Which Intermittent Fasting Plan?
- 6:8 method
- 5:2 diet
- Warrior Diet
- Eat Stop Eat
- Alternate Day Fasting (ADF)
Before we go any further, whilst I think there may be benefits for health reasons, to use it for weight loss is just gimmicky. There is No scientific evidence to suggest there are any real benefits other than it happens to suit you and you can therefore keep to it.
One of many quotes: Intermittent fasting is not a diet, it’s a pattern of eating. It’s a way of scheduling your meals so that you get the most out of them. Intermittent fasting doesn’t change what you eat, it changes when you eat.
And there you have it. Nothing will change the fact that to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you eat. To lose weight fast you need to burn A LOT MORE calories than you eat. In short, find something that suits you (so you have a chance of sticking to it) then count calories. Reduce your calories and/or exercise. Intermittent fasting will only make it harder for you to function and serves no useful purpose for weight loss unless you actually like it so much that’s it’s the only diet plan you can stick to!
Studies call fasting into question
A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine followed 116 overweight adults who fasted for 16 hours a day and only ate between noon and 8 p.m. After 3 it was found found that those following intermittent fasting didn’t lose any more weight than those in the control group. “We found that it wasn’t an effective tool for weight loss,” says study author Ethan Weiss, a cardiologist at the University of California.
He goes on to say that his research didn’t show any improvement in metabolic markers such as blood cholesterol or blood glucose levels. This follows earlier research that found intermittent fasting was no more effective than an old-fashioned low-calorie diet.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined 150 overweight and obese patients over nearly a year, some of whom simply cut calories by 20 percent, while others followed a five-days-on/two-days-off pattern of intermittent fasting. At the end of the trial, both had lost similar amounts of weight and body fat.