.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudies show that kids, when you give them a protein-based breakfast, they think better and last to lunch better,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Some adults also seem to do better when they eat soon after waking.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many, starting the day with a good breakfast gets them going on a good path,\u201d Dr. Hooper says.<\/p>\n
If skipping breakfast leads you to more snacking and poor choices at lunch, you need to eat breakfast. But people who simply aren\u2019t hungry in the morning shouldn\u2019t feel like they have to eat breakfast to be healthy.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of what we do these days is to let people choose what\u2019s right for them,\u201d Dr. Hooper says.<\/p>\n
Another myth that intermittent fasting busts is that your metabolism slows and your body goes into a \u201cstarvation\u201d state if you don\u2019t have a steady amount of calories throughout the day. Even many dietitians mistakenly believe this, Dr. Hooper says. It\u2019s not the lack of calories, but the weight loss that triggers your metabolism to slow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not fair, but it\u2019s reality,\u201d he says. \u201cYes, your metabolism will slow, but it\u2019s slowing because your body is sensing weight loss. However you lose the weight, your metabolism is going to slow.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you want to lose weight, Dr. Hooper recommends reaching out to a weight loss specialist, who will have more training than a primary care doctor in analyzing and recommending a program that will work for you. Because whatever diet you use, it has to be one you can stick with permanently.<\/p>\n
\u201cIntermittent fasting is something that\u2019s popular right now and isn\u2019t too hard to employ,\u201d he says. \u201cPrimarily it helps to give folks a little structure, and structure to your eating pattern is useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
But working with a dietitian and diet specialist can give you the extra pieces you need to get past metabolic set points and make whatever weight loss method you use more effective.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever we do, we have to keep doing it,\u201d Dr. Hooper says. \u201cWe can\u2019t do it for just a month.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jennifer Aniston says it changed her life. No, we\u2019re not talking about a sitcom. We\u2019re talking about the current trending diet of intermittent fasting. But before you dismiss it as just a fad, Jeffrey Hooper, MD, says for some people intermittent fasting has real benefits that may go beyond weight loss. \u201cIt\u2019s not new,\u201d says […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":315,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n