Why Intermittent Fasting Isn’t the Best Way to Lose Weight

29. August, 2024(letzte Änderung)

Autor: Marc Sonderegger

“Intermittent fasting”—you read about it everywhere these days and know at least one person who is currently practicing it with enthusiasm. But does it really deliver what it promises? And how exactly does it work? I will answer these questions in today’s blog post.

Fasting — THE “new” trend

Intermittent fasting, or “periodic” fasting, involves alternating periods of eating and periods of fasting. Basically, there are two phases. A long period where nothing is eaten and a shorter window where food is eaten. Depending on the type, this can be 16 hours of abstinence and 8 hours of consumption, 20 hours and 4 hours, or even one day (24 hours) of the week with nothing at all, followed by 6 “normal” days.

What are the benefits of fasting?

Similar to the Paleo Diet, this form of nutrition probably dates back to pre-human times. Back then, it was not common to eat every 3-6 hours, but rather when the hare was caught or the mammoth killed. But then twice:) Since it is known that there were no overweight Neanderthals or Cro-Magnons, this type of diet must have been the reason for their appearance.

It is postulated that the body is better able to utilize its fat reserves this way, because if no other nutrients are available, it has to get its energy from somewhere else. But why from the places that bother us visually? Simply because there is too much there. This seems logical at first glance. But our bodies are not that simple. It could just say something like:

“Hey, my biggest muscle, the gluteus maximus, which is supposed to be important for the javelin throw to kill the rabbit, isn’t used at all. Instead, this guy sits on it all day! And I need amino acids to make hormones and keep my metabolism going! It won’t be so tragic if I make this muscle a little smaller.”

Ohhh. You’re one of those women who wants butt like Jennifer Lopez or Kim Kardashian. Sorry, then of course you work your glutes. But only the buttocks! Nothing else should ever grow. “Well, I’ll just take some of the arms and put them on the buttocks,” the body will say to itself—and suddenly we have even more skin hanging there.

And that’s exactly what it does! It is an illusion to think that only fat is lost during fasting. In addition, the long periods of not eating mean stress for the body, which it signals with a release of cortisol and feelings of hunger. The latter disappears with time. Nevertheless, it is anything but beneficial for our sleep-wake cycle and our already stressful daily lives.

But yes, it is convenient: sleep longer, skip breakfast, work through lunch and then justify a sumptuous dinner. It all fits our lifestyle quite well. Another point for the inner bastard.

„“But wait! Studies say…”— What do they say?

90% of the studies on this topic were “only” done on animals. Such findings are not easily extrapolated to humans. There are some that no longer produce the same results once done on humans.

Still, there are studies that have shown promising results, but mostly in terms of health and not weight loss. The “subjects” were able to concentrate better (ok, but this also happens with low/no carb), inflammation levels went down (not surprising) and there were even life prolonging effects due to less telomere degradation (the outermost part of the chromosomes). There were also positive effects on cancer development.

However, the reduced telomere shortening could no longer be observed when the calorie deficit was offset by “overeating” during the windows when eating was allowed. In addition, the positive properties on the cell were also observed in several other studies in which oxidative stress was reduced. This is also the reason why it is said to have an anti-carcinogenic (anti-cancer) effect and has been found in e.g. ketogenic diets (which are also not my first choice for losing weight).

However, there are also studies that have shown negative results. In a study of intermittent fasting at the University of Sao Paulo, men’s abdominal fat increased and pancreatic cells were even damaged.

So why did it work for “Heidi Schlank”?

The answer is simple: calorie deficit! If you eat fewer calories than you burn in 24 hours, you will lose weight. Is that the best way to do it? In my opinion, absolutely not. You need to at least maintain your muscle mass during this time, or even better, increase it! Is this possible with intermittent fasting: No!

Because as soon as protein or BCAA’s are consumed, it is no longer intermittent fasting (BCAA’s, for example, drastically increase insulin levels).

The Neanderthal man was not slim and muscular because he used intermittent fasting, but because he burned at least as many calories as he ate. 1 kg of mammoth meat contains about as many calories as a Big Tasty Bacon and a 0.5 liter Coke. Try to eat the former in a “4 hour window”…

You can get more valuable nutrition information for free here (GERMAN). Also, check out our Kitchen Workout cookbook (GERMAN) for lots of tasty and healthy recipes you can easily make at home.

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