Intermittent Fasting: What you need to know

Note: The information below does not constitute medical advice. And, should you wish to make a drastic lifestyle change, it is vital to first discuss such decisions with an accredited and trusted medical professional.

Paleo, Keto, Atkins, South Beach, The Zone and now Intermittent Fasting. All these diets that have been touted as the next best thing in health and fitness.

We took a look at the research surrounding this method of eating to find out the basics, benefits and methods around this newly popular diet.

What is Intermittent Fasting? Precision Nutrition defines Intermittent fasting (IF) as the practice of occasionally going for extended periods without eating.

IF has been around for ages within the health and fitness world. It initially became a popular topic of conversation in 2012 by BBC broadcast journalist Dr Michael Mosley's TV documentary Eat Fast, Live Longer and book The Fast Diet.

As interest has piqued again within the fitspo world, IF is back in the spotlight.

Firstly, we all do some form of IF. We just call it to sleep. Although this seems like it is the latest diet craze, we humans are familiar with this dieting protocol.

We use fasting when we sleep. During times of food scarcity, humans have had to fast. Religious practices also have utilised fasting througout the years

Only recently has it become a dieting tool for those in the fitness world who are looking to keep in shape.

IF can be summarised as:

The time from your last meal at night until your first meal the next day (assuming a typical sleep-wake cycle) makes up your fasting interval. And the time from your first meal of the day until your last meal makes up your feeding interval.

Precision Nutrition For example, if you eat supper at 19:00 and then breakfast at 7:00, you have fasted for 12 hours. Your eating window would also be 12 hours.

Why do Intermittent Fasting? Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says many people believe IF is a way to lose weight and reduce health markers associated with diseases such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Proponents of the diet believe that the stress of intermittent fasting causes an immune response that repairs cells and produces positive metabolic changes (reduction in triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, fat mass, blood glucose).

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

But here's the thing about intermittent fasting research There hasn't been a lot of research done on humans however those done on animals have shown very strong supportive results.

However research and science are slowly catching up. Based on anecdotal evidence, those who follow the protocol swear by its claims for fat loss, mental clarity and improved sleep.

We've even written about it on these pages before with a writer sharing her first-hand experience of intermittent fasting.

I follow a 16/8 fast every day. I'm semi-strict. Meaning, some days I will breakfast a bit earlier, other days I will fast much longer. Most days, I fast for at least 14 hours. I've fully adapted, having followed this lifestyle for almost a year. I train (both running and strength) in the mornings and always train fasted - with the help of a black coffee.

Antoinette Muller How to fast Think of Intermittent Fasting as a lifestyle and not a diet.

IF appeals to those who already do some sort of fasting due to lifestyle habits and ingrained eating preferences. If you skip breakfast, prefer to eat later in the day or prefer bigger meals to smaller regular snacks throughout the day, this method may appeal to you.

Here are some of the more popular IF protocols.

Alternate Day Fast On this plan, you would fast every other day. For example, Monday-Wednesday-Friday consists of fasting, while alternate days have no food restrictions.

You should make good, healthy food choices on the days you eat even though you can eat what you want without any restictions.

The Every Other Day Diet by Dr Krista Varady, is the most popular version of this fasting protocol.

Meal skipping This is a random protocol based on our evolutionary background thus the rules are pretty flexible.

As humans evolved to get their food and exercise randomly, so should we.

Precision Nutrition

This protocol also follows other nutritional guidelines like eating a paleo type dieting (think evolutionary food). You would randomize calorie intake throughout the week and skip some meals throughout the day based on what suits you.

Eat stop eat Created by Brad Pilon, this entails 24 hours of full fasting one to two times a week, based on the days of your choosing.

For example, you would eat breakfast on Monday, and don't eat again until breakfast on Tuesday. If you prefer you could eat dinner on Wednesday, and then don't eat again until dinner on Thursday.

Alternatively, the 5:2 diet approach advocates no food restriction five days of the week. On the other two days you would cycle with a 400-500 calorie diet.

Leangains This protocol is self-crowned as The birthplace of Intermittent Fasting.

Martin Berkhan created Leangains . This brand of time restricted feeding follows a daily set feeding and fasting window. This usually based around an 8/16 hour split.

This protocol has more rules than others such as specific nutrient timing strategies around exercise times as well as an emphasis on certain macronutrients above others.

Warrior Diet This protocol is based on 20 hours of fasting and a four-hour eating window.

The Warrior Diet is based on the eating patterns of ancient warriors, who consumed little during the day and then feasted at night.

The Warrior Diet: Review and Beginner's Guide

It was created in 2001 by Ori Hofmekler, a former member of the Israeli Special Forces, who transitioned into the field of fitness and nutrition.

The common practi

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