Although fasting has been around as a practice since ancient times, it seems that it had been forgotten in the past few decades. Despite its recent popularity in the wellness world, it is considered a rather extreme option by the majority of people.
Numerous studies in recent years show that there is a great range of benefits from fasting, if done right. One of those benefits is weight management.
If you do not belong to the small minority of fortunate people in midlife who never struggled with their weight, I bet you have already tried to lose weight following some of the countless diets out there. I also bet that the diet was hard to follow and despite some initial success, the lost weight came right back after the diet was over.
What Is Fasting and Why People Do It
Fasting means abstaining from all or some kinds of food or drink. It’s done for different reasons.
Religion
Fasting is common in many religions, mainly for purification, spiritual and humility purposes.
Health
Various types of fasting are being used for health conditions, usually via
Mental clarity
Many people find that they can think more clearly when they fast and they use fasting to do creative work or be more productive.
Weight Loss
Fasting, mainly intermittent, is gaining popularity recently for weight loss purposes.
Types of Fasting
Exclusion
This is usually practiced for religious purposes, where some food groups are excluded from our diet for specific periods or days of the week.
This type of fasting can also be required for some health conditions and suggested by our physician.
The variations are countless, here are some examples:
- Water fasting, with no food intake, only water consumption allowed
- Only consuming water and hot beverages like coffee or tea
- Same as above, plus bone broth or juices
- Excluding meat and fish
- Excluding all animal products
Periodic (Intermittent)
Probably the most popular way of fasting today. There are many ways to do intermittent fasting, like:
- 16/8: fasting for 16 hours and concentrating your meals within an 8-hour window in the day
- 5:2: eating normally five days of the week and eating nothing or maximum 500-600 calories two days of the week
- One Meal A Day: eating just one meal a day, also called the Warrior Diet
- Alternate Day Fasting: fast or consume less than 500-600 calories a day, every other day
- 24-hour fasts: fast for 24 hours continuously, i.e. have dinner at 7 pm and have your next meal for dinner the next day at 7 pm
Longer Fasts
These fasts can last from a couple of days to a few weeks, or even longer.
Anyone who is considering longer fasts should certainly do so under their physician’s supervision. This is true even for healthy individuals.
Health Benefits of Fasting
If you look up the benefits of fasting online, you’ll get the impression that fasting is the miracle cure of almost every health condition. Although hard to believe it would only take fasting to get well, there must be something to it. It’s not
It should not surprise us that our body knows best how to heal itself. The only thing we have to do is let it do its magic by concentrating its resources on healing rather than digesting. This approach surely has its limitations, but it seems to be a good first line of defense.
Based on recent studies and accounts of many specialists, here are some of the health benefits from fasting:
- Blood sugar control via improved insulin sensitivity
- Decreased levels of inflammation
- Weight management
- Longevity through Autophagy (cell renewal)
- Naturally Boosts Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
Other Benefits of Fasting vs. Dieting
Benefits from fasting go beyond health.
Lower Decision Fatigue
Fasting is easy and it takes away the pressure of deciding what to eat all the time. What selection to make from the menu, the “interrogation” of the waiter for the ingredients of each dish, etc.
You will still need to do some of that when you follow a healthy diet, but it will be surely less frequent and much simpler.
It Is Less Costly
When you skip meals and refrain from eating all the time, you definitely consume less and minimize costs. The benefit is even greater when you skip restaurant meals.
Saves Time
Eating less frequently saves you time. Not only the time consuming the meal but also preparation, cleaning up, commute, etc.
Mental Clarity
Another positive effect most people experience – and one that I have noticed myself – is the mental clarity in a fasted state. It’s easier to concentrate, be creative and more productive.
Increases Discipline
In reality, fasting is much easier that you think. As you start slow, skipping a meal here an there, you soon realize that it is not a big deal. You quickly move to longer periods without eating, to one meal a day or a full day fast.
These small successes motivate you further and help you exercise more discipline in other areas of your life. It has certainly helped me.
Risks of Fasting
Like almost everything else in life, almost nothing we do is without risks if not done properly and in moderation. The same goes for fasting and here is some of the related risks:
- Dehydration: the body is not able to hold onto water without food consumption and you will need to drink more water
- Stress: If you are used to consuming three meals per day and snack in between, it may be stressful in the beginning
- Falling asleep: Fasting can affect your sleep, mainly the ability to fall asleep in the initial period
- Headaches: Dehydration, if not consuming enough water and inefficient sleep may cause headaches in the beginning
- Eating disorder: Fasting may promote some eating disorders
Anyone with a medical condition should consult their physician before engaging in any kind of fasting.
How to Go About Fasting
Fasting has some great benefits but also some risks, depending on the type, length, and existing medical conditions.
Here are some steps you can follow to make sure you do it safely and maximize success:
- Do your research; it is crucial to understand the pros and cons as well as the various options and types of fasting. It will also be essential for your conversations with your physician and other specialists. A great resource on fasting is IDM (Intensive Dietary Management) site of Dr. Jason Fung and Megan Ramos.
- Discuss it with your doctor and other well-being specialists you may consult as your dietician, personal trainer, etc.
- Start slow. Perhaps quit snacking at first, then skip a meal here and there
- Stop immediately if you feel unwell and consult your doctor
- Try different types of fasting and see which routines fit your needs best
Keeping weight off is definitely a challenge for most of us in midlife.
Fasting, if done right, can be a powerful alternative to break free from dieting in midlife.