Intermittent Fasting: What, Why, and Should You?
Intermittent fasting is a weight-loss trend that is currently receiving quite a bit of attention with celebrities and health gurus endorsing the practice. These figures say that intermittent fasting, or IF, can greatly improve weight loss and even help control diabetes. Those are tall claims that certainly turn heads in the health world. But what is intermittent fasting? Before we jump into this trend we want to know how it works and whether it’s healthy.
What is the theory behind IF? According to Monique Tello, MD, at Harvard Health, “Between meals, as long as we don’t snack, our insulin levels will go down and our fat cells can then release their stored sugar, to be used as energy. We lose weight if we let our insulin levels go down. The entire idea of IF is to allow the insulin levels to go down far enough and for long enough that we burn off our fat.” Okay, so that makes sense. If we give our bodies enough time to process the food we’ve eaten before we eat again, we’re less likely to gain fat and more likely to burn fat. But IF, like any diet, won’t work if it isn’t done in as healthy and safe a way as possible.
Just like every other diet, seeing results from intermittent fasting means eating the right kinds of food when you aren’t fasting. It won’t work if you’re eating lots of carbs or processed foods. IF requires that you adjust your eating habits, eating more fruits and veggies, more protein, and less processed sugar. Making sure you’re getting enough protein when you’re not eating as often can be difficult so a collagen supplement like Traditional Tonic Nourishing Collagen, which contains 10 grams of protein in each serving, can help.
The other thing IF requires is a safe and healthy approach to fasting. You don’t want to fast for too long or at the wrong times. Tello suggests fasting at night when our bodies are already used to slowing our metabolisms and also says to shoot for 8 hours of non-fasting a day, early in the day when your metabolism is higher. Only eating from 7am to 3pm or eve 9am to 5pm should help you see major results from weight loss to lower blood sugar and even a lower appetite. Remember not to go overboard and to listen to your body if it is telling you that IF isn’t the right diet for you.
Sources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156