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5Ī healthy weight loss intervention also should be relatively easy to comply with and maintain long-term. On the other hand, two trials suggested that intermittent fasting may not lead to greater weight loss than usual care, or - even worse - may lead to greater loss of lean muscle mass than usual care or continuous calorie restriction. On one hand, intermittent fasting can help improve metabolic health by reducing blood sugar and blood pressure while also improving blood lipid levels. Can intermittent fasting help with healthy weight loss? It’s essential to make sure you’re losing weight in a healthy way. So it’s safe to say that intermittent fasting has the potential to help people lose a little weight.Īs we’ve said, not all weight loss is the same. Other meta-analyses of intermittent fasting or severe calorie restriction (less than 800 calories per day) found greater weight loss - around 8.8 pounds (4.0 kilos) in up to 12 months - compared to a control group, and equivalent weight loss compared to continuous calorie restriction. 2 While the absolute weight loss may not be much, that’s still pretty impressive considering that participants didn’t change what they ate. One meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) looking at time-restricted eating (at least a 16-hour fasting window and no more than 8 hours eating each day) found an average weight loss of 4.4 pounds (2.0 kilos) in up to 12 months. Are many of them eating a high-carb standard Western diet? Or are they eating a low-carb, high-protein diet? The difference may matter as those eating low carb and/or high protein may find fasting easier, and thereby stick with it longer to see greater healthy weight loss benefits.ĭespite the discrepancies, most fasting interventions show benefits for weight loss.
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Others investigate alternate-day fasting, while others focus on severe caloric restriction to mimic fasting physiology.Īnother issue is factoring in the baseline diet followed by study subjects.
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For instance, some studies evaluate time-restricted eating with daily fasting windows ranging from 14 to 20 hours. One difficulty with assessing the scientific support for intermittent fasting for weight loss involves comparing different fasting protocols.
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Studies show efficacy, too, but the reported weight loss is frequently much smaller. Social channels are filled with reports of significant weight loss using intermittent fasting.
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