Is intermittent fasting effective?

 Who would starve themselves to death in the name of prolonging their lives?

Generally speaking, people's enthusiasm for weight loss and temperature are directly proportional, with the arrival of summer, weight loss began to set off seasonal upsurge.

Take medicine, exercise, weight loss methods are also leading three to five years, the most popular is probably through intermittent fasting to control weight. But is intermittent fasting really effective?

Cruel fashion

Shut up. It takes a lot of self-control. Intermittent fasting means that people taking this approach need to eat very small amounts of food at regular intervals.

The interval varies from person to person, and there are four popular patterns. One is to stop eating for 16 hours a day and eat for the remaining 8 hours. People who take this approach usually choose to eat between noon and 8 p.m., which is in line with most people's habits, at least for lunch and dinner. The second was to eat only a quarter of the usual amount of food, or about 500 calories, on two discontinuous days a week. The third is 24-hour fasting, or one day a week or month, in which you choose not to eat anything. Fasting for 24 hours can be challenging and can cause fatigue, headaches or irritability. The fourth is fasting on alternate days.

This seemingly cruel way of starving yourself every once in a while has unexpectedly gone viral. Intermittent fasting is now the most popular diet, according to a survey by the International Food Information Council. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has gone on record as saying he only eats once a day and will skip meals all weekend. Dorsey fasted strictly every Friday and Saturday and founded the company to sell fasting AIDS such as liquid supplements.

Due to the ancient Chinese tradition of not eating during the afternoon, intermittent fasting has also been combined with traditional cultures such as meditation, attracting some participants. In some contexts, intermittent fasting has been labeled as beneficial to longevity in addition to weight loss. Indeed, scientists have long known that limiting too many calories can extend life. When people starve, the body ADAPTS to find ways to prolong life. But here's the problem: Who would starve themselves to death in the name of prolonging their lives?

People may not want to live longer, but many are trying to lose weight. The allure of fashion is greater, and more cruel.

It doesn't necessarily lead to weight loss

The truth is even harsher, because for some people, even a period of hunger doesn't necessarily lead to an immediate weight loss, and it's not for everyone to go without food for a while.

Many people skip breakfast for 16 hours a day. "Eating a healthy breakfast is a great way to jump-start your day and is critical to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight," reads the U.S. Department of Health's website. Studies have shown that when people skip breakfast, their calorie intake decreases over a 24-hour period. But the number of calories burned through physical activity was also reduced, which would partially or completely negate the reduction in calories from skipping breakfast. So skipping breakfast is unlikely to lead to meaningful weight loss.

Alternate-day fasting is often used to lose weight quickly. Follow-up data show that alternate-day fasting can lead to significant weight loss over a period of eight to 12 weeks, but there are also problems with this approach. Compliance tends to weaken, and after the body readjusts, a day of fasting doesn't make a significant difference in weight.

Still, intermittent fasting has a lower threshold and is more common than most diets. Participants did not have to compare complex tables to calculate fat, sugar and carbohydrate components. To try it out, you only need a clock to act as a reminder. This simpler approach may also be one of the reasons it's so popular.

But easy is not easy. The biggest side effect of intermittent fasting is that the implementer may feel hungry and have palpitations, palpitations and other problems at the beginning if they are not used to it. So intermittent fasting may not be appropriate for people with certain health conditions. People with advanced diabetes, anorexia or bulimia, as well as people with chronic diseases or pregnant or lactating women, should not try INTERMITTENT fasting unless under the strict supervision of a doctor. In addition, gastric ulcer patients should not stop eating.

The essence of fasting

The root of intermittent fasting's effectiveness lies precisely in long-term adherence, not in "intermittent" fasting. A randomized clinical trial of adult obesity has shown that intermittent fasting is no more effective than regular calorie restriction. The various calorie-controlled diets have similar effects on weight loss, but the ones that really work are the ones that make people stick to them for the long term.

Many people who choose intermittent fasting go on an extreme diet after overeating, which is a common misconception. Some people may limit calories to less than 500 on the days they stop eating, but overeating at other times does not lead to weight loss.

The essence of fasting is not only the prohibition, but also the food itself. More healthy, safe and effective in order to fast, in the "window period" can eat, to eat a high nutritional value of food, such as intermittent break feed people need to eat fat from nuts, seeds, and lean proteins, whole grains, starchy carbohydrates, and a lot of fruit and vegetables, to supplement enough dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Other ways to reap the benefits of fasting to a greater extent include getting plenty of fluids, drinking plenty of water and calorie-free beverages throughout the day, getting plenty of rest and relaxation, and "distraction" during fasting, such as watching a movie to avoid thinking too much about food.

Most diets fail not because they contain too much food, but because they fail to follow a regular diet for too long. It's not a nutritional problem, it's a behavioral problem. That's what makes intermittent fasting so appealing, because maybe this way, you can get over the idea that you need to eat all the time.