Pros and Cons of Intermittent Fasting

One of the most common diets that we all must have heard of (or tried, or planning to try) is the intermittent fasting. As is clear from the name, the diet works on a strict principle of not consuming any calories during a fixed period of the day. An important thing that you need to know about intermittent fasting is that there are more than a few ways to incorporate this dietary trend.

Some recommend following a 16:8 ratio, which implies that 16 hours of the day, you do not consume any calories, and then all the calories and the meals that you eat are to be in the stipulated eight hour period. In contrast, others suggest a 5:2 ratio, which implies fasting and eating only 500 calories for two consequent days. It will be followed by five days of eating whatever you want.

There are also other forms of this type of fasting. Some suggest going on a 36-hour fast at least once a week. Martha, who is an online assignment help provider who you can pay to do homework,says that she does the 36-hour intermittent fast every week, and it has helped her maintain her body weight to 50 since a while now.

Now, naturally, the good thing about intermittent fasting is that because of these variations, you have a choice to pick an option that works best for you. However, like anything else, even intermittent fasting has its share of pros and cons.

Pro – Intermittent fasting ensures a better body composition
While you fast, you do not consume any calories. So, naturally, if you eat less than usual, you are going to lose some weight. When you fast, you exhaust the sugar that is stored in your body as fuel, and that reduces the fat content in the body. So, naturally, when the body uses the stored fat, you start losing some weight.

Intermittent fasting improves body composition as you follow a severe caloric deficit. As a result, it leads to reduced body fat and a caloric deficit. Daisy, a statistics tutor with TAE, says that one significant improvement that intermittent fasting has brought into her life is a faster metabolism.

Con – You cannot stick to it for a long time
As you know, in intermittent fasting, you have to go on for a stipulated period without eating anything at all, followed by an eating window where you eat only a designated number of calories and repeat for creating an overall caloric deficit. Jesse, an associate who helps students with do my paper online services, says that she could not keep up with intermittent fasting for more than three days, as it badly affected her energy levels.

Further, intermittent fasting can also make you vulnerable to unnecessary cravings. You need a lot of discipline to stick to the stated time frame to eat and fast. Both the sides of the intermittent fasting are going to be hard, as you have to curb all your cravings in the fasting window and then curtail yourself from binge-eating in the eating window. For weight loss to follow, both of them are equally important.

Pro – Intermittent fasting can lower the risk of diseases
Studies suggest that intermittent fasting has a beneficial impact on vital risk markers for heart diseases. Further, intermittent fasting can also help control cholesterol levels, diabetes, and lower blood pressure. All of these are essential factors for disease prevention. A famous study found out that individuals who adhere to intermittent fasting experienced a 9 per cent reduction in the blood pressure, as opposed to the 2 per cent increase noted in the people who stuck by their traditional or regular diet.

Moreover, intermittent fasting promotes better sleep time. In a way that reduces the blood sugar levels and inflammation levels, which are both the most significant contributors to chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart diseases.

Con – It hampers your social life
As the majority of social interactions involve food and drinks, intermittent fasting hampers your social life, says Namrata who offers fashion designing courses with certificate. While you are in your fasting window, you ought to have the necessary willpower not to indulge or seek alternatives to maintain a social life without affecting your fasting window.

Of course, it isn't easy, but yes, it is still possible. The problem only becomes severe because with fasting, your energy levels drop, and then you rarely have the motivation to step out and be social.

In that hour, your most significant rescue is to be yourself and conserve as much energy as possible. Thus, it is one tricky balance that you ought to maintain.

Thus, intermittent fasting has a fair share of pros and cons. The idea is to figure out whether it is suitable for you or not, or more so whether you can do it without it hampering your mood or professional and personal life.

Of course, weight loss is one big motivation, but there are some sacrifices to make.