A cottage industry of weight-loss programs has emerged in response to the epidemic of obesity. Intermittent fasting, which alternates periods of drastic calorie reduction with intervals of regular eating, is popular right now. An intermittent fasting routine, according to its proponents, lowers the risk of heart disease and inflammation while assisting in weight loss more quickly than regular diets. Out of every other fad diet, intermittent fasting is the only one that Yash Birla supports.

Yash Birla says, “Intermittent fasting is good.

Even our ancient yogis used to practice fasting and eat only once or twice a day. Fasting is good for the body and mind because it detoxifies the body.” He further suggests people that we should always listen to our bodies first because it speaks to us. Not every diet is supposed to suit every body type. It is necessary to evaluate the pros and cons, and then choose a diet that works for your lifestyle.

  • What is intermittent fasting?

With every diet, you lose weight by consuming fewer calories per day than your body expends during typical exercise. This objective is accomplished by drastically restricting calorie intake on particular days of the week or at specific times of the day during intermittent fasting. According to the notion, intermittent fasting will aid in appetite reduction by reducing the body’s metabolism.

The so-called 5:2 diet is one eating plan that has gained some popularity. Using this method, you consume regular meals five days a week while limiting your calorie intake to just 500 to 600 calories on the two fasting days. A different approach to intermittent fasting involves alternating between “feast” days when you eat everything you want, and “fast” days, when you consume no more than 25% of your daily caloric needs.

The research investigations assessing intermittent fasting up to this point have been rather brief and have only involved a small number of subjects. 100 overweight people were randomly assigned to one of three eating regimens in one study, which was published on July 1, 2017, in JAMA Internal Medicine: restricting daily caloric intake by a set amount every day (similar to a traditional diet plan); fasting on alternate days, or continuing with regular eating habits. Both diet groups had lost weight by the end of the 12-month research as compared to the regular eaters. Faster dieters, however, did not fare any better than traditional calorie cutters.

  • Potential pitfalls of intermittent fasting

Just like any other diet intermittent fasting has its pros and cons as well. This experiment was noted for having a relatively high dropout rate (38%) among those allocated to the fasting regimen. This may illustrate a real-world drawback of using fasting to lose weight. People naturally want to reward themselves after putting in a lot of effort, whether it be through strenuous exercise or prolonged fasting, thus there is a risk that they will indulge in unhealthy eating practices on days when they are not fasting. Additionally, after fasting periods there is a strong biological need to overeat. When you are starved, your brain’s hunger centre and appetite hormones go into overdrive.