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Intermittent Fasting: Good or Bad for Whitworth Folks?
As the practice of intermittent fasting has become more common, so have the misconceptions surrounding it. So, what’s the real deal? Should we believe the intermittent fasting success stories or the naysayers?
Intermittent Fasting Demystified
Let’s cut straight to the chase. Intermittent fasting, when done right, is healthy for most people. Many in Whitworth use intermittent fasting as a way to manage their weight. It also helps keep cholesterol and blood sugar at normal, healthy levels.
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a dietary practice that focuses on a time-restricted eating schedule. This means alternating between periods of eating and fasting, with the fasting window typically lasting 12–16 hours. The most common IF schedule is 16:8, where you eat all your meals within an eight-hour window and fast for the remaining 16 hours.
Common Misconceptions About Intermittent Fasting
Most misconceptions about intermittent fasting come from folks not doing it correctly. To fully grasp how intermittent fasting works, it’s essential to understand what intermittent fasting is NOT:
- Starving yourself: The point of intermittent fasting isn’t to constantly deprive your body of food. It’s about giving your body a longer break from food each day, which helps stabilize blood sugar levels and gives your body a chance to focus on other tasks besides digestion.
- Anti-food: Intermittent fasting is not out to cast food as the villain. The goal is to help us eat at the right times each day and allow our bodies to get natural breaks from food.
- An excuse to eat whatever you want during your eating window: Binge-eating after a long fast might feel like a well-earned reward, but it can negate any benefits you’ve gained from your fast and potentially cause weight gain. Intermittent fasting works best when we focus on a healthy, well-balanced diet during the day. Loading up on carb-heavy and processed foods will only increase your hunger and cravings later on, making intermittent fasting harder than it needs to be.
- Impossible to maintain long term: Fasting for longer than 12 hours each day might seem like a tall order, but in reality, humans have evolved to thrive on this type of schedule. Our bodies need at least this much time to rest and process nutrients. Spending most of our waking hours eating can disrupt circadian rhythms and increase the risk of developing metabolic conditions. Intermittent fasting helps our bodies get back to a more natural fasting/eating cycle.
Fasting is usually associated with hunger, so we tend to lump it into the “bad” category. But in truth, intermittent fasting is more doable than it sounds.
For starters, most of the fasting happens while we sleep. For most people in Whitworth, simply delaying breakfast a few hours and/or avoiding snacking after dinner is all it takes to maximize the benefits of intermittent fasting—no skipping of meals required.
Starting with Intermittent Fasting
If you’re considering trying intermittent fasting for yourself, take a look at these do’s and don’ts to help you get started on the right foot.
Getting the Fasting Window Right
Intermittent fasting is a lifestyle, and for any lifestyle to be sustainable, it needs to work with your daily routine.
Finding the fasting window that’s right for you is key. If you can’t start your day without breakfast, then don’t skip it—eat breakfast when you need to and plan on having an earlier dinner instead. If you prefer to eat dinner later in the evening, then waiting until 11 or 12 the next day to break your fast might work better for you.
Keep in mind that the length of your fast should be specific to your needs and lifestyle. A 16-hour fast is generally considered to bring about the most benefits, but if you need to shorten that to 12 or 14 hours, then by all means do it. The first week or two on intermittent fasting are the hardest, but if you’re still struggling after a few weeks, then it’s probably time to make some adjustments.
The great thing about intermittent fasting is that it’s flexible enough to work with just about any lifestyle. As long as you find the fasting window you can stick to, you’ll reap the benefits for years to come.
The Bottom Line
It can take some time to find an intermittent fasting schedule that works for you, but in general, intermittent fasting is healthy for most people. However, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a history of eating disorders, or have a medical condition, it’s best to consult with your doctor before making significant changes to your diet.
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