Intermittent Fasting Helps Woman Lose 30kgs, Are There Other Benefits of This Diet That Go Beyond Weight Loss?

Whoever said consistency, dieting and working out are the important ingredients of weight loss, haven’t heard of Genevieve Davidson. The 57-year-old  from Australia lost a whopping 30 kg. But she doesn’t credit her weight loss to any fancy workout routine or clean eating. Her secret is simple. After years of struggling with fluctuating weight, Genevieve discovered the wonders of intermittent fasting through a family member. “I have had a weight problem myself and have always found that I could lose the weight and be really disciplined because I knew how to do it,” she told The Daily Telegraph.

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you eat normally for a few days followed by regular short periods of fasting. Instead of focusing on the “what” of eating, intermittent fasting stresses on the “when.” Which means, as long as you fast, there isn’t much stress on what you are eating. After losing oodles of weight through this method, Genevieve and her partner founded the SuperFast Diet, which helps people achieve their weight loss goals.

How does it work?

It says on the website that the fasting technique works well because it helps people live “a normal life” since there are no restrictions food wise. So if you eat an ice cream today or enjoy a pizza, there’s no need to worry about weight gain because you can fast the next day. This way, you don’t have to worry about messing up your diet, because technically, no food is off limits.

There are three methods to choose from. In the first method, you diet part time by fasting two days a week and eating normally for the other five days. In the second method, you diet part time by fasting three days a week and eating normally for the other four days. And in the final method, you diet within an eight-hour window every day of the week.

What are the other benefits of intermittent fasting?

Weight loss is not the only benefit of intermittent fasting. The eating pattern also helps in improving overall health, from lowering blood sugar to improving quality of sleep. Here are some cool health benefits of intermittent fasting.

Helps tackle diabetes

Research shows that following a dietary pattern similar to intermittent fasting or periodic fasting helped in regenerating pancreatic cells that aids in producing insulin in mice who had type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Adjusts your body clock

It was long hypothesised that fasting could help improve the body’s metabolism by adjusting the circadian rhythms. A study shows that intermittent fasting could help regulate the body clock, which has gone awry.

Sustained weight loss

What good is fasting if it doesn’t guarantee weight loss? While intermittent dieting does help with weight loss, it also helps in sustaining the effects of the weight loss for a longer time.

Good for heart health

Experts believe that restricting calories may be good for overall cardiovascular health. A study found that alternate day fasting helped in reducing blood pressure, total cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels in the body.

It slow down ageing

More good news. Research says the effects of intermittent fasting mimics those of a low-calorie diet, one of which happens to be delayed ageing. Fasting is said to improve adaptive cellular stress responses, which improves our ability to resist stress and prevent diseases.

These benefits of intermittent fasting are all science-backed. But the caveat here is that it is not for everyone. While some of the effects may impact certain people positively, it might end up harming others. The best bet is to talk to your physician or dietician before trying it out, especially if you have underlying health conditions.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 03, 2018 01:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).