Intermittent fasting is hands down one of the most popular diets these past few years. Though it’s not really a diet, as it doesn’t tell you what to eat, only when to eat. But that’s not the point. The point is, from Hollywood celebrities to Instagram influencers to health coaches – there are just so many people following intermittent fasting all over the world that it’s impossible to ignore. But the more everybody talks about it, the more myths and misunderstandings there are. Here are a few of the ridiculous ideas we’ve heard that are nowhere near being healthy for you.
Intermittent fasting causes you to lose weight. It does, but not directly. Of course, if you maintain a healthy diet and give your body more time to rest and digest, you’ll notice positive results in the mirror quite quickly. But if you spend those 6-8 hours when you’re allowed to eat consuming all the pizzas and M&M’s within arm’s reach, not eating for the rest of the day will hardly lead to losing extra kilos.
You can eat what you want and as much as you want. As we’ve mentioned before, intermittent fasting is about when you eat not what you eat. So, although nothing prevents someone fasting from entering a hot dog speed-eating contest, unfortunately, it doesn’t mean stuffing your face with salty, sweet and fatty foods will lead to the healthier, leaner and more energetic version of you just because you’re eating in the ‘window’. Intermittent fasting does amazing things to your metabolism but it’s not a magic wand, transforming calories into abs. Pity!
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Intermittent fasting is about skipping breakfast. Ugh, no. Skipping breakfast will only lead to eating more later in the day. The beauty of this regime is that you can adjust your ‘eating window’ according to your daily schedule. It might mean a slightly later breakfast and slightly earlier dinner but it doesn’t mean skipping one of the meals! Even if you’re on a stricter 6-7 hours ‘window’ you can still fit in all the important meals, just make your portions slightly smaller, so that you don’t feel bloated and heavy during the day.
Here’s an idea for a healthy breakfast that will keep you nourished and energised: protein quinoa pudding.
Intermittent fasting is basically starvation. Come on, people can survive without food for three weeks! Not that you should avoid eating for so long, of course. But it just shows that skipping food for 12-16 hours (half of which you’ll be sleeping anyway) is not really that dramatic. And it will give your body that much needed time to digest everything you’ve eaten throughout the day.
Intermittent fasting is dangerous. This point should be approached very carefully. Intermittent fasting isn’t recommended for people with a history of eating disorders or those on certain medications. But there is definitely no direct danger in fasting for short periods of time on a daily basis, as long as you listen to your body and don’t go to extreme lengths (no three-week ‘windows’, please!).
It will negatively affect your workout routine. Experts and PTs agree, that working out on an empty stomach in the morning is the best way to lose weight because this way you’re burning fat that’s already been stored in your body. When you exercise after a meal, you’re only burning the calories from what you’ve just consumed. With intermittent fasting, it’s easier to adjust your ‘eating window’ to the hours you need for a workout.