Intermittent fasting

What is the window diet? Does it allow you to lose weight effectively? Are you sure it is healthy and advisable for you? Today we decided to take a look at the concept of Intermittent fasting, we invite you to read.

Recently in Poland, the concept of Intermittent fasting, abbreviated as IF diet, has become a very fashionable nutrition model. This diet is also called intermittent fasting, window diet, 16:8 diet, or 8-hour diet.

Although it is a relatively new trend in our country, the use of a similar nutritional model in the fight against obesity was the object of research more than 100 years ago. Nearly a decade ago, the window diet conquered the British Isles, and in 2018 it became quite famous in the United States.

How does the window diet work?

The premise of Intermittent fasting is to limit the time at which you eat your meals. The most commonly used model is 16:8, which means that we fast for 16 hours and do not consume any products. You are only allowed to drink fluids that do not provide kilocalories such as water, tea or coffee. For the remaining 8 hours we have the so called “food window”, i.e. it is a period when meals should be consumed.

Popular times to use the eating window are 12:00 to 20:00, during which time you can eat as many meals as you like. There are also no restrictions on the choice of foods eaten or the amount of food consumed. The number of kilocalories consumed is not counted either. However, it is recommended that meals are based on healthy eating principles.

Types of intermittent fasting

1. time-restricted feeding – restrictions are applied to the time of eating. There are different models:

• 16:8 – the most popular model, which involves 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating time
  
  
• 18:6 – 18 hours of fasting and 6 hours of food window
  
  
• 20:4 – a rigorous variant of IF in which the fasting period is 20 hours and the eating window is 4 hours

2. to use intermittent fasting on selected days. On fasting days you do not completely give up eating. However, one should eat about 25% of the energy requirements. There are two types of fasting:

• Alternate day fasting – means eating every other day
  
  
• 5:2 – 5 days a week you eat according to your daily energy requirements. On the other 2 days, you fast

What are the benefits of the window diet?

The IF-diet aims to reduce the number of kilocalories consumed. By using a nutritional window or reducing the kilocalorie intake on selected days, the amount of kilocalories consumed during the week is simply reduced. An energy deficit is created, which leads to a reduction in body weight and body fat.

There are many studies comparing the window diet with the classical diet of continuous restriction of kilocalorie supply. According to meta-analyses (review of key studies in a given field, with elimination of flawed studies), both periodic and continuous restriction of energy supply have comparable effects in reducing body weight and improving metabolic parameters.

It is worth noting that the obtained health benefits (such as reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, improved lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, reduced inflammatory processes) with the use of intermittent fasting result mainly from weight reduction and loss of body fat, which can also be achieved with the use of a classical diet with a continuous energy deficit. The window diet is only a way to limit the number of kilocalories consumed.

Disadvantages of intermitten fasting

The window diet is not recommended for children, adolescents, pregnant and breastfeeding women, the elderly, diabetics and people with reactive hypoglycaemia. Long-term studies are needed to define for which population groups this dietary model could be recommended.

Adherence to intermittent fasting hours can lead to disrupted relationships with food. There is also a risk of greater consumption of highly processed foods, with less fruit and vegetables. In addition, when it comes to building muscle mass, the process may be less effective in people following IF. This is related to the distribution of protein in meals throughout the day.

The use of restrictive hours of intermittent fasting can lead to digestive discomfort due to the volume of meals and less time between meals.

Is the window diet healthy?

Intermittent fasting is a dietary model for reducing kilocalorie intake.

Following a window diet can be a convenient way of losing weight for some people. However, it should be borne in mind that this diet is not recommended for everyone and not everyone will feel comfortable using this method. Both the window diet and the classic continuous restriction of energy supply result in weight loss due to the energy deficit created.

Have you had a chance to test the window diet? Be sure to share your experiences in the comments

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