Intermittent Fasting 101

Lately it seems Intermittent Fasting is all over the media. So does it work? Is it safe? And can you do it while still working out?Intermittent Fasting (IF) is definitely the latest craze when it comes to dietary tweaks. Many devotees of the 5:2 (5 normal eating days, 2 non-consecutive fasting days each week) and 16:8 (only eat for 8 hours during each 24-hour period) swear they’re leaner and lighter than they were previously.In my opinion, short-term fasting can be a great way to learn to manage your hunger and differentiate between “needing” to eat and “wanting” to eat, which is something many women seem to struggle with.Early studies (on animals) show this kind of eating pattern may also help to control appetite hormones and keep weight in check over time, so there are definitely a lot of points in favour of giving IF a go.Keep in mind, however that while fasting may work miracles for some people, it can be worse than conventional eating for others. As with everything when it comes to nutrition, it’s very individual to you and your body type, as well as your current health status.The good thing about both the 5:2 and the 16:8 is that neither requires you to go hungry for an extended period of time, so when you boil it down, all these ‘diets’ are really doing are encouraging you to (occasionally) eat less calories than you normally would – and in small, manageable chunks of time.You still eat real food on the 5:2, for example, but it might be something in the range of 500-700 calories over the course of each “fast” day, rather than the usual 1,600-2,000. And because you’re only restricting calories occasionally, it’s easy to stick to and safe for most people.If you’re keen to give IF a go, make sure you plan your daily food intake on fast days and eat at regular intervals so you never feel “starving”, which is a state that’s counter-productive to weight loss.When it comes to training, again it’s individual, so just see how you feel. A lot of people will choose not to exercise at all on fast days (or make these ‘yoga days’ instead), whereas others argue working out in a fasted state reaps better results.If you do workout, having a small, carbohydrate-rich snack immediately after your session will aid muscle recovery and make sure you don’t deplete energy stores too much. Just something small, like a green juice, a single date, or half a banana should do the trick. And nope, it won’t affect your results, as your body will be able to use the calories extremely efficiently directly after a big workout.To sum up: if your results have plateaud, you’re in good health and you want to try something different, give IF a go and see if it works for you. But if you’re already happy with your body, or find that short-term fasting doesn’t sit well with you, don’t feel the need to press on with it because really, people have been getting lean and seeing great results without IF for years, so there are other paths to consider.Here are the things we know definitely work for weight loss: eat a few less calories each day, choose good quality food, avoid as many toxins as possible, go light on alcohol, get more sleep, partake in regular exercise.For those that are keen to try… what exactly are the 5:2 and 16:8? 

The 5:2

• Eat normally for 5 days each week
• Cut your calories for 2 days (500-600 for women, 600-700 for men)
• Make your fast days non-consecutive – and they don’t have to be the same days each week either.
• On fast days, have 2 light meals (200 calories) and 1 snack (100 calories), or just go for 2 larger meals of 250-300 calories each.

The 16:8

• Eat whatever you like for 8hrs each day and fast for the other 16.
• For example, eat between 10am and 6pm, fast overnight, repeat.
• Eat whatever healthy foods you like within your 8-hour window.