
3 Ways Fasting For Weight Loss Can Hinder Results
While fasting can be an effective way to support weight loss, for many of the women I work with it seems to have the opposite effect.
If you have tried fasting for weight loss but feel frustrated with your lack of results, this article will explain why.
Fasting For Weight Loss: How Does it Work?
Like all restrictive methods of dieting, fasting can support weight loss by helping you to reduce the total amount of calories you consume. The problem with this is, as your body adapts to your new, lower calorie intake, weight loss will stop and you will be forced to restrict and reduce calories further. You can learn more about this here: What is Metabolic Adaptation?
Whether you engage in 16:8 fasting, 5:2 fasting, alternate day fasting, the eat-stop-eat method, OMAD (one meal a day) or something else, they all work the same way.
In addition to weight loss, several studies have shown that fasting can provide a number of health benefits however, a majority of these studies are performed on men only and the data to show that women can achieve these same benefits is limited.
Some of the health benefits associated with fasting may include improved insulin sensitivity, improved cellular repair and maintenance and improved immune health, however, fasting is not the only way to achieve these health outcomes and if you are not using the right approach for you, fasting may cause more harm than good.
Fasting For Weight Loss: How Can it Hinder Results?
Most of the women I work with have tried almost everything to lose weight, including fasting for weight loss.
Some women report that initially, they did see results but these results are often followed by hitting a plateau and/or regaining all of the lost weight.
So let’s look at the 3 most common reasons why fasting for weight loss can backfire and hinder results.
1. You calories have been too low for too long
As mentioned earlier, fasting for weight loss works by helping you to reduce the total number of calories that you eat each day. Over time, your body will adapt to this lower calorie intake and the amount of calories that you used to be able to eat for weight loss becomes your new maintenance. This process is controlled by the thyroid.
As women begin to become fed up with their lack of results, they revert back to old ways of eating. They may begin to eat breakfast again or snack after dinner but due to your new, lowered need for calories, these innocent behaviours can cause a rapid rebound in weight gain which leads to distress and frustration.
In addition to this challenge, it can be difficult to reach your minimum protein requirement while fasting. It is tricky enough for most women to eat enough protein each day and time restricted eating can make it even harder. An adequate amount of protein is required to ensure we can maintain optimal hormone function, optimal brain and nervous system function, optimal gut health, optimal muscle health, stable blood sugar levels and so much more.
The solution: If you love the idea of fasting for weight loss, make sure you are in a sensible calorie deficit, focus on eating enough protein and aim to have a break from fasting every 8-12 weeks.
2. Fasting is stressful
Fasting is a stressful event. We fast all night while we are asleep and by the morning, our body is more than ready for breakfast. Some women find it easy to fast because they do not have an appetite in the morning, this is often a sign of high stress and lowered metabolic function.
Fasting can create changes to the way our bodies release cortisol and adrenaline, especially if you are already highly stress or burnt out and relying on coffee to get you through to your first meal. This change in stress hormones can directly impact our ability to lose weight and they can also affect other hormones like thyroid hormones, insulin, progesterone and estrogen. Learn more here: Stress, Cortisol & Weight Gain.
The solution: If you naturally wake without an appetite, feel highly stressed, burnt out or rely heavily on coffee to get you through until you break your fast, you are likely to achieve better health outcomes and sustainable weight loss results by introducing a well balanced breakfast.
3. Fasting can cause blood sugar dysregulation and binge eating
Fasting leads to lowered blood sugar levels. This may seem like a benefit and it can be for the right person, however, for many, low blood sugar levels can trigger a stress response and uncontrollable cravings for sugar, carbs and salty food either in the moment or later in the day (usually mid morning, mid to late afternoon or in the evening.)
When blood sugar levels drop too low, a hormone from your pancreas called glucagon signals your liver to break down the stored glycogen and release glucose into your bloodstream. A metabolically healthy person will have no issues with this process.
The problem is, if you are fasting for weight loss, we can suspect that there are already metabolic challenges at play. This is what creates the unwanted weight gain in the first place. What goes down must come up and that initial drop in blood sugar levels can be the start of a blood sugar rollercoaster that only gets worse throughout the day.
A majority of the women I work with that struggle with binge eating do not eat breakfast. When we introduce a balanced, nourishing meal in the morning, the desire to binge eat later on in the day significantly improves.
The solution: If you are someone who wakes most nights between 2-4am, gets hangry, experiences sudden, intense cravings for sweets, carbs or salty food, struggles with binge eating or knows that your blood sugar levels are dropping lower than your body is comfortable with, it may be wise to work on blood sugar regulation strategies instead of fasting for weight loss.
Summary
Fasting for weight loss can be effective but the data on its effectiveness for women is limited. Based on my personal experience with fasting and working with thousands of women over the past 12+ years, I have noticed that the results achieved through fasting can be short lived and may cause other complications that ultimately result in weight gain.
If you’re feeling stuck in terms of what steps to take to move towards your weight loss goals, here are 3 ways I can help:
1. Work with me! Book a consultation in person (Evandale, SA) or AUS + NZ wide online via Zoom
2. Listen to the Holistic Weight Loss Podcast
3. Connect with me on Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook
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