Is Intermittent Fasting All People Say It Is?

Intermittent fasting is super popular right now. I've had a number of questions on intermittent fasting lately, so I thought we could chat about it here.There are a lot of claims people make about intermittent fasting. Claims of greater longevity, clearer thinking, fat burning, weight loss, lower insulin levels, decrease stress in the body, and preventing cancer. It sounds like, on the surface as you scroll through articles on the internet, that IF is the cure-all for everything, right?But before you decide to jump on the IF bandwagon, let's talk about all the things with intermittent fasting...not just the supposed benefits, but also the negatives. If you've been toying with whether IF is for you, like with every decision we make, it's important to see both sides, address all angles, and read a variety of sources. I hope you're able to feel empowered, after reading this, to make an educated decision for yourself. I don't necessarily want to sway you to one belief or another, but I hope you'll be wise along with your body in decisions you make for it. Also, I know that for some, talking about the details of diets may be triggering. If that's you, it's ok. Acknowledge and check out these posts instead. Ok, let's dive in.

WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?

Let's just call it "IF" from here on out, ok? IF is a way of eating that focuses on when you eat, giving you timeframes with which to eat in and times to not eat. There are some varieties with timeframes different people choose to do. Some common ones are 16:8 (fasting for 16 hrs and eating during an 8 hr window), 5:2 (eating normally for 5 days of the week and fasting on 2 days). There are some who will fast completely on two days a week or every other day.The main point that I see made with IF is that it's more about the timeframe you eat as opposed to what you eat. So, "they" say you can eat whatever you want with IF, as long as it's within the set windows for eating.  

ARE THE CLAIMS TRUE?

A quick search on Google will have you reading about all the many benefits of IF. But are these claims of the many benefits really true? In order to fully know the answer to this question, we have to dig a little deeper into the research.I came across a few details that I think are really important to know regarding the research with IF:

1. Most of the studies are done on animals or men--few are done on women, and even in these studies they only address weight and neglect to acknowledge hormone and mental health (both are other factors negatively influenced by IF that we'll get into in a little bit).
2. Studies are done for people with specific diseases (like Type II Diabetes or Cancer) and in controlled environments.
3. Studies for IF have not been looked at long term (same goes for most specific diet research)

This is key to acknowledge...often research is done on animals and the results are extended to be true for humans as well. But we are not the same as rodents.So, those claims that you see when you search "benefits of IF"...are they true?Right off the bat, I noticed a key piece of information when evaluating the research of the claims."Most of the studies enrolled fewer than 50 participants for relatively short intervention periods, which, unfortunately, limits the statistical power of analyses of relevant outcomes." 

Does it lead to clearer thinking and more energy?

In studies I looked at, it was actually reported by women to have more distraction and less energy. But, if you think about it, if you do experience clearer thinking and more energy, it's likely due to our primal drive to go find food in a time of need. But as with the drive we have for increased energy to fight off a lion if we needed to with our sympathetic ("fight or flight") nervous system, this energy eventually gets drained over time if we don't get back to our "rest" mode.

Does it lead to weight loss and fat loss?

This is a very common reason people pursue intermittent fasting. In the research I observed, statements were made stating it's no more effective at leading to weight loss than calorie restricting diets, which we know long-term leads to weight gain and a plethora of negative health outcomes.

Does it prevent Type II Diabetes?

Claims of IF preventing Type II Diabetes are made by the thought that eating in this way improves insulin sensitivity. But studies don't actually make such straightforward statements. Rather, there is thought that IF could improve insulin sensitivity and thus help prevent T2D, but no research is able to say that this is a fact. These are just a few of the claims and what the research actually says. But I think the point here is that the research is not conclusive, and not always able to be applied to each of us individually and specifically.  

IF I CAN EAT WHATEVER I WANT WITH "IF", DOES THAT MEAN IT CAN WORK WITH INTUITIVE EATING?

Great question! Yes, IF says you can "eat what you want" as long as it's within your eating time window. But, I want to highlight that last bit...as long as it's within your eating time window. Right away we have a rule around eating that could lead you to not honor your hunger. It's a rule that may make you feel guilty if you are hungry and "give in" (or honor) hunger in your fasting time. And if you already have a hard time with practicing interoceptive awareness and tuning into cues from your body around eating, IF will most definitely take you further from feeling confident in this skill.One of the concerns I have with IF is just that, it gives you a rule around eating that gets you farther from being in a trusting relationship with your body. Not honoring your hunger and becoming overly hungry sets you up for eating to an uncomfortable place of fullness as well as feeling out of control around food and binging.Intuitive eating is so much more than just eating whatever you want. It's about eating in a way that honors and respects your body, feeling free and confident around food, seeing food as your ally as opposed to your enemy, having a life outside of food, and so much more. 

