Most people who practice intermittent fasting started it because they were attracted to the idea of using it to lose weight. Of course, IF has a multitude of other benefits, but the promise of dropping those unwanted pounds is the siren call for the majority of people.
But does intermittent fasting really work for weight loss? There are some people who dismiss it, saying that it’s just another way to restrict calories. Other folks swear that IF saved their lives by helping them lose weight. Plus, there are conflicting scientific studies.
So what should you believe? Does IF really work to help you lose weight? With the New Year fast approaching, should you resolve to commit to intermittent fasting?
We’ll give you the facts you need to know in this issue of the IF Insiders. For our premium subscribers, in this week’s Research Spotlight we’ll take a deep dive into research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in November which aimed to find out which type of fasting regime was more powerful than others.
Plus our paid subscribers also get one of Ellen’s recipes each month and access to a live Q&A call. If you are a paid subscriber, last month we shared Ellen’s Homemade Tomato Soup with Croutons. This month we share Ellen’s Southern Sweet Potato Pie, a delicious dessert treat to make for the holidays!
The paid option also includes a monthly live Q&A call with Ellen and Denise held on the second Tuesday of each month at 12 Noon Eastern (9 AM Pacific) time. The next call is on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.
Looking for a supportive group that “gets” your interest in IF and other cutting-edge health information? Our free intermittent fasting Facebook group, with over 1800 members, is a wealth of info, in addition to our Fast Factor Circle membership.
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Our Mission is to introduce the power of Intermittent Fasting to entrepreneurs worldwide so they can exponentially improve their lives and businesses and the lives of the people they impact every day.
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Does Intermittent Fasting Work For Weight Loss?
Before we look at what the latest research has to say about intermittent fasting and weight loss, we’d like to remind you of our own experiences and also the experiences of colleagues and friends who have successfully used IF to lose weight.
Both Denise and I lost a considerable amount of weight using intermittent fasting. For me, that was about 35 pounds over the course of seven months, and for Denise, about 22 pounds over six months. Needless to say, we are both quite convinced that at least for us, intermittent fasting worked as a weight-loss strategy, not only to get the pounds off but to keep them off.
Plus, we have dozens of reports of people who belong to our free intermittent fasting Facebook group, who have successfully used IF to lose weight. Most notably, one of our members, Connie Ragen Green, joined her first 10 Day IF Challenge in March 2020. Since then, she has not only reversed her pre-diabetic diagnosis but has gone on to lose an astounding 125 pounds! Connie details her inspiring journey in her new book In Pursuit of Healthy-Ness: How I Reinvented My Life with Intermittent Fasting.
But let’s jump over to the science behind all of this. Many people, doctors, nutritionists, and researchers alike, are quick to ascribe all of intermittent fasting’s weight loss results to simple calorie restriction. Their arguments go something like this: with a shortened feeding window, people just naturally eat less and that explains the weight loss. Fewer calories in equals pounds lost. Case closed.
Not so fast!
It’s been known for a long time that simple calorie restriction delays the onset of diseases that are age-related and also as a tested strategy to extend lifespan. But the studies on caloric restriction, which have been done mostly in rodent models, also shortens the animals’ feeding window.
This makes it difficult to know where the results are originating. Are they originating from the effects of the reduced calories or is it because the feeding window is compressed, meaning the animals were subjected to an extended daily fast? Or, maybe it’s a combination of both factors.
Scientists from the University of Wisconsin devised a new study aimed at teasing this out. Their results were published on October 18, 2021, in Nature Metabolism.
The researchers randomly assigned the mice to one of four groups:
One - The first group ate as much as they wanted, whenever they wanted. (No CR).
Two - The second group had their calories restricted by 30% but ate whenever they wanted and had no feeding window compression.
Three - The third group had their calories restricted by 30% as well, but the food was dispensed to the animals via an automatic feeder that released the food at three intervals during the rodents feeding period (12 hours of darkness). So they had time-restricted feeding plus calorie restriction.
Four - The fourth group had a 30% reduction in their calories, plus, they were fed only once per day (OMAD). So they had both calorie restriction and time-restricted eating.
The results? The mice whose calories were restricted all had an expected decrease in energy expenditure. But the mice whose calories were restricted and were simultaneously subjected to either OMAD or time-restricted feeding also had improvements in their body composition as well as in glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.
In addition to the activation of multiple metabolic pathways these groups showed an impressive 20% increase in their lifespans. While caloric restriction alone improved glucose tolerance and body composition, it was the mice that underwent fasting plus caloric restriction that exhibited increased insulin sensitivity, increased fuel switching to fat burning (metabolic flexibility), and lower frailty indexes as they grew older.
In summary, it appears that if you are striving for weight loss plus the metabolic improvements associated with longevity, implementing a program of intermittent fasting (either time-restricted eating or OMAD) combined with mild caloric restriction will help you get better results.
Reference -
Pak, H. H., Haws, S. A., Green, C. L., Koller, M., Lavarias, M. T., Richardson, N. E., et al. (2021). Fasting drives the metabolic, molecular and geroprotective effects of a calorie-restricted diet in mice. Nature metabolism, 3(10), 1327–1341. http://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00466-9
Why It Matters
After all this seriousness, let’s close with a little humor!
“I tried the paleo diet, which is the caveman diet - lots of meat. And I tried the calorie restriction diet: The idea is that if you eat very, very little - if you're on the verge of starvation, you will live a very long time, whether or not you want to, of course.”
~ A.J. Jacobs - (b. 1968) - American journalist, author, and lecturer best known for writing about his “human guinea pig” lifestyle experiments. He is the author of four New York Times bestsellers, including The Year of Living Biblically, The Guinea Pig Diaries, and Drop Dead Healthy.
What We Are Reading 📚
With each issue, we bring you a short blurb on what we are currently reading or watching, including books, articles, podcasts, videos, movies, and research papers of value.
Denise - I’m a bit obsessed with learning more ways to improve memory so I lose less of it as I age. At the suggestion of a member in our Fast Factor Circle, I looked up this show Build a Better Memory Through Science. The one-hour special report covers 5 easy to implement ways we can improve our memory with workable strategies that make improving memory fun and rewarding. Explore the latest research with leading experts — neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists, memory trainers, and others.
Ellen - My friends know that I am happiest when I am cooking, so it’s no surprise I devour a lot of cookbooks. With the holiday season upon us, there is no better time to read a book on how to make pies! The Book on Pie: Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies by Erin Jeanne McDowell and Mark Weinberg does not disappoint.
From how to make the perfect pie crust to pie fillings both sweet and savory, this New York Times bestseller is the only pie book you will ever need. Let them eat pie!
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