What’s all the Fuss About with Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss?

Modern society has made life easier on many fronts. Cars to take us long distances, supermarkets provide an abundance of food choices, TV shows and streaming services to provide entertainment in the comfort of our own homes, social media is constantly on tap, we use our phones and computers to conveniently order anything our hearts desire right to our doors, at any time of the day or night.

But all this convenience comes at a cost – a metabolic cost.

In 2021, the Health Survey for England found that 63.8% of adults in the UK were either overweight or obese (1). It is harder than ever to maintain a healthy weight.

Rewind 50 years… there were no mobile phones or computers, entertainment was limited (just 3 channels for me before the age of 10), and finished at 11pm. People worked and played outside more. Portion sizes were smaller and there wasn’t as much a variety in available junk food.

This cultural change in convenience has had such an impact on the health and weight of the nation.

We can eat almost continuously if we want to, staying up later and getting less and less exercise, failing to offset this rise in calorie consumption (2).

Our bodies evolved to go without food for hours, sometimes even days! Early humans lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, not knowing necessarily where the next meal was coming from, and when food was available, you had to work for it – work that expended copious amounts of energy. However, these technological advancements have steered humans away from this natural state of unintentional fasting periods.

Our access to excessive calories and less activity has been a major player in influencing this obesity crisis we currently find ourselves in. This, unfortunately, increases the risk of illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic and potentially life-threatening issues (2), not to mention our confidence, self esteem, and general physical and mental wellbeing.

So intermittent fasting has become a hot topic in recent years and many people use it as a strategy for weight loss.

Intermittent fasting (or IF) is where an individual prolongs the fasting period between eating (2). Essentially, they limit the time in which they can eat within, then spend the rest of the time in a fasted state.

The two most popular forms are the daily approach, where individuals allow for a 6–8-hour window each day to consume all their calories, then not eat during the rest of the hours of the day.

Or the 5:2 method, where five days a week they consume their normal calories, then the other two days they only consume one meal consisting of 500-600 calories (2).

These methods have their merits, but are they as beneficial as certain media sources may suggest?

 

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss

The Intermittent Fasting approach to dieting is a tried-and-tested method for losing weight. In studies on humans and rodents, positive effects are seen in terms of body composition, energy expenditure and metabolism. Researchers found that it was a safe and tolerable dieting approach, where participants saw a 3-8% drop in overall weight in overweight and obese adults (3).

Welton et al (4) found Intermittent Fasting to be a promising treatment for obesity.  Conventional dieting, eating three meals per day, appears to favour a positive fat balance as there are fewer opportunities to be in a fat-burning state. It is suggested this is due consistent increases in blood glucose levels from frequent eating throughout the day. Intermittent fasting is shown to improve the body’s insulin sensitivity, but this only occurs if a person remains in an uninterrupted fast for 12-14+ hours – which is hard to achieve with conventional eating patterns (4).

Mattson et al (5) states “after hours without food, the body exhausts its sugar stores and starts burning fat” otherwise known as ‘metabolic switching’. In theory, Intermittent fasting prolongs the period after your body has burned through the available energy stores consumed from its last meal. Intermittent fasting helps contrast the conventional eating patterns of modern day and helps return our energy consumption back to how it would have been in the past – much less frequent.

Evidence seems to suggest that intermittent fasting may help benefit the mind by improving working and verbal memory in animals and humans. There may also be potential protection against heart disease through lowering of blood pressure and resting heart rate. Offsetting of type 2 diabetes has been seen through lowered levels of fasting glucose and reducing insulin resistance (2;3) Even some studies showed an increase in physical performance, with participants losing body fat while able to maintain their muscle mass (5).

Now all these benefits sound fantastic on paper. But in reality, they may not be as great as they seem. Yes, multiple studies have shown intermittent fasting to be a suitable weight loss strategy for those that are overweight and obese.

But all those studies also showed that there was no advantage over continuous energy restriction – otherwise known as being in a calorie deficit (3).

Some studies have shown that intermittent fasting can indeed improve insulin sensitivity, which can improve type 2 diabetes symptoms, however, other researchers were unable to replicate those results (4) reducing the reliability of this claim.

Although the daily approach is much more sustainable than the 5:2 approach or other intermittent fasting strategies, individuals going from an overeating state to being in a frequently fasted state is a big change.

A change that may be significantly harder to sustain than eating regularly whilst maintaining an overall calorie deficit. And even if said individual is determined, it can take up to four weeks for the body to become accustomed to being in a frequently fasted state.

This can cause crankiness due to increased feelings of consistent hunger, which can make it hard to stick with for a length of time.

Most of the research suggests there are promising aspects to intermittent fasting, but there needs to be more research in the field to definitively say whether the purported psychological and physiological benefits, outside of fat loss, are consistent and a result of intermittent fasting.

 

The YourOneLife Opinion

Now, we at YourOneLife do not hold any positive or negative opinions about Intermittent Fasting.

We know from our own experience and that of our clients that it has huge benefits for some. But for others it can become difficult due to busy schedules or high energy requirements, or health concerns.

