Intermittent Fasting For Weight Loss: Does It Work? -

Always looking for the latest weight loss fad to help me lose some postpartum pounds, I decided to give this intermittent fasting thing a go…

Was fasting difficult? Did I lose any weight? I share my experience below and shed some light on the new diet craze.

Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor before fasting or making changes to your diet.

But First, What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is a method of eating that follows a fasting period of 14 or more hours, followed by a period of eating (also referred to as an “eating window”).

There are varying methods of intermittent fasting:
• The 16:8 method (fast for 16 hours, eat for 8)
• The 20:4 method (fast for 20 hours, eat for 4 – sounds brutal, but OK)
• The 5:2 method (eat for 5 days, fast for 2 – sounds even worse than the option above).

Intermittent fasting is promoted as a better way to lose fat because it is thought that it is much easier for your body to burn fat in a fasted state because your insulin levels are low during this time.

You can get some more background on this fasting method here.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting has been found to benefit the body in many ways. For starters, it triggers a process called “autophagy” which removes old cells from the body and promotes anti-aging. It also increases insulin sensitivity (your body’s ability to use insulin effectively), which quickly drew my attention, since I suffer from insulin resistance related to my PCOS.

Other benefits of intermittent fasting include:

lower insulin levels, which facilitates fat burning
cellular repair (autophagy referred to above)
can contribute to eating less meals, which can reduce overall calorie intake
increase in growth hormones – when coupled with lower insulin levels, increases your metabolic rate
decrease in belly fat (weight gain in the stomach area is usually associated with high insulin levels)
reduced cravings for food during fasted state
improved mental clarity and focus
reduction in stress and inflammation as well as improvements to overall brain health
burning of more calories when exercising in fasted state
more fat burning and increased muscle mass (when strength training)

After reading about all of the health benefits of intermittent fasting, I just had to try it out for myself. Six pack abs, here I come.

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Intermittent Fasting For Women

Fasting isn’t all fun and games – some women who try intermittent fasting experience missed periods, binge eating, metabolic disturbances, and even early-onset menopause – yikes!

Always listen to your body and understand that intermittent fasting might not be for you.

My Experience With Intermittent Fasting As A Woman

Skipping breakfast: I decided to try out the 16:8 method of intermittent fasting. I stopped eating around 8pm at night and didn’t eat again until 12pm the next day, essentially skipping breakfast and waiting to eat at lunch time. I was prepared for a difficult and extra hangry (hungry+angry) morning on my first day of fasting.

I purchased a coffee with a touch of milk to hold my stomach (eating 50 or less calories is not considered enough to break the fast in most opinions – thank God!) and counted down the hours until my “eating window” opened up.

Unexpectedly, the fasting was easier than I thought. I didn’t look at the clock every 5 minutes wondering when I would be able to eat and actually had better mental clarity and focus throughout the morning than when I was not fasting.

I also found that I was less hungry during my fast then I was when I would actually eat breakfast; there simply was no breakfast anymore to trigger my insulin cravings.

I usually get a few hunger pangs around 11:30am and when 12pm rolled around I was excited to eat! Bring on the food!

With intermittent fasting, I also found I was more satisfied when I did eat because I was able to eat all the food I had packed for the day (lunch + snacks) at closer intervals due to a shorter eating window. Intermittent fasting was actually easier than I thought, but would it help me lose weight?

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My Intermittent Fasting Results

Did I lose a lot of weight with intermittent fasting? No. I weighed myself during the first month and noticed no reductions in my weight, which was disappointing (you suck intermittent fasting!). I was not getting the miracle results I wanted and began to get even more frustrated with my body.

My lack of results could be due to the fact that I’m a woman; for many of us, our crazy hormones are programmed to store fat and fasting can throw our hormones into a frenzy in order to maintain our body fat. While I feel great while fasting, some women report that they feel terrible – it’s not for everybody?

Another reason for not losing much weight? Besides my brisk walk to work in the morning (while fasted) I didn’t do any other exercise in a fasted state.

Part of the weight loss benefits of intermittent fasting rely on exercising while fasted to burn more calories while your insulin is low – which I didn’t do.

Regardless of when you eat, it’s still important to remember that the calories you eat must be less than the calories you burn over a consistent period of time in order to lose weight, fasting or not.

I decided that in order to lose weight, I would have to do it the old fashioned way – by eating less and exercising.

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Why I Still Practice Intermittent Fasting

Today, I still fast intermittently and I enjoy it. Before I started fasting, I found it difficult to hit the 1400 calorie a day target I had set for fat loss because I had periods when I just got too hungry. When I get super hungry, I tend to go on an eating rampage and make bad food choices (who wants to eat an apple when they’re starving, not me!).

Now, I stop eating around 8pm or earlier, grab a coffee with a bit of cream in the morning and don’t eat my breakfast until 10am or 11am the next day (14:10 fasting, which is actually a great fasting method for women).

Fasting helps me manage my growling stomach by avoiding the morning cravings I would get after eating an 8am breakfast and lets me enjoy eating more at once by pushing my meals closer together, which helps me stay full.

By fasting this way, I find I have an easier time staying within my daily calorie target and don’t get caught overeating.

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Anyone else have success with intermittent fasting for weight loss? What intermittent fasting benefits have you enjoyed?

*please consult your doctor before fasting or making changes to your diet. This post does not constitute medical advice*

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Intermittent Fasting For Weight Loss: Does It Work?

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