3

FASTING AND WEIGHT LOSS

Not only can intermittent fasting be beneficial for your health, but it can also ramp up your weight loss. Studies have shown that calorie restriction and periodic fasts may increase both weight loss and fat loss. An intermittent fasting diet may also provide you with the mental reprieve you need to stick to the diet for the long term—rather than restricting yourself to a certain number of calories every day, you only eat a reduced-calorie count a few days a week. In addition to increasing weight loss, an intermittent fasting diet may also help you to incorporate healthy eating habits.

Average Caloric Guidelines

The number of calories your body requires varies widely depending on your gender, age, weight, and activity level. Adult males typically require more calories than adult females because they have a higher percentage of muscle, which requires more energy to maintain. Your size is also a factor—a woman who stands 5’2” will naturally require fewer calories than a woman of similar build who stands 5’8”. It is also important to note that the more active your lifestyle, the more calories your body will require to fuel everyday functions.

For adult women, the average caloric guideline for a sedentary lifestyle is between 1,800 and 2,000 calories. Moderately active women may require between 2,000 and 2,200 calories, while very active women might need as much as 2,400 calories per day. Adult men with sedentary lifestyles generally require between 2,000 and 2,600 calories per day. Men who are moderately active may need between 2,200 and 2,800 calories, while very active men may need up to 3,000 calories per day. See the table below for a breakdown of age ranges and caloric needs based on activity level (USDA, 2010).

The Science of Calorie Restriction

It should not be difficult to comprehend the idea that reducing your caloric intake will lead to weight loss. It is simply a matter of science: eating fewer calories than you burn will cause you to lose weight. Extended periods of calorie restriction, however, may have the opposite effect. Drastic calorie reduction often leads to rapid weight loss, which studies have shown is difficult to maintain. Once you return to a normal diet, your body will quickly regain the weight you lost, perhaps even some extra. Over time, your body is also likely to adapt to the reduced caloric intake and any extra calories consumed may be stored as fat.

Though drastic and extended calorie reduction may not be healthy, periods of reduced caloric intake are scientifically proven to increase weight loss. One pound of fat is equal to about 3,500 calories, so every 3,500 calories eliminated (through calorie reduction or exercise) will theoretically be one pound lost. It is important to remember, however, that your body requires calories to function. Your body needs a minimal number of calories on a daily basis that you should not drop below—this is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR). If you drop below your BMR, it could have a negative effect on your health.

The key to weight loss is to achieve a balance between the number of calories you consume and the number you burn. Food is fuel for your body—it converts calories into physical energy to maintain bodily functions. The extra calories you eat are stored as fat and reserved for later. If you consume fewer calories than you burn, your body will begin to burn fat for fuel. The more fat your body burns, the more weight you will lose.

Fasting for Improved Eating Habits

Perhaps the most significant way intermittent fasting can improve your eating habits is that it may change the way you look at food. In many modern Western cultures, food has become something of an addiction—it is no longer simply a source of fuel but an object of obsession. An intermittent fasting diet may help you break your dependence on food, helping you identify poor eating habits and encouraging you to take steps to improve them.

Many people eat out of boredom or simply because something “looks good.” We are prone to succumbing to false hunger cues triggered by fast-food commercials, pizza delivery ads, and the simple abundance of food in our modern culture. Engaging in an intermittent fasting diet will force your body to experience true hunger, thus helping you relearn what it feels like. After experiencing genuine hunger on a fasting day, you may be able to stave off false hunger on non-fasting days.

Another way fasting may help improve your eating habits is by encouraging you to focus on wholesome, nutritious foods. On fasting days, because you are consuming a low number of calories, it is important that you get those calories from nutritious foods. Making healthier eating choices on fasting days may carry over into your non-fasting days, improving your eating habits overall.

Dealing with the Side Effects

Before engaging in an intermittent fasting diet, it is important to understand the potential side effects. Not only will you feel hungry on fasting days, but you may also experience other physiological effects. When you first begin fasting, it may take time for your body to adjust, and during the adjustment period, you may experience negative side effects. Some of these may include muscle weakness, headache, fatigue, and dizziness. Over time, however, your body will adjust to the fasting regimen and you may experience increased energy levels, reduced hunger, and stabilized hormonal function.

