If you spend enough time online looking for nutrition strategies for losing weight, you will likely come across the term ‘intermittent fasting.’ While many people know what that is and what it involves, many people do not (and that is OK!).
“Intermittent fasting is an eating plan that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule.” describes Johns Hopkins University. “Many diets focus on what to eat, but intermittent fasting is all about when you eat.”
There are many different forms of intermittent fasting, some based on times of the day and others on days of the week. Below are some examples:
- 16:8 – The person eats only during 8 hours of the day, then fasts for the remaining hours of the day
- Alternate-day fasting – The person fasts for 24 hours every second day, while caloric intake is allowed on the other days
- One meal a day (OMAD) – The person eats one large meal during the day and refrains from eating the rest of the day
- Eat-stop-eat – The person fasts the entire day, 1-2 days out of the week
- 4:3 – The person eats freely four days a week, then heavily restricts calories the other three days of the week
Many more types of intermittent fasting plans exist, but hopefully the list above gives you an idea of the common themes. Researchers at Colorado University recently conducted a study comparing a 4:3 intermittent fasting diet to a daily calorie deficit diet, and the results were both surprising and insightful. The results of the study were published in the academic journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
“Comparing intermittent fasting with traditional daily calorie restriction, researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus found greater weight loss among the intermittent fasting group, a significant finding given that most previous studies reported no notable difference between the two diet strategies.” Colorado University staff stated.
“Singling out the 4:3 plan of the popular intermittent fasting (IMF) model – where dieters eat freely four days a week with three days a week of intense calorie restriction – the researchers found an average body weight loss of 7.6% among IMF participants at the one-year mark compared with 5% in the daily caloric restriction (DCR) group.” the University concluded.
A separate study conducted in Europe in April 2024 found that “BMI (p = 0.01) and bodyweight (p = 0.01) were significantly reduced in the alternate-day fasting group, which was not seen in the 16/8 and 20/4 groups,” for what that is worth.
For the last 12 weeks, I have combined a calorie-deficit diet with an intermittent fasting plan that has me eat my meals during 10 hours of the day and fasting the remaining 14 hours of the day. I have gone from 180 pounds to 160 pounds during that timeframe. It is an anecdotal example, but I figured I would offer it up in case it helps anyone reading this article 🙂
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