Fasting is one way people depend to lose weight. Some people fast for various other reasons such as for religion or to detoxify their bodies. People use fasting mainly for losing weight, but this is dependent on various factors.
While it can be effective, this is not always the case with most people. A lot of health experts have recommended that the weight that you lose from fasting can be temporary. This is because once you stop fasting, you tend to eat a lot of food to bring your weight back up.
An overview of fasting
Fasting is a time of the day that you decide to stay without food. This means that you would go without food for a certain time of the day when you are supposed to eat. Fasting means skipping meals for some time which could be anything between 6 to 14 hours. While fasting can be used to detoxify the body, it is important to note that the body has a natural detoxification process.
About fasting diets
Fasting is accompanied by certain fasting diets – which are foods that are meant to sustain you throughout the period. There are different types of fasting diets. Fasting diets vary and can include things such as tea, juice, or only water.
Fasting diets can also include specially prepared drinks or snacks. Many fasting diets are designed to drastically cut down the number of calories that you consume and may not ban food completely. With some fasting plans, you are allowed to fast every two days.
How effective is fasting for weight loss?
With fasting, you are forced to eat a lesser amount of food, to help you lose weight. When you do this, the body goes into a state of starvation. It tries to save you some energy by slowing down your metabolism. This is what happens throughout the fasting period. And as soon as the fasting period is over, you tend to revert to your former diet. This may force you to regain some weight and you may end up being overweight.
During the fasting period, the body adjusts to the routine by trying to control, your appetite – at this point, you may feel less hungry. However, as soon as you have finished fasting, this brings back your appetite. This may cause you to become a lot hungrier and may cause you to eat much more than is possible. With fasting every two days, the result is almost similar as it helps you to lose a lot of weight.
In a recent study, it was discovered that those that fasted every other day were able to lose some weight even if they ate a lot of food on their off days.
With lots of experiments on fasting conducted, it is suggested that the practice can significantly reduce weight.
This is possible if it involves abstaining from beverages and foods. This limits your general calorie intake. Generally, fasting for a whole day can have a 9% reduction in the total weight of the body. If this is done for between 12 and 24 weeks, there could be a significant decrease in body fat.
How safe is it to fast?
For healthy people, it will not hurt if they fasted for several days as long as they avoid dehydration. Fasting can be detrimental to some people because how the body may demand minerals, nutrients, and vitamins to maintain their health. For most people, they can stay for some time without taking food, while others may quickly develop symptoms.
Symptoms that you get in the absence of enough nutrients, minerals, and vitamins include dehydration, constipation, dizziness, and fatigue. Other symptoms include the inability to resist cold temperatures. Other people that are restricted from fasting include breastfeeding or pregnant women. Also, people who have chronic diseases should desist from fasting.
Other people who should not fast include children and the elderly. However, it is recommended that before people take on new diets, especially one that has to do with fasting, they should consult their doctors for advice.
The benefits of fasting
The most common form of fasting is intermittent fasting. This means going from a regular period of eating to fasting. Intermittent fasting is a type of fasting that has been shown to have several benefits. While intermittent fasting offers a lot of benefits to healthy people, studies have shown that people with chronic diseases may benefit from this type of fasting. Recent studies provided that people who have chronic diseases were able to control their conditions better with intermittent fasting. Apart from losing weight, fasting may have some other health benefits such as:
Control of blood sugar: fasting can help you promote the control of blood sugar. This is a useful function for people who have diabetes. It does this by limiting the resistance to insulin.
Fights inflammation: Fasting can increase health as it helps to fight off inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a potential danger to health. With fasting, you significantly reduce inflammation while promoting better heart health.
Can improve heart health: About 30% of people in the world die due to heart diseases. Lifestyle and diet changes are very effective when it comes to minimizing the possibility of heart conditions. Fasting can help benefit the health of the heart by improving the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides in the body as well as increasing blood pressure.
Can help improve brain function: While studies are currently limited to animals, it has been shown that fasting can have a powerful effect on the health of the brain. It has been shown that the practice can help increase the way the brain functions. Also, studies have been able to confirm that fasting still helps to prevent neurodegenerative problems.
Growth hormone secretion: fasting can help increase the secretion of an important hormone known as the human growth hormone (HGH). This is an essential protein hormone that helps control various aspects of human health. This hormone is important when it comes to muscle strength, weight loss, metabolism, and general growth.
May increase longevity: Fasting can help people live a lot longer as demonstrated by several studies. Further studies showed that fasting can help delay diseases.
 Can help fight cancer: Recent studies conducted on mammals revealed that fasting can help prevent cancer. It does this by enhancing its treatment. It also revealed that the practice can help enhance the potency of chemotherapy.
Conclusion
Fasting is a safe and effective way to lose weight – however, it should be done in the right conditions. Fasting is a good way to maintain health, but it can also be a health risk. This is why some people are exempted from fasting. Even if you have to fast by adjusting to a new diet, you need to consult with your doctor. If done properly and with other expert supervision, fasting can provide the body with a lot of health benefits aside from losing weight.