So it’s always a good idea to check with your GP before embarking on any weight loss approach to ensure it’s healthy and safe for you.

It is however a proven method to help reduce our overall energy balance. Some people find that it’s an easy way to eliminate calories….as long as they don’t then consume MORE calories during the eating window, and of course we need to ensure the quality of the nutrition we consume is sufficient for good health as well as weight loss.

The danger is getting over-hungry and then eating too fast, which can eat to overeating again, and sometimes even more than before. And if we continue to choose poor quality nutrition, such as lots of ultra-processed foods, we may not necessarily be getting healthier.

Just like any diet, the law of thermodynamics is at play. It will only help in reducing weight loss if you maintain a consistent calorie deficit. To lose weight, you need to be burning more calories than you are consuming over a period of time.

If you are following a strict protocol, only eating in a certain time frame, it will not work unless the calories consumed in your eating window put you in a calorie deficit.

To achieve a healthy weight, we need to follow a method that works for us – one that is sustainable for our lifestyles.

Also, it’s vital to consider the quality of the nutrition that we eat, whatever approach we follow.

If you have a busy life, and need to concentrate, then engaging in a diet that, at least for the first 4 weeks, may make things harder to concentrate and cause crankiness may not be a viable solution.

It’s also not appropriate for those with high energy needs, for example doing a high impact exercise session or high energy job during the fasting period, as this simply causes stress to the body and we risk not ending up with the results we are seeking and potentially harming our health.

At YourOneLife, we help try to identify the root cause as to why you have become overweight in the first place.

We help to change your mindset around food and diet culture. We avoid demonising foods and diets. We remain neutral and guide you to find what is right for you.

Intermittent fasting may be a great solution for some people, but it just may not work for others. It may also be helpful at some times in your life and not at others. It’s important to be flexible.

And no matter what method you choose to help you achieve your weight loss goals, if your mindset around food has not changed, then sustaining a healthy weight is going to be extremely difficult in the long term.

You may lose your excess weight through intermittent fasting, but if you haven’t figured out your triggers to overeating, then the moment you stop and things get on top of you, food can become a very appealing and comforting escape and you run the risk of falling back into the same issues you had before you lost the weight.

The thing is, diets do work from a fat loss perspective, when followed properly, and you will see some kind of success with all of them.

Do we think intermittent fasting is a good dieting method?

The answer is it depends. It depends on whether it is sustainable in your life, for your health and activity levels, whether you are in a calorie deficit, and whether you have figured out what triggers your overeating in the first place.

 

How we can help at YourOneLife Healthy Weight Solutions

Here at YourOneLife we have different options depending on the level of support you need, from a free Facebook group for basic support from the YourOneLife community, to membership options with varying levels of personal support, to full on 1-1 coaching for a minimum of 6 months.

All these options have the aim of helping you change your mindset and lifestyle around food, to help you feel more comfortable with your own eating habits and look at where you can make simple, but effective changes that feel do-able.

We also help you to navigate all the different weight loss options and discover the most appropriate weight loss methods for you.

But we know sometimes reaching out for help is the hardest step.

So, if you would like some free tips why not sign up to our email list and receive our Simple Tips to Eat Less Without Dieting and other useful information and support. You can sign up here.

Claire x

 

 

 

Claire Jones is a multi-award-winning Sustainable Weight Loss Coach, Mentor, Therapist, Speaker and Author of the popular book “How To Eat Less”. She helps people learn how to manage their weight well for life, after successfully managing her own weight for the last 12 years.

With a career background of over 25 years spanning the NHS, HM Prison Service, and the UK Fire Service, she has seen first-hand what happens when people don’t look after their health, and has a natural desire to help and to serve those in need.

However, it was after overcoming decades of yo-yo dieting and learning how to look after her own health, that she found a particularly unique way to be of service.

She realised she had found an effective, unique and sustainable solution to the weight loss and regain cycles that so many go through, that cripples their confidence and holds them back from the lives they really want.

She is known for her relatable, down-to-earth manner and for helping her clients finally crack the code to their healthy weight and happiest selves.

 

References and Further Reading

1) Obesity statistics: Research Briefing, House of Commons Library – Baker, C. (2023).

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN03336/SN03336.pdf

2) Intermittent Fasting: What is it and how does it work – John Hopkins Medicine (2023).

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/intermittent-fasting-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work

3) Effectiveness of Intermittent Fasting and Time-Restricted Feeding Compared to Continuous Energy Restriction for Weight Loss – Rynders, C. A., et al. (2019).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6836017/

4) The role of intermittent fasting and meal timing in weight management and metabolic health – Templeman, I., et al. (2019).

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/role-of-intermittent-fasting-and-meal-timing-in-weight-management-and-metabolic-health/D1317A634DBD94CC4019E26E435032F5

5) Impact of intermittent fasting on health and disease processes – Mattson, M. P., et al. (2017).

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27810402/

With thanks to contributing author James Jones PT, BSc (Hons) Psych (1st)