In order for your fasting diet to be a success, you will need to figure out a way to deal with the hunger. Hunger shouldn’t be a problem on non-fasting days, but the reduced calorie count required on fasting days may leave you feeling famished. The guidelines of an intermittent fasting diet suggest that you consume two main meals per day to stay within the recommended calorie range. To keep yourself from getting too hungry, try to keep those meals under 200 calories and supplement them with low-calorie snacks. You can also try drinking hot tea to help you feel full.

Consecutive Versus Non-Consecutive Fast Days

While extended periods of fasting can be effective for weight loss, this type of diet can also be difficult to follow. Surveys taken by individuals participating in alternate-day fasting diets (fasting every other day) suggest that this type of program is difficult to adapt to. Fasting every other day may result in increased hunger as well as serious side effects including sleeping disorders and persistent fatigue.

Intermittent fasting, or fasting on non-consecutive days, has been shown to be a much easier diet to follow. Fasting one or two days a week while engaging in normal eating habits for the remaining days has a less significant mental impact on participants. Simply knowing that you will be able to eat normally the next day may help you get through your fast day more easily than if you knew you would be fasting again the day after.

Fasting and Your Eating Habits

If you are overweight or simply carrying a few extra pounds, think about how long it took you to put on that extra weight. Chances are, you gained weight slowly over time rather than putting on ten to twenty pounds in a matter of days. This is the foundation of one of the major controversies surrounding fasting—the idea that if the weight comes off too quickly, it won’t last. Because it takes time for the body to gain weight, skeptics of the intermittent fasting diet suggest that losing weight should also be a gradual process. Though this idea is practical in theory, the truth is a little more complicated.

Fasting is not an end-all solution to weight loss—you also need to reevaluate your eating habits, including the way you think about food, to achieve healthy, lasting weight loss. If you engage in an intermittent fasting routine but continue to overindulge in high-calorie foods on non-fasting days, you may experience a yo-yo effect with your weight loss. Any progress you make on fasting days will be negated by the extra calories you consume on non-fasting days. To make the weight loss you achieve on an intermittent fasting diet last, you may need to make a few adjustments to your lifestyle.

To start, you may need to adjust the way you think about food. Do you spend a great deal of time every day thinking about food, planning your next meal, or indulging your cravings? These kinds of thought processes are what lead you to overindulge on non-fasting days. If you think about food as fuel for your body rather than a reward or a guilty pleasure, you may find it easier to make healthy eating choices. You may also find it helpful to eliminate unhealthy foods from your refrigerator and pantry. Stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables so when you do feel hungry, you are more likely to choose a healthy snack rather than an unhealthy one.

If you need a little help getting started, refer to the following list:

Foods to Eliminate from Your Diet

•  Potato chips and snack mixes

•  Cookies, cakes, and other sweets

•  Refined sugar and flours

•  Frozen dinners and prepared entrées

•  Sugary cereals

•  Whole milk and heavy cream

•  Flavored yogurt

•  Cream- and cheese-based sauces

•  Fatty cuts of meat

•  Butter or fat for cooking

•  Creamy salad dressings

•  Sour cream and dip for chips

Replacement Foods

•  Fresh fruits and vegetables

•  Air-popped popcorn (low butter)

•  Rice cakes and vegetable chips

•  Natural sweeteners in moderation (honey, maple syrup, etc.)

•  Whole grains (quinoa, oats, brown rice, millet, etc.)

•  oatmeal or muesli

•  Skim milk or non-dairy milk (almond milk, coconut milk, etc.)

•  Plain nonfat Greek yogurt with fruit

•  Vegetable-based sauces

•  Lean protein sources (chicken, turkey, fish, shrimp, etc.)

•  Cooking with vegetable broth

•  Vinegar-based salad dressings

You don’t have to completely change your eating habits to engage in an intermittent fasting diet, but you can maximize your results by making healthy eating choices even on non-fasting days. Don’t feel like you have to quit cold turkey all of the foods in the first list—you can eliminate them from your diet slowly over time or simply limit your consumption of those items, if you prefer. The only way you will reach your weight loss goals following an intermittent fasting diet is if you stick to it—do whatever you have to in order to make the diet something you can stick to for the long term.

Note: In Section Three of this book, you will find a collection of delicious, healthful non-fasting-day recipes. Be sure to pair these meals with healthy snacks from the lists provided in Chapter 5.