MENTAL AND HORMONAL REPERCUSSIONS OF INTERMITTENT FASTING

Like I mentioned earlier, hardly any of the studies done on IF address mental and hormonal health and rarely are they conducted with women. Anytime we diet and have restrictions around food, our mental health is at risk of suffering. It's less easy to go out and socialize with friends, there's more anxiety around times when you're not allowed to eat. Food and eating become a focus that can become all-consuming. Energy, like we mentioned earlier, can suffer and lead to less enjoyment with life. Not to mention, dieting and any form of restriction always carry with it the potential side effect of developing an eating disorder (dieting is the #1 predisposing factor that leads to an eating disorder).Along with the negative mental repercussions are the negative effects on our hormones, especially as women. I mentioned that a lot of the studies done were focused on men who are typically able to endure stress with less physical impact than women. Women's hormones are highly sensitive to stress. Maybe you've experienced your period being a few days late and then, when you look back, you realized that a couple of weeks before you were super stressed out with work. Our cycles fluctuate due to stress. Ovulation "holds off" until our bodies know that we're "safe" to possibly get pregnant. This is a way that our body cares for us and keeps us safe. The loss of a period due to stress is something called Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and the stress of IF can most definitely set you up to losing your period for this reason.Intermittent fasting puts stress on our bodies. And while, yes, some stress can be healthy and good like the stress our muscles and bones endure with strength training, too much stress and long periods of stress that come with not eating regularly can negatively impact our hormones as women. If you've tried intermittent fasting or are trying it now and have noticed a change in your cycle or losing your period altogether, that's a good indicator that IF is doing more harm than possible good. 

IT BOILS DOWN TO THIS...

Just like with every way of eating, it all boils down to how you want to live your life and what you notice about how a certain way of eating is making you feel. If you try IF and notice feeling more crazy around food, thinking about food all the time when you're "supposed to be fasting", less energy, changes in your cycle, or anything else that may alert you to acknowledging that this is not how I want to live my life, then you can be empowered to make the decision that this isn't for you. If you practice IF and enjoy it and notice none of the negative repercussions...your mental health isn't suffering and your hormones are working as they should...then maybe your response is different. Again, I'm not here to say one way is right and the other is wrong. Yes, I personally come from a belief that restriction can lead many people towards a negative place and that any form of dieting, like I mentioned before, can put people at risk for an eating disorder. I recommend being very cautious with fear-mongering headlines and very outright statements when it comes to diets, as you may run into when you look into IF, because research is never so black and white. Especially if you come from a place of orthorexia, it may be tempting to look to IF to be the diet that "fixes" your hormones, your digestion, your brain fog, etc. But you've got to be really careful with the information you take in and challenge everything you read with your values.I practice and believe in approaching food from a non-diet approach, and intermittent fasting is a diet. We know the negative implications that dieting has on humans both physiologically and mentally. Research shows that dieting is only 98% effective because our bodies don't do well with restriction. We need a way of eating that we can keep up for life. Even if, say, the claims were all known to be true about IF, I think I'd still be wary and choose, myself, to continue eating how I've been eating...no rules, trusting my body & honoring signals of hunger no matter the time...because I've experienced what it's like to be restrictive with food and it's not a life that I enjoy. The point I want to make here is that, no matter the research (even though the claims aren't very well researched), you get to be the expert here. And if, knowing yourself, you know that IF would lead you to feeling guilt and shame for wanting to eat at hours you can't, interfere with your social life (and all the benefits that can bring), and lead to further restriction, then I'd advise against it. I care about you so much and never hear about cases where IF has truly helped people have a healthy relationship with food.The big picture here, and in everything that I share and teach, is that health is about so much more than just the food we eat and how we eat. Yes, how we eat can play a role. But it is just a small percentage when we look at all of the factors that influence our health. We can't neglect our mental health, environmental health, and spiritual health.I hope this sheds some light on intermittent fasting for you, and again, that you feel empowered in the choice to make this your lifestyle or not. And if you're struggling with your relationship with food and teasing through what's true and not true with things you've heard or read, I want to specially invite you to check out The Nourish Lab, my intuitive eating membership community for more support and education.Have you tried IF? What's been your experience? For further research, check out THIS POST by The Real-Life RD and THIS POST by Kelsey Pukala of Nourishing Minds Nutrition Resources:Barnosky, Adrienne R., et al. "Intermittent fasting vs daily calorie restriction for type 2 diabetes prevention: a review of human findings." Translational Research 164.4 (2014): 302-311.Patterson, Ruth E., and Dorothy D. Sears. "Metabolic effects of intermittent fasting." Annual review of nutrition 37 (2017).Bosomworth, N. John. "The downside of weight loss: realistic intervention in body-weight trajectory." Canadian Family Physician 58.5 (2012): 517-523.Kumar, Sushil, and Gurcharan Kaur. "Intermittent fasting dietary restriction regimen negatively influences reproduction in young rats: a study of hypothalamo-hypophysial-gonadal axis." PloS one 8.1 (2013): e52416.