What is Intermittent Fasting?

Last year, the Ketogenic diet swept most everybody off their feet — and their weighing scales — thanks to the quick weight loss it promised.

But the question of its sustainability remained unanswered and so health buffs and dieters have turned their attention to…intermittent fasting or IF.

Let’s get it out of the way: IF is not a diet program. “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” clarified it’s actually an eating schedule. Your day will be divided into two parts: fasting and feasting.

The fasting part of your day will have to be longer than the feasting to allow your body to digest the food and use the stored fats as source of energy — essentially, you’re getting your body to reach the stage of ketosis, much like the aim of the keto diet.

You can eat whatever you please during the feasting period, but during fasting, you can’t have anything except water, black coffee or tea. This is why IF is not recommended for everybody. 

There are many ways to adhere to this schedule, with the most basic being the “16-8”: you fast for 16 hours and feast for 8 hours. From 16-8, people bring it up to 20-4: fast for 20, feast for 4.

There’s also the 5-2 method, wherein practitioners eat normally for five days, and then fast for two days. “Alternate fasting” will have you fasting every other day. The “Warrior Diet” entails you fast all through day time, and feast at night.

Those who have been on IF for a much long time have tried the OMAD or One Meal A Day.

Apart from being much more sustainable than keto, IF can help you live longer – at least according to a few studies from Japan.

It’s almost like a cleanse, or a reset for the body, because food intake is lessened and IF taps into the stored fats.

“Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho” featured IF practitioners who’ve lost a lot of weight. From 122 kilos, Kenneth Aquino is now down to 90 kilos. Maya So, meanwhile, went down to 64 kilos from 79 kilos. And Cyrus Castrodes has gone down to 76 kilos from 97.

But before rushing out to try IF, think again. Experts recommend you slowly adjust your eating pattern, instead of “shocking” your body with a sudden fast. In fact, they recommend anybody interested in IF to consult with their doctors and have their bodies checked, because the truth of the matter is, IF is not for everybody.

"Hindi ito advisable sa mga taong may sakit tulad ng diabetes, hypertension at kidney problems.  Hindi rin po lahat ng tao ay pwedeng mag-adapt nito, so dapat mayroon tayong consultation sa isang doctor or sa isang dietician para makita po kung ano 'yung magtutugma sa pangangailangan ninyo,” said Josefina Gonzales, Research Specialist of Food and Nutrition Research Institute.

If you’re given a choice, will you give IF a try? — LA, GMA News