When I first started losing weight many, many years ago, I started to obsessively read health and weight loss magazines. Whenever I stumbled upon anything about fasting or shedding the weight by, well, not eating, the advice was always a big, fat "DON'T GO THERE!". So I didn't. I avoided fasting the way people who fast avoid food. Still, I've always wondered if not eating actually COULD help me lose weight. Well, according to a new study, fasting one day a week can actually have some benefits!
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Nutritionist Cynthia Sass writes on Self.com, in a story titled "Could Intermittent Fasting Help You Lose Weight?", about the potential benefits of fasting one day a week. Apparently a new study, published in the Nutritional Journal, examined the benefits of "intermittent fasting" in two groups of women. One group maintained a low-calorie liquid diet and the other a low-calorie food plan while both groups fasted once a week for a period of two months. The results?
Both groups lost weight (the liquid diet group lost an average of eight pounds while the solid food-eating group lost an average of five pounds). The only problem, though? The results didn't last!
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I know that's really disappointing to hear but here's the thing: no weight loss will last if you don't put in just as much effort into keeping the weight off as you put into losing the weight in the first place. I'm betting that both of these groups went back to their regular way of eating and, of course, soon the pounds crept back on.
So, yes, fasting one day a week looks like it WILL help you lose the weight but you have to make sure not to only rely on this quick fix to reach your weight loss goals. Instead, eat healthier, exercise and maybe incorporate a day of fasting once in a while. Personally, I'm going to do a "fasting" day after a particularly calorie-heavy day (like the day after a Holiday celebration). Hey, if it's going to help me lose a bit of weight, why not? Just as long as I work hard to keep that weight off, too!
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