Intermittent Fasting, Slim Down When You Sleep.

A Quick Introduction to Intermittent Fasting (IF) in Human History

Most of us have heard of Intermittent Fasting by now, how could we not when so much media coverage?

A few years back when I heard of intermittent fasting I couldn’t imagine trying it myself at all. Imagine how difficult it would be to go without eating for 16 hours, some even for 20 hours!

Tradition of Fasting, why it’s done in the past

The term Intermittent Fasting may seem like a recent trend, but it is rooted way back, in our cultural or religious practices. Some cultures have been practising IF for centuries!!

Even as far back as when food supplies are less steady and people don’t have food available all the time.

Our evolutionary biology itself suggests that our bodies adapted to thrive in conditions of intermittent food availability. (Mattson, M. P., 2019)

As our agriculture and industries thrived, food storage no longer became a problem. Food has become abundant in most parts of the world and contributes to mindless consumption.

How does Intermittent Fasting work to help with slimming?

So what makes this eating trend an effective way to slim down? How does it help with losing weight from just sleeping?

After several hours of fasting, the body may start going into ketosis. When we go to bed it continues. Working hard to burn fat in our bodies to provide us with the required energy even as we sleep.

Let’s talk about starting Intermittent Fasting

So we know IF is cycling between eating and fasting.

The thing is, you don’t have to start completing the full 16 hours at first.

Our body may need some time to get accustomed to the new changes in diet. So always start slow, like aiming for a 12-hour fast when setting out.

The purpose of Intermittent Fasting is not to try to shock our system, but to help it acclimate to an extended period without the primary energy source.

From there, gradually increase the hours up to 16, 18, or even 20 as your body gets used to it.

Interested in trying out IF? Always check with your doctor beforehand. This is important when you have underlying medical conditions.

Remember to always follow your doctor’s advice on how you can make IF help you, even with medications.

The body goes into a ketosis state

Doing Intermittent Fasting makes our body run on energy reserves in our body, rather than needing to consume more calories. It makes our body turn into a fat-burning machine.

This happens through a natural metabolism process known as Ketosis. This is also the aim behind the popular Ketogenic Diet.

Ketosis occurs as the body’s glucose storage depletes.

Healthier metabolism with Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting increases our metabolism. As we decrease food intake from IF, insulin sensitivity may improve. Since the body doesn’t need to produce insulin to help regulate blood sugar from meals.

IF also triggers better cellular repair processes in our body, this process is known as autophagy.

As glucose depletes, autophagy sets in to recycle damaged cells. This will repair and remove unhealthy and unnecessary cells within our body. Just like a cleanup of the body.

While autophagy occurs all the time within our body, IF can improve its efficiency. Just like how we get accustomed to prolonged fasting periods, our body does too.

Types of Popular Intermittent Fasting

How long should we fast? These are the popular time ranges of IF:

• 16:8 – 16 hours fasting without calorie intake, meals and snacks during the 8 hours.
• 18:6 – 18 hours fasting, calorie intake in a shorter time of 6 hours.
• 20:4 (Warrior Diet) – Almost one whole day without food, only 4 hours to eat your daily recommended intake of calories.

16:8 Intermittent Fasting Suits Me the Best.

A while back when my health no longer permitted me to be sceptical of such practice I decided to give it a try. I chose the 16:8 because it allows plenty of hours to eat my 3 major meals of the day.

For this method, we will fast for 16 hours, but will still consume water, and limit our intake of unsweetened coffee or tea.

Zero calorie Beverages are acceptable if you can’t resist them, we all want something sweet at times. For the rest of the 8 hours, we can eat as we like.

While the amount of meals isn’t exactly limited, I will try not to eat too much to create some calorie deficit.

Unlike going on a low-calorie diet, IF is more about longer hours of not eating. It may produce slower results. As it’s easy to eat over the daily calorie intake we need.

Stacking the Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

To stack up the effectiveness of Intermittent Fasting, I aim to consume 3 meals in the day and eat as little snacks as I can.

