A colleague of mine in Ontario has an interesting concept when it comes to losing fat and he calls it Eat Stop Eat, which is basically intermittent fasting through the week.
He wrote a short article that I want to share with you to show you the MANY benefits of fasting and how it WILL help you lose fat particularly if you have hit a fat loss plateau.
See his post below.
It is a common misconception that the goal of a great diet program
is only to help you lose weight. This is wrong the way to view dieting. A great diet program should make sure the weight you lose is all fat, and this is the goal of Eat Stop Eat.
I spend my mornings catching up on my reading. This usually
involves a nice hot cup of coffee and a desk full of research
papers.
Lately, I've found that there is more and more research
being published that supports the science behind the Eat Stop
Eat lifestyle.
Just the other day I came across a very interesting
study in Acta Physiologica Scandinavia - The journal of the
Scandinavian physiological society. In this study the effects of a
3-day fast on human metabolism was examined.
The authors found the typical benefits that are associated with
fasting:
No decrease in Energy Expenditure - metabolic rate DID
NOT slow down
A decrease in RQ - indicating an increase in fat burning
Increased blood flow - some very impressive numbers, (I challenge
any "Nitric Oxide" supplement to show this kind of data!!)
Decreased blood insulin levels - Considered to be one of the
major health benefits of fasting
Increased glucagon levels - more reliance on body fat as a fuel
source
Increased Growth Hormone levels - If you have read Eat Stop Eat
then you know that I think this is one of the major keys behind the
benefits of fasting
Increased noradrenaline - More fat burning hormones
No increase in cortisol - No reason to think that muscle is being
broken down
One of the major things that caught my eye in this paper was a
great graph showing the change in fuel sources that were fueling
metabolism.
The first thing I noticed in this graph was that the amount of
calories being burned during a fasting day and a non-fasting day
are roughly the same (about 2000 Kcals), however during fasting a
lot more of these calories are coming from fat. And, since the
subjects were not eating any fat while fasting, this fat must have
been body fat.
Another interesting finding was that the majority of this fat was
stomach fat.
While I do not recommend fasting for 3 days straight (I prefer
24 hours, going from dinner one night to dinner the next night), this study does add evidence to the idea that fasting can be an effective method of reducing calorie intake and increasing fat burning without negatively effect metabolic rate, or muscle
mass.
After thoroughly reviewing this study I'm more convinced then ever that the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle is the easiest way to lose weight, and to make sure that the weight you lose is all fat.
Brad
Remember, if you want to learn more about Eat Stop Eat, you can
check it out here ==>Eat Stop Eat
Reference:
Gjedsted J, Gormsen LC, Nielsen S, et al. Effects of a 3-day fast
on regional lipid and glucose metabolism in human skeletal muscle
and adipose tissue. Acta Physiol 2007, 191, 205-216.
PS. Start with 1 day per week. Have dinner and then don't eat again until dinner the next night. This is what I do. Throughout the day drink water, tea, and have a piece or two of fruit if you need it. I also have a greens drink twice during the day.
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