Intermittent fasting has gained popularity as a way to lose weight by limiting when you eat. However, the lack of food restrictions and fluid eating patterns can lead to overeating and health problems, and its long-term effectiveness has been questioned.
While the modern beauty ideal favors a slender body with thin limbs and a small waist, in the past, voluptuousness was considered a virtue. These changes have led many people to try dieting, and one of the most popular diets is intermittent fasting. Traditional diets involve restricting certain foods, such as the Emperor’s Diet (meat, fish, eggs, etc.) or the Danish Diet (a high-protein, low-carb diet). Intermittent fasting, on the other hand, is characterized by not restricting the types of food you eat, but by limiting the time you eat. This has great appeal because it gives you the freedom to eat whatever you want and still lose weight. However, there are some concerns about this method, so in this article, we’ll take a look at the benefits of intermittent fasting, as well as its side effects and risks.
Intermittent fasting basically aims to maintain an empty stomach, and there are two main methods: the 16:8 rule and the 5:2 rule. The 16:8 rule involves spending 16 hours of the day on an empty stomach and only eating for eight hours. This usually means skipping breakfast and eating between 12 noon and 8 pm. The 5:2 rule involves eating normally five days a week and only eating one meal on two days. The advantage of these methods is that they are relatively flexible and can be adjusted to suit your individual body and lifestyle.
The main advantage of intermittent fasting is that there are no restrictions on the types of foods you can eat, and it’s easy to follow because you can maintain a fluid eating pattern rather than a regular, strict diet. Furthermore, intermittent fasting’s popularity has been fueled by studies that have shown that an empty stomach boosts the activity of the sirtuin gene in the body, which helps with cell regeneration and anti-aging. For example, one of the most famous examples of intermittent fasting is Yoshinori Nagumo, a Japanese medical doctor. He wrote a best-selling book advocating intermittent fasting with one meal a day. Dr. Nagumo claims to have regained 20 years of youthful appearance and health through intermittent fasting, and an experiment by Dr. Taisuke Ono of Kanazawa Medical University found that mice who restricted their calorie intake aged slower than those who did not.
However, there are a few questions about intermittent fasting. The first is the question of whether you can eat whatever you want. Many people fail at dieting because they can’t control their cravings. If a person follows the 16:8 rule and overeats for eight hours, the effectiveness of the diet will be limited. In fact, the key to intermittent fasting is to limit your calorie intake during fasting periods. In the case of the 5:2 rule, it’s recommended to eat no more than 600 calories per meal for two days. Therefore, it may be a misnomer that intermittent fasting is known as an “all-you-can-eat diet”.
The second question is the fluidity and continuity of intermittent fasting. While intermittent fasting gives you the flexibility to adjust your meals according to the situation, it can lead to overeating. For example, if you overeat the day before, skipping breakfast and lunch the next day could be unhealthy if intermittent fasting is flexible. Maintaining a consistent pattern is important for successful intermittent fasting, and a fluid eating pattern can be counterproductive.
Finally, it’s also worth reconsidering the idea that intermittent fasting is stress-free. For example, during Ramadan in the Arab world, there is a tradition of not eating during the hours when the sun is up. However, during this time, people tend to relieve the stress of fasting by shopping. It’s also not uncommon for people to experience depression after practicing intermittent fasting, or to suffer adverse health effects from prolonged periods of fasting.
In conclusion, intermittent fasting has become popular because of its simple rules, but there are many things to consider when practicing it to make it a healthy diet. Although intermittent fasting can help you lose weight, some studies have shown that the results are not much different from those of a typical calorie-restricted diet. It”s important to understand the pros and cons of intermittent fasting before choosing it as a diet method, and to approach it with caution based on your individual health conditions.