Bear in mind that while calorie deficit causes us to lose weight, it is important to eat balanced meals. Meals that are Macro balanced and nutrient-dense should be your first choice. So is choosing whole, unprocessed food.

When you can complete the day with a calorie deficit the effects of IF will double up, giving better results.

I’d recommend cutting calories moderately, as aggressively doing so causes unwanted effects. For instance, the body may lose muscle mass to conserve energy.

More muscles, higher basal metabolic rate

Speaking of this did you know that if you put on more muscles, it can help you burn more calories?

More on the Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

The benefit of IF goes beyond weight control or healthy metabolism. Also, it’s a good alternative to Calorie reduction(Welton, S., et al., 2020). Since overeating issues can be reduced with IF.

Studies(1,2) done on Intermittent Fasting shows several positive benefits including:

• Weight Loss, our main goal!
• Renewal of Cells
• Decrease in Cholesterol
• Decrease in Blood Pressure
• Decrease inflammation
• Decreased Hunger
• Decrease Risk of Heart diseases
• Increase Insulin sensitivity

One specific benefit I experienced is that my Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and Gastritis saw tremendous improvement. (Jiang, Y, et al., 2023)

I am so glad to remove the need to carry medicine with me all the time when this problem arises.

How I Made it Worked…

Schedule your fast to make it a success

The time range when we start our 16:8 can help with its success. Setting these fasting hours that fit our daily schedule makes it more natural and less intrusive.

Whenever I want to start Intermittent Fasting, I will try to finish my meal before 4 PM and go to bed early that night.

This way I can sleep through most of the Fasting period, which also helps conserve my energy.

The following day I can have my breakfast at 8 AM, this suits me best.

Adapting to Your Schedule, Allows for Flexibility

The downfall of this time frame meant I couldn’t have dinner with my family. But I will still join them at the table to have tea. Remember no calories once you start fasting, only water.

For those of us who would like to enjoy dinner with friends and family, you might have to sacrifice breakfast. Ah yes, the infamous “Brunch” comes to mind ya?

This way you can have an eating window until 8 PM, enough time to have dinner with family. It also leaves you some time to digest your meal before bed.

Although we should probably stick to the same cycles when trying Intermittent Fasting, I don’t see why we can’t change the hours to suit our needs.

IF doesn’t need to be practised daily. Alternate-day intermittent fasting or weekly can still help to promote some calorie reduction. Slowly, but surely moving towards our ideal healthy weight. Along with the other benefits.

Sometimes we get too hungry and have to stop fasting midway. You just have to keep at it and work on the next cycle when you can’t complete one.

When you get dizzy or weak, it’s okay to eat something and try again the next day.

From Skeptic to Believer

I was always sceptical of Intermittent Fasting and the benefits it may provide. Only when I tried them myself did I find their benefit and how simple and easy they can be.

Once again remember to mind what you eat, this will improve your odds of completing your fast. Aim for complete macro, nutrient-rich food, and more veggies for fibre intake. Fasting and food will both contribute to our health goals here.

References

1. Welton, S., Minty, R., Willms, H., Poirier, D., Madden, S., & Kelly, L. (2020). Intermittent fasting and weight loss: Systematic review. Canadian Family Physician, 66(2), 117-125. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7021351/
2. Mishra, S., Persons, P. A., Lorenzo, A. M., Chaliki, S. S., & Bersoux, S. (2023). Time-Restricted Eating and Its Metabolic Benefits. Journal of clinical medicine, 12(22), 7007. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12227007
3. Jiang, Y., Sonu, I., Garcia, P., Fernandez-Becker, N. Q., Kamal, A. N., Zikos, T. A., Singh, S., Neshatian, L., Triadafilopoulos, G., Goodman, S. N., & Clarke, J. O. (2023). The Impact of Intermittent Fasting on Patients With Suspected Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Journal of clinical gastroenterology, 57(10), 1001–1006. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCG.0000000000001788
4. Mattson M. P. (2019). An Evolutionary Perspective on Why Food Overconsumption Impairs Cognition. Trends in cognitive sciences, 23(3), 200–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2019.01.003