An interesting article from Cooking Light offers some insight into a recent diet trend: Can intermittent fasting really boost your metabolism to help you lose weight?
Surprisingly, research suggests that the effect of intermittent fasting has the same or less negative effects on metabolism compared to traditional dieting. The reason why many think intermittent fasting improves metabolism is due to less loss of lean body mass and greater fat burning. It’s impossible to lose weight without losing a little lean body mass, but research suggests that a lower percentage of lean body mass is lost when losing weight with intermittent fasting than with traditional dieting. Preserving more lean body mass means the body’s calorie-burning slows less. At the same time, short fasting periods cause the body to tap into fat stores and burn a greater percentage of fat mass for energy. (Source: Cooking Light)
What is intermittent fasting? This diet requires you to have an alternating schedule between short periods of fasting (consuming 25% of daily calorie needs) and periods of regular food intake (consuming the regular required calories recommenced for your body type; not binging on these days).
The key to utilizing intermittent fasting for weight loss is the short fasting periods (not extending them as that will slow metabolism) and keeping regular/normal days of eating in the recommended range and not overeating.
Read the full article to learn more about the specifics involved with intermittent fasting: “How Intermittent Fasting Affects Your Metabolism.”