Why Intermittent fasting may not work for you
Intermittent fasting, also called time-restricted fasting has been in the limelight lately. People who have tried it claim to have lost whopping kilos and improved certain health conditions.
But as per a recent study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions found otherwise. So, if you are planning to follow the intermittent diet, this article is a must-read for you.
The study
The study included 41 overweight participants, some of them were diabetics and others were prediabetics. The study was 12 weeks long with half the people sticking to a time-restricted eating pattern of eating 80 per cent of their daily calorie before 1 pm. The other half of the participants consumed half of their daily calories after 5 pm, which is the fairly standard eating pattern among Americans.
The result
People in both groups lost weight, while researchers were surprised to note that the early eating group didn't show more noticeable results.
It was assumed that the time-restricted group would lose more weight, which didn't happen. There was not much of a difference between the weight lost by both the groups.
This isn't the first time a study about Intermittent fasting has shown mixed results. Though some studies have claimed that intermittent fasting has potential health advantages like reduced inflammation, better gut function, lower cholesterol and even efficient cognitive processes.
Does intermittent fasting work for weight loss?
The results of intermittent fasting depend upon the way you follow it. If you load up on processed and high-calorie foods within a shorter period of time, it's unlikely that the diet will help you lose weight.
If you follow intermittent fasting as a reset method towards changing your eating habits in a healthy way, you will see multiple benefits. There is no one type of Intermittent fasting that fits all.
Different types of Intermittent fasting
There are various ways to follow time-restricted eating and it might take some time to figure out what works best for you. You can restrict your eating to an 8-hour window, 10-hour window or 12-hour window. Some people even prefer to fast for 24 hours, once a week.
It's also possible that intermittent fasting may not be your cup of tea, which is okay. Simply try to focus not only on when you eat but also what you eat, to lose those extra kilos.