A hugely popular diet trend right now is intermittent fasting. It claims to not only help you lose weight, but also improve your overall health. Despite the fact that intermittent fasting can help you during the holidays, though, you shouldn’t be considering this eating strategy a weight loss miracle. Keep reading to learn why.
Not Enough Evidence for Long-Term Weight Loss
According to The Takeout, there aren’t a lot of studies on intermittent fasting that prove this eating strategy can help you shed pounds for the long run. And, one study, in particular, has shown that following the popular 5:2 intermittent fasting plan yields similar results as any other typical diet.
Wait, What Is the 5:2 Diet?
Before we dive into whether or not the 5:2 diet is effective, let’s cover what it entails, in case you haven’t heard of it. Thankfully, it’s pretty simple: you eat normally for five days out of the week, and then you only consume a super low amount of calories the other two days of the week.
Putting It into Perspective
Here’s how the study on the 5:2 diet worked: a total of 150 people was divided into three sets. One group was the control group that did not have to change their eating habits at all. The second group was told to follow the 5:2 diet, and the third group followed a conventional diet that restricted calories by 20%.
What were the results? Well, the two groups that followed the diets were able to shed some pounds. In other words, both conventional diet strategies and intermittent fasting strategies can yield similar slim-down results. The act of intermittent fasting was not any more effective than merely restricting caloric intake while eating on a normal schedule.
What Should You Do During the Holidays?
The bottom line seems to be that, if you watch how many calories you’re taking in every day, you can take steps towards achieving your ideal weight. So, you needn’t worry about fasting during the holidays, as it likely won’t make a big difference. Eating three meals a day, and giving yourself the chance to indulge in the season’s tasty treats while watching your caloric intake, is one way that you can enjoy what this time of year has to offer. Forget about forcing yourself to go long stretches of time without eating, and making yourself feel miserable as a result.