What Is Intermittent Fasting??
- Dt. Rawan
- Nov 19, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 17, 2023
Intermittent Fasting is a type of diet that become more popular over the past few years.
There are different versions, but the general idea for all of them is that you eat normally some days of the week and drastically reduce your calories on other days.
How does it work?
The entire idea of intermittent fasting is to allow the insulin (hormone made in the pancreas) levels to go down far enough so that our fat cells can release their stored sugar, to be used as energy.
Types of intermittent fasting:
1- The 8:16 Diet (time restricted feeding)
You fast for 16 hours a day, but then you are free to eat whatever you want in the other eight hours.
It's advised to pick an early eating hours that let you finish your meals fairly, such as 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or earlier.
2- Alternate day fasting
Limit yourself to 500 calories one day, then eating whatever you want the next day , and then repeating that process.
3- 5:2 Fast Diet:
It involves eating 5 days a week and fasting for the other 2 days.
On fasting days women can get no more than 500 calories and men no more than 600. About a quarter of the amount you likely eat on a regular days. (this would be medically safer and easier than not eating at all on those days)
You can eat those calories in one sitting or spread them across micro-meals throughout the day, it is up to you.
If we really think about these types of diets, it looks like the diet our prophets used to do. For example:
- Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) advised us to fast on Monday an Thursday (5:2 fast diet)
- Prophet Dawoud (PBUH) used to fast one day and then eat regularly the next day and so on (Alternate day fasting)
- And lastly fasting the Holy Month of Ramadan (16:8 diet)
What You Can Eat and What You Can't?
You can eat mostly what you want on days when you don’t fast.
You can make it work with food restrictions if you're vegetarian or vegan, high- or low-carbs, avoiding fat, etc.... But it's worth noting that you could have side effects like fatigue, weakness, and headaches.
However, to lose weight and get the nutrients you need, you should stick to healthy foods and limit treats like dessert and processed foods.
Limitations:
It’s not easy to skip most of your calories a few days a week and rely mostly on water, coffee, and tea to keep you feeling full. You’ll need a balanced meal plan to eat in moderation on your regular days.
Exercising:
How much you exercise is up to you. But obviously, you’re not going to have a lot of energy for that on your fasting days.
Doing cardiovascular exercise (like biking) on the alternate-day fasting plan won't make you lose muscle mass while fasting.
What is the Benefits?
The benefits are clear, they can make people healthier and may even delay the symptoms of Alzheimer's.
Several studies looking at intermittent fasting diets do show at least short-term weight loss after following the diet for several weeks.
Will the weight loss will last over a longer time? That's not clear.
Several studies show that it may curb symptoms of asthma and improve cholesterol levels. Also, it shows improvement in the body’s use of insulin.
If you have medical conditions, talk with your doctor before you try intermittent fasting.
The Final word:
Always check with your doctor before starting any diet.
Intermittent fasting is not for everyone, including people with type 1 diabetes, pregnant women and lactating women.
Remember to drink enough on fasting days to prevent dehydration. And you’ll need to eat a healthy diet on days that you don’t fast.
Intermittent fasting is not a silver bullet. no amount of exercise or fasting can overcome a wrong diet or an unhealthy lifestyle.
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