Intermittent fasting – is it beneficial?

What is intermittent fasting? The longest holiday season of the year is behind us, and in that sense, you could ask, what's the point of waving your fists around after a fight? We wanted the best, but with our weight, things went as usual. No problem, better late than never. January is one of the most popular months of the year when people try new things or start a new initiative. Below, I'll share some ideas that you can try. Whether it's to keep your body mass index normal or simply to improve your health.

Researchers from Loma Linda University in California and the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague found research The study used data from more than 50,000 people from the Second Adventist Health Study (AHS-2).

In their research, they found four factors that were most associated with a decrease in body mass index:

1. eat one or two meals a days;
2. extend overnight fasting up to 18 hours;
3. eat breakfast, don't skip it
4. and make breakfast or lunch your biggest meal.

All four of these are important topics and deserve to be discussed separately. This time, we will take a closer look at the topic of overnight fasting.

Intermittent fasting

There are many different types of fasting. There are water, juice, broth, vegetarian, and all sorts of other types of fasting. Fasting can last from 24 hours to dozens of days. I've heard that it's not a good idea to fast for less than 24 hours and that the body doesn't really go into fasting mode until the third day of fasting. Anyway, this study looked at water fasting, which lasts less than 24 hours and most of which takes place while you're sleeping. This is called overnight fasting, intermittent fasting, or interval fasting (intermittent fasting).

The study participants were divided into three groups based on the length of their overnight fast. The first group included people whose longest meal gap was 7–11 hours. The second group included those whose overnight fast was between 12–17 hours, and the third group included those who fasted for 18–24 hours a day.

To put these numbers into context, consider that a normal night's sleep is considered to be 7-8 hours. This means that people in the first group started and ended their day by eating. A 12-hour overnight fast would look something like this: if you eat breakfast at 8 a.m., then dinner is around 8 p.m. One relatively common rule is that it is not good to eat after 6 p.m. This would make an overnight fast of 14 hours in this case. So, for the average working person, a 12-14-hour overnight fast could be quite feasible with some planning and effort. Essentially, it would mean not eating after six in the evening. The problem is that the body only goes into fasting mode 12 hours after the last meal. To give the body time to truly fast, you need a much longer gap between meals than 12 hours.

Intermittent fasting is usually considered a fast of 16 hours or more. The authors of the study in question also recommend fasting for up to 18 hours. If you initially aim for a 16:8 format, i.e. 16 hours for fasting and 8 hours for eating, then you have a full 8 hours left for eating. For example, breakfast at 9:00 and dinner at 17:00 or breakfast at 8:00 and dinner at 16:00. Unless you are a homebody, you probably have to take into account that at least one meal a day will have to be eaten out or taken with you. The latter is definitely better for your wallet.

Intermittent fasting is almost as effective as eating less when it comes to controlling your body mass index. However, many people dismiss this option, considering it too difficult. The point of this long discussion is to show that even fasting for up to 18 hours may not be completely unrealistic. Yes, you won’t get there all at once, but it is possible if you move gradually. It also has a positive effect if you manage to do a longer overnight fast 2-3 times a week.

How does intermittent fasting work?

To understand how interval fasting (intermittent fasting) helps you lose excess fat, you need to understand the metabolic states. The fed state begins when you start eating and lasts for 3-5 hours, while your body digests and assimilates the food you just ate. It is very difficult to burn fat during this time because insulin levels are high.

After 3-5 hours, unless you rush to eat again after that time, your body enters an intermediate state between eating and fasting. This lasts for about 8-12 hours after your last meal. After that, your body goes into fasting mode. It is much easier to burn fat during fasting because insulin levels are low.

During fasting, the body is able to burn fat that was unavailable during food intake. Since fasting only begins 12 hours after the last meal, it is quite rare for our bodies to go into fat burning mode. This is also why many people lose fat with intermittent fasting without changing what they eat, how much they eat, or how often they exercise. Fasting forces the body to burn fat, and this practically does not happen with a regular meal schedule.

But what if your stomach is empty and you're hungry?

A common misconception about hunger is that the longer you go without eating, the hungrier you will become. It’s true that if you’re used to eating fast carbs, snacking frequently, or both, you’ve trained your body to high insulin levels, and intermittent fasting can take time to get used to, but patience pays off. If you’re eating a high-quality, fiber-rich, nutritious diet, a 16-hour overnight fast shouldn’t leave you feeling hungry after the first week.

It takes some effort and experimentation to find an eating routine that suits your lifestyle and eating habits. If you have any questions, feel free to write to me (allan.randlepp@advent.ee). I'm also interested in whether, when, and for how long you fast.