By Timothy Roe, Staff Writer
People, throughout history, have practiced fasting for various reasons–some, for weight loss; others, for religious reasons, and even others, for convenience’s sake. To truly know how impactful fasting is, and whether it kills or heals, senior Brandon Nguyen shares his experiences with integrating the exercise into his lifestyle.
“Since the start of junior year, I’ve been doing intermittent fasting, which is basic and simple; 16 hours of fasting, 8 hours a day. Basically, it’s two meals a day: lunch, snack in between, and dinner,” said Nguyen.
Biologically, intermittent fasting has been shown to increase productivity and have multiple health benefits, such as reduced stress and disease and decreased aging rates.
“Extended periods of fasting has been proven to produce brain power, and that resides in your sympathetic nervous systems, because when you eat you switch over to your parasympathetic nervous systems, and that causes you to slow down in cognitive function, and concentration significantly declines,” said Nguyen.
From an evolutionary perspective, the benefits are apparent too. People have consumed moderate to little amounts of food on a daily basis. Only recently has overeating become a major problem. This unusually large intake of food during the day disrupts the body’s nervous system, which makes the body relaxed, tired and fatigued instead of awake and active. This, as you may have heard, is known as a “food coma.”
So, fasting works wonders for health. But how does it fare as a dieting method?
On long terms, not very well. Most of the weight lost in fasting is temporary; losing fat immediately and simply also means it’s quick and easy to gain back. When people return to their normal diet after a fasting session, it’s likely that their previous weight returns with it. On a smaller, more manageable scale, however, it could be an effective method coupled with exercise. Diets such as the 16/8 method (fasting 16 hours per day), 5:2 diet (500-600 calories two days of the week) or the warrior diet (fasting during the day and eating one huge meal in the night) are all viable options when it comes to weight loss. Where the setback might happen, however, is in the difficulty of the activity.
“When I started fasting, it was based off of conveniency for my schedule. It was awful. Just skipping breakfast was–I can remember starving everyday. I had to chew on so much gum and drink so much water to get through those first eight hours of waking up. I adapted pretty quickly though, so after two weeks, I didn’t really need gum anymore, and it felt natural. So the first few weeks will be tremendously difficult, but your body really gets used to it,” said Nguyen.
It’s a battle between the body and mind, but the fruits of achievement may prove fasting to be a favorable option for those who want an alternative to traditional dieting, or simply for improving health and productivity.
“I suggest sticking with lots of chewing gum and drinking lots of water, preferably carbonated water. It really does the trick to blot and suppress hunger. Other than that, it’s just a mind game from there on out,” said Nguyen.
