How Intermittent Fasting Affects Weight Loss: Pros And Cons

Obesity is one of the growing disorders in the younger generation. Due to rapid urbanisation and modernisation, people do not follow a healthy routine of physical exercises and movement. This has caused a significant rise in the average weight of every individual. Obesity can become a complex disease as excessive weight gain limits the person’s mobility and functions, which can eventually lead to several problems. Excessive accumulation of fat in the body leads to a higher body mass index (BMI), which increases the risks of many diseases like high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, and more.

Weight loss is a slow but important process in the case of obesity, as extra weight increases multiple problems. Obese people can choose various ways to lose weight, like low-calorie intake, intermittent fasting, gyms, holistic living, and more. Along with physical issues, people can suffer from psychological problems as well. Once mental health is altered, physical health will suffer more, and weight loss becomes inevitable.

Growing awareness about fat loss and obesity has opened many ways to efficiently lose weight; however, it may be subjective as one technique may not benefit another. Blindly following someone’s journey without doing research can do more harm than good.

Intermittent Fasting And Its Benefits

Intermittent fasting is one of the most commonly chosen practices for effective weight loss and good health. It can also be considered a part of holistic living as it promotes the automatic repair and cleansing of the body. It is the period of fasting done at regular intervals, like fasting for 12–16 hours every day or keeping a complete day's fast every other day. This helps in reducing calorie intake and provides enough time to use the already-accumulated fat as fuel.

Intermittent fasting hours: Intermittent fasting is usually done at a 16:8 ratio, where fasting is for 16 hours while an 8-hour window is for eating. The fasting period is generally followed after dinner, and breakfast is taken accordingly so that for the maximum time, the person is asleep. Intermittent fasting greatly helps to reduce the appetite, which in turn helps to generate energy from the body's existing sources. The intermittent fasting benefits include:

Resetting The Sensitivity Of Certain Hormones

Since the appetite is reduced and low carbs are taken during intermittent fasting, insulin production is also reduced so that enough glucose is available in the body. This will help to maintain a significant balance of hormones in the body.

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Mental Clarity, Reduced Inflammation, And A Sense Of Well-Being

In intermittent fasting, the body performs ketogenesis, or the breakdown of ketones, to derive fuel for the body. This is an alternative catabolic pathway that does not occur frequently but is activated in the absence of food. Fasting acts as a stressor, due to which survival mechanisms like ketogenesis are activated. Here, ketone bodies are produced from fat, and these in turn help to clear the mind, reduce inflammation, and also make the individual feel healthy and good.

Renews Different Cells

Extended fasting or intermittent fasting promotes the removal of older red blood, immune, and bone cells. These cells are eventually replaced by newer blood, immune, and bone cells, respectively. Refeeding after fasting enables the renewal process to occur, and hence, fasting helps in building a stronger body.

Does Intermittent Fasting Really Help With Weight Loss?

People have started fasting not for two or seven days but even for 30 days straight. People fast only on the water so that weight is lost rapidly. However, this type of weight loss will have chances to be reversed quickly. Let’s learn this in detail.

During intermittent fasting for weight loss, since the appetite is lost and calorie intake is reduced, the body mobilises its components to produce fuel. If low carbohydrates are taken along with the ketogenic approach, then it helps to effortlessly lose fat. But in this process, apart from the accumulated fat, the muscles can also be used to generate fuel. As a result of this, the muscle mass comes off and the body becomes leaner. Although excessive muscle mass reduction is concerning, losing too much of it will make an individual vulnerable to many problems.

Extended fasting has another con in that it reduces insulin production so that the fat-burning process is super-fast. But it should be noted that by shedding excessive muscle mass, the body can become insulin-resistant, and hence, the weight loss can be reversed. The absence of insulin will lead to weight gain, and concerning muscle mass loss, the body will suffer from various disorders.

Intermittent fasting will also produce no unfavourable results if the feeding period is exploited. Calorie intake during this period must be noted, and a proper healthy meal should be taken. Extended fasting will help with healthy weight loss, but the process may take its own sweet time. Some studies have shown that people lose about 10 kg in 3 months, and the results can be highly variable as metabolism, exercise, diet, and other factors also play a major role. The practice must also align correctly with the body, mind, and soul to expect a decline in the inches.

Intermittent fasting or extended fast periods are the eating patterns that naturally help you to lose weight as the appetite is reduced and calorie intake declines effortlessly. A reduction in calorie intake is desirable for fat loss, and therefore, fasting can help to some extent. Intermittent fasting for weight loss also serves other benefits like triggering the renewal process, promoting mental clarity, and more. However, the ketogenic approach diet can also use muscle mass as fuel other than fats. Suppression of insulin during fasting will be accelerated due to muscle mass loss, which will eventually lead to weight gain as the person becomes insulin-resistant. So, intermittent fasting for weight loss should be done after considering all the factors surrounding it.

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