How Intermittent Fasting Can Be A Solution For Weight Management and Blood Sugar Control 

Among all the dieting trends that we’ve seen come and go in recent years, there’s one that’s remained solidly in the spotlight: intermittent fasting. There’s been a lot of talk about this time-restricted eating trend, and it turns out that there’s plenty of good reason for it. So let’s talk about intermittent fasting: what it is, how it works, and how to do it correctly.

What Is Intermittent Fasting? 

Intermittent fasting (IF) involves restricting your meals and snacks to a certain time period. It’s most often used as a tool for weight loss. 

There are a couple of different ways to do this. For example, some people choose two days out of the week to restrict their calorie intake, while others choose to fast every other day.

But by far the most popular version of intermittent fasting is time-restricted eating. This involves eating only during a certain time period during the day, usually around eight hours or so, then fasting (or not taking in any other calories) for the rest of the time. This is often referred to as a 16:8 schedule (16 hours of fasting) but can easily be 14:10, 18:6, etc. Some people even find that a 23:1 schedule works for them (e.g. “eat like a bear”). You will see your best results by experimenting to find what works best for you.

The timing that you choose to eat depends mostly on your own schedule and preferences. For example, early risers might prefer to start eating at 7 am and stop at 3 pm. On the other hand, you could also start later in the day, which would essentially mean skipping breakfast and saving your calories for the afternoon and evening.

How Does Intermittent Fasting Work (And Is It Healthy?) 

So why would you decide to try IF in the first place? 

As it turns out, there are a couple of intermittent fasting benefits that might make you keep a closer eye on the clock. 

Many people try intermittent fasting for weight loss. When you narrow the window of time that you allow yourself to eat, you generally eat fewer calories than you would during a “normal” eating pattern. Since weight management largely depends on your calorie intake (calories in vs calories out), IF is a valuable tool for ensuring a calorie deficit. 

But perhaps the most interesting intermittent fasting benefit is the role that it can play in improving insulin sensitivity and combatting insulin resistance. This also plays a role in reducing the atherogenic particles, measured by ApoB or LDL-P, that create plaque in your arteries.

Improving Insulin Resistance With Intermittent Fasting 

Simply put, insulin is a hormone that your body uses for metabolism and fat storage. The foods you eat are broken down into glucose, or “blood sugar.” Under normal circumstances, your body then detects your rising glucose levels and release insulin, which signals to your cells to take in that sugar for fuel. 

But if you’re taking in more calories than your body needs, excess sugar is stored as fat, and your body may not be willing to let go of that fat even under circumstances where you’re eating at a caloric deficit. In other words, you might find that you have a hard time losing weight even if you’re eating accordingly.

You may also experience insulin resistance in response to chronically high blood glucose levels. Your insulin sensitivity would go down, meaning that your cells respond to insulin less,  and your body might start to overproduce insulin in an attempt to correct this. 

All things said and done, this decrease in insulin sensitivity can lead to higher body weights and increased risk for certain diseases like Type 2 diabetes. 

But intermittent fasting is proving itself to be a potential solution to these serious health concerns. If you fast for long periods of time, there’s less circulating glucose in your blood. So your insulin levels also drop in response since they don’t have a job to do. Over time, this allows your fat cells to release their stored sugars to be used as energy. 

So not only is intermittent fasting useful for decreasing your body fat, but it can also play a role in combatting insulin resistance, which is linked to a wide host of metabolism-related conditions like obesity and heart disease. There’s even evidence that it could play a role as a non-medical treatment for Type 2 diabetes.  So yes, intermittent fasting can be healthy when done correctly.

How To Do Intermittent Fasting The Right Way

IF comes with a world of health-positive benefits, especially if you’re looking to reduce your risk of developing metabolic diseases like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. 

But it’s important to understand that eating within time constraints isn’t necessarily the key to weight loss and longevity on its own. You still need to pay careful attention to the way you approach intermittent fasting if you want to be successful long-term. 

After all, you’re only allowing yourself to eat during a certain period of time, giving you a much smaller window to get in all of your necessary nutrients for the day. In addition, the transition to fasting can be hard. 

But consistency is the key to success with any dietary change, so here are some tips on how to intermittent fast successfully and avoid that dreaded “hangriness”: 

1. Pay attention to your macros.

People often favor restrictive diets when they’re trying to lose weight. However, it’s important to recognize that every macronutrient has a place in a balanced diet, and it’s not always healthy to go to extremes if you are concerned about your health.

That said, it is possible to follow more restrictive diets while practicing IF. For example, you could do intermittent fasting keto-style (ie severely restricting your carb intake) if your goal is to lose weight since it could help speed up your body’s fat-burning ability. However, always be sure to use caution, plan appropriately, and aim for balance whenever possible to give your body all the nutrients it needs to function normally. 

2. Increase your fiber intake.

You’ll want to keep yourself as full as possible during your fasting window, and one of the best ways to do that is by eating sufficient dietary fiber. Fiber is a plant-based nutrient that can be found in fruits, veggies, and healthy carb choices like whole grains and legumes. Not only does fiber keep you full and satisfied, but it can also reduce your risk of developing high LDL particles and cholesterol. 

3. Minimize snacking between meals.

Remember, one of the reasons that intermittent fasting is so effectiveis because it helps to limit the amount of free glucose in your blood. But if you allow yourself to snack in excess between your meals, you may be introducing more sugar into your system that could cancel out those benefits. 

Plan your meals in a way that keeps you full and satisfied so you’re less likely to reach for the extras. If you do get hungry in between, choose snacks that emphasize protein, like nuts and seeds, so that you can minimize the effect that they have on your blood sugar and increase your satiety. 

4. Maintain a consistent schedule.

Humans are creatures of habit. Finding a sustainable schedule can be invaluable to maintaining a healthy fasting habit. When you settle in on fasting and feeding windows that work for your lifestyle, maintaining those sames period can be the difference between healthy fasting and getting “hangry” more often than not.

5. Stay hydrated.

During your fasting periods, food is obviously off-limits, but what can you drink during intermittent fasting? It’s still just as important to stay hydrated when you’re intermittent fasting, and perhaps even more so since you aren’t getting as much water from the foods you eat. 

When you fast, what you really want to do is avoid taking in calories. So no-calorie drinks, especially water, are always appropriate. 

6. Smarter caffeine choices.

Many of us rely on caffeine as part of our morning routine. Without getting into the vices or merits of caffeine consumption, making choices during your fasting window that do not make you feel hungry can be very beneficial for your schedule compliance. Black coffee and unsweetened tea have zero calories and are staple beverages of seasoned fasters.

Conclusion and What to Remember

It might sound daunting and maybe even a little extreme, but the benefits of time-restricted eating and intermittent fasting on both your weight and your insulin sensitivity are proven and promising. What to remember:

1. Time-restricted eating is a proven technique to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce your atherogenic lipoproteins.

2. You may need to experiment to find an intermittent fasting plan that works with your life’s schedule and health goals.

3. You can do it!