In recent years, intermittent fasting (IF), which defies conventional wisdom, has emerged as one of the most discussed modern protocols. For many years, we have been advised that eating every two to three hours and eating breakfast right after waking up will help us maintain a healthy weight and body composition.

Many protocols, including IF, recommend cutting back on your meals and delaying breakfast. Also, contrary to the adage “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper,” several protocols advise eating less during the day and more at night.

Here Are Facts:

You choose a certain time of day to consume all of your daily calories while skipping meals at other times:

• A way to control your eating patterns for better outcomes  
• Fasting has only recently been the subject of research
• Only recently have we been able to accurately assess both its advantages and disadvantages

Common Intermittent Fasting Protocols

• Their Differences Limited Time Feeding (16-hour Fast With 8 -hour Eating Window)
• It is  Eat, Quit Eating (24-Hour Fast, 1 or 2 Times Per Week)
• ADF, alternative day fasting (36 Hour Fast, 12 Hour Eating Window)
• Warrior Diet (20-Hour Fast, 4-Hour Eating Window)

---

What is Intermittent Fasting?

IF is simply the practice of periodically (or at specific times) going without food for extended periods of time.

Yes, you don’t consume any food. Two major questions are generally raised by this:

1. Do I not do this when I am asleep?
2. Indeed not eating will cause you to lose weight?

Both of these queries have a positive response, but in order to fully understand this modern approach, we need to look at the specifics.

Everybody fasts, whether it be for religious reasons, food shortages, or even an overnight fast (while sleeping).

IF is a pattern of dieting rather than a “diet.” In essence, it is choosing to skip some meals on purpose. As a result, you choose a certain time of day to consume all of your daily calories while skipping meals at other times.

This has gained popularity among those concerned with their health and fitness over the past few years as an additional way to control their eating patterns for better outcomes

How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?

When viewed as a whole, IF seems to be a very straightforward protocol, yet there are many additional protocols that share this overarching philosophy but operate very differently.

There are several well-known IF procedures that are important to be aware of and comprehend.

The lack of a scientific foundation for IF, in contrast to several contemporary nutrition regimes, has made it vulnerable to manipulation by both users and supporters.

Fasting has only recently been the subject of research, and only recently have we been able to accurately assess both its advantages and disadvantages for a wide population.

Human “lab” research is currently sparse, and many of the studies are of low quality. Additionally, it seems that many of the IF’s advantages were recognized in comparison to “normal” diets, or Western-style diets. As a result, scientific findings seem promising, albeit their precision and scope may be questioned.

As a result, many of the different IF procedures have been based on other academic investigations and have received substantial support from anecdotal evidence. It seems like many people have used different IF regimens with excellent success, so it really is a case of “try it yourself and see if it fits.”

Common Intermittent Fasting Protocols and Their Differences

Limited Time Feeding (16-hour Fast With 8 -hour Eating Window)

Martin Berkham popularized this IF variant. It is centered around an eight-hour eating window each day, followed by a sixteen-hour fast. The conventional advice is to begin eating at around noon and terminate at about eight o’clock (just before bed). This indicates that the majority of the fast is finished throughout the course of the night, with the final hours occurring early in the morning.

A diet rich in wholefood sources of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats is also encouraged by this program.

Weight training should be done when you’re fasting, but you should also eat 10g of branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs) before or after.

Eat, Quit Eating (24-Hour Fast, 1 or 2 Times Per Week)

The prior Lean Gains daily fast is extended to a 24-hour fast with this IF technique, but only 1-2 times per week. Everyday foods can be enjoyed elsewhere, ideally made from full, wholesome meals.

You can choose the start of your fast, so it might be from morning to morning or from supper to dinner; the position of your feeding window is not very significant.

ADF, alternative day fasting (36 Hour Fast, 12 Hour Eating Window)

As food is only ingested every other day, this is one of the most rigorous IF regimens. You have a 12-hour eating window from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., followed by a 36-hour fast. Although there is less emphasis on meal selection and calorie intake during the eating window than with the other IF protocols, you should keep the focus on these crucial concepts if you do decide to give it a try. It’s ironic that this strategy places the least emphasis on the nutritional value of the meal because you have far less time to devour it all.

Warrior Diet (20-Hour Fast, 4-Hour Eating Window)

This program, which increases the fasting window to 20 hours daily, is fairly similar to the Lean Gains protocol. In order to profit from fasting during the day, it is usually advised to conduct the eating window in the evening. It is possible to consume a modest quantity of carefully chosen foods while fasting, which may boost its benefits and better prepare the body for a significant flood of food within the limited eating window (over-eating phase). It is advised to lift weights right before breaking the fast. This happens every day.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

So, there is something to think about when it comes to the advantages of fasting. There are many various strategies that we have discussed; they shouldn’t all be considered to constitute “fasting.” The 16/8 approach is now known as time-restricted feeding because, despite the fact that it is technically fasting, our bodies do not respond to it in the same way as they would to a 24 or 48-hour fast.

If you’ve heard about fasting, you’ve probably also heard about the miraculous effects it can have on the regeneration and turnover of dead cells (autophagy), which may help lower the risk of disease. What they fail to mention, however, is that only rodents—whose lifespans are significantly longer than ours—go through this process following a 16-hour fast.

Therefore, it is not yet accepted that short-term fasting can offer the wide range of advantages that it is frequently hailed for in internet blog articles that you may have encountered.

The Advantages of Fasting 

Enhanced Muscle Retention and Fat Loss

Fasting for a brief period of time may help to increase key hormones involved in muscle growth, such as growth hormones. Additionally, some research suggests that time-restricted feeding combined with a conventional diet low in calories may assist maintain muscle mass while losing weight.

Hunger Levels Drop

The body switches to burning fat as the main fuel when we fast and deprive it of a source of carbohydrates for a prolonged length of time. After only a few days of following this diet, many people report feeling less hungry or having a decreased appetite for carbohydrates.

Increased Energy Stability and Better Mood

Fewer meals typically result in more stable blood sugar levels, which boost mood and energy levels. Additionally, compared to conventional “diets,” being free from eating six or more meals every day results in a sense of relief and a decrease in irritability.

Enhanced Concentration and Mental Focus

Many people also claim to have increased mental clarity and concentration during their fasting windows for the reasons outlined above. This could be partly attributed to hormonal shifts but is more than likely caused by steady blood sugar levels, which prevent energy spikes and drops.

Negatives of Intermittent Fasting

Overall, intermitted fasting has very few unfavorable side effects.

The most significant disadvantage for many is switching to such a protocol. It can be challenging to reduce your daily calorie intake from 6 to 3, all while postponing breakfast and including fasted weight training.

According to recent research, intermittent fasting may have some substantial detrimental side effects for women.

Sleeplessness, anxiety, irregular periods, and a wide range of additional symptoms, including hormone dysregulation, are common complaints among women who experience IF.

Another study looked at how fasting on alternate days affected blood lipid levels. Women’s triglycerides stayed steady while their HDL levels improved. Men’s triglycerides dropped but HDL stayed steady.

It follows that our responses to a stressor like intermittent fasting may vary depending on the metabolic and hormonal differences between men and women. After all, going without food puts the body under even more strain.

Conclusion

All forms of intermittent fasting have the potential to be very beneficial. It’s crucial to think about this because it’s still not obvious from the research whether these advantages result from better food, calorie management, or more exercise.