Bella Adams
Intermittent fasting is not only useful for weight loss – but rather it is a strategic division of food intake. Find out how it works in the article.
Intermittent fasting (IF) is not a diet in the classic sense, but rather the strategic timing of food intake.
You consider when you eat – and in which periods you specifically abstain from food.
Forms of Intermittent Fasting
1:1 method
Better known as alternating fasting states that on Monday, for example, you eat normally, and on Tuesday only a fraction (about 1/4 of Monday). On Wednesday again normal, and Thursday again only 1/4 of Wednesday, thus always alternating the day between normal and reduced.
5:2 method
This means eating normally on five days of the week and significantly less on the remaining two days.
16:8 method
Probably the best known, in which you eat two meals every day only during a time window of eight hours.
As with all health-related choices, intermittent fasting may be right for some, while others may not really benefit from it.
But how do you know which group you belong to? These are the pros and cons of interval fasting.
Pros: Advantages of Intermittent Fasting
If you are thinking about trying interval fasting, the following positive aspects of the method might convince you. If you find yourself in it, chances are good that IF is right for you.
You don’t want to change what you eat
It seems that with every new trend in diet, there are more prohibitions and rules than with the one too precious. One of the biggest advantages of Intermittent Fasting is that it doesn’t have any prohibitions about what kind of foods you can eat.
Intermittent fasting doesn’t change what you eat, only when. So instead of counting calories non-stop, you can keep eating what you like.
You don’t like to eat breakfast anyway
If you usually skip breakfast anyway, it might be easier to incorporate this weight loss method into your current lifestyle.
For example, the 16/8 method, where you don’t eat from 8 pm to 12 noon, would be suitable. For breakfast munchies, are a perfect way to use a habit to lose weight.
Don’t worry for all coffee junkies: black coffee, tea, and water are still allowed during fasting hours, according to ‘Healthline’.
You sometimes forget about food intake throughout the day.
Instead of feeling guilty that you still haven’t eaten lunch at 4 p.m., why not take the opportunity to try IF? Packed schedules lend themselves well to the 16:8 method or occasional 24-hour fasts.
If there are just a few days when you’re particularly busy, that’s ideal for trying the 5:2 method: You limit your calorie intake to about 400-600 calories on just two days per week in this process.
You often have too little time for cooking and washing up
An underestimated benefit of interval fasting is the convenience it brings. No matter what method of Intermittent Fasting you try: You’ll eat fewer meals.
This also automatically means fewer dishes to clean and less time spent cooking.
Also, you don’t have to worry much about cooking new, fancy dishes while doing intermittent fasting.
After all, because you generally eat fewer meals, you only want your absolute favorite foods on your plate anyway.
For you, it’s always all or nothing
If you’ve found that you’d rather go without something entirely than do it in moderation, then Intermittent Fasting might be a good fit for you.
Limiting the diet to cycles of either fasting completely or eating whatever you want, it fits well with an “all or nothing” mentality.
As mentioned earlier, the IF method doesn’t require you to count calories. That means less stress finding something to eat when you’re out with friends.
On a diet where calories have to be cut, you’d still end up “guilty” of eating the greens that everyone else has to eat.
So if you can find an eight-hour window that fits into your social commitments, Intermittent Fasting might be a good fit for you. However, a schedule where fasting starts at 8 p.m. or even earlier is probably not a good fit.
You’ve tried a lot of diets before
One final benefit of intermittent fasting: if other dietary changes haven’t worked for you, it might be worth a try.
The concept is fundamentally different from other restrictive diets, where whole food groups are completely off-limits.
Contra: This speaks against intermittent fasting
Now that so many positive things have been said about intermittent fasting, the negative sides come up. There are some people for whom the method is less suitable.
You have pre-existing conditions
If you have certain hormonal, metabolic, or cardiovascular pre-existing conditions, intermittent fasting is not recommended. These include:
- Malnutrition and undernutrition
- Amenorrhea (lack of menstruation)
- Low blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Migraines
For your own safety, remember to always talk to a doctor before deciding on a major diet or lifestyle change.
You operate heavy machinery due to your job
Everyone’s body reacts differently to fasting – and some struggle with lightheadedness, dizziness, or other adverse effects. Particularly during the first few weeks, side effects can be severe.
Those who want to try Intervallfasten times should start the first attempt in a week, in which it must drive or operate no heavy machines. Otherwise, accidents may occur that could have been avoided.
You drink alcohol
Food in the stomach slows the absorption of alcohol, which is why many warn against drinking on an empty stomach. This can increase the risk of alcohol poisoning, warns, for example, a medical doctor at the ‘Mayo Clinic’ in Minnesota.
Of course, you should always drink in moderation, but it can be especially dangerous to drink alcohol during or immediately after a fast. If you know you’ll be drinking a lot, you should try IF after you’ve partied.
You are taking medication
Many medications can cause drowsiness or dizziness at first, and fasting can make these and other side effects worse.
If you take medications that must be taken daily or with meals, Intermittent Fasting may not be for you.
For example, the effectiveness of the so-called “mini-pill” for birth control may be reduced if you make drastic dietary changes according to ‘Planned Parenthood’.
Other medications that may be affected by fasting include blood thinners, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and transplant medications.
In addition, it’s important to note that certain medications can be taken with food, including fat-soluble vitamins (A, C, and E) and other supplements that require food for absorption.
Therefore, be sure to talk to your doctor and pharmacist beforehand about how to safely take these medications during Intermittent Fasting.
You travel a lot
In addition to the potential negative physical effects of fasting, the method also doesn’t fit very well with certain lifestyles.
If you travel frequently for work or leisure, it’s harder to stick to time constraints on food intake: Time zone changes or work meetings at lunch and dinner are not conducive to specific fasting and eating times.
