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But that is my point. Most people who regularly skip breakfast do not psychologically have an 8 hour window in which to eat. So whilst they may not eat until noon/1pm they will most likely consume more calories than somebody who follows daily IF fasting, which is essentially a calorie restricted lifestyle.
There are a lot of studies which illustrate this relationship between skipping breakfast and being overweight, such as this one- Skip Breakfast, Get Fat
I think the message in the programme was supposed to be that on non-fasting days you can eat whatever you like, not how much you like (as in any kinds of food up to your usual calorie intake). However, the use of burgers and junk food wasn't helpful to most viewers who could easily misunderstand this.
As for the metabolic effects, it is very difficult to measure without getting us all in a lab and it will certainly vary from person to person. I believe (from what I have read) that autophagy increases with fasting with the real benefits kicking in at around 16 hours and further increasing to a point of diminishing return. Therefore by fasting a minimum of 18 hours/day I should see some benefits.
The link between weight training or better still, resistance training (let's not call it body building as that perhaps conjures up the wrong image) is linked to metabolism. Lean muscle mass (or reduced body fat) results in a better metabolic rate. Ie. sat still your body is more efficient at metabolising calories.
The full circle is that by using IF, growth hormone is stimulated making it theoretically easier to build muscle (or lean mass) and therefore improve metabolism. Fasting enhances growth hormone secretion and amplifies the complex rhythms of growth hormone secretion in man.
Perhaps the most interesting article is the British Medical Journal review of the Horizon programme. It discussed several pieces of research which were omitted and summarise 'Any attempt to encourage reduced calorie intake in a nation with such high rates of obesity as our own may be commendable, but critics will likely find little new in the advice Mosley dishes out: reduce your calorie intake, reduce your weight, reduce your cardiovascular risk factors. Perhaps thats the message to hope people take forward from this'.
Here's the link- BMJ Group blogs: BMJ » Blog Archive » Emma Rourke reviews Horizon: Eat, Fast, and Live Longer
Therefore IF is nothing more than a tool in which to manage calorie restriction; which may, or may not come with associated long term health benefits (reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, diabeties etc etc...). Until someone conducts a longitudinal study in humans we will never really know. |
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