Fast track to weight loss?

Reverse fasting is the latest to join the bandwagon of fad diets. So what exactly is it? Experts are calling it “a subset of intermittent fasting”. It involves periods of eating and fasting during the day.

“Conventional intermittent fasting involves having a moderately early dinner and moderately late breakfast. But reverse fasting is basically having an early dinner at around 5pm, and a normal timed breakfast (between 7am and 9am). This gives you an effective fasting window of around 14 to 16 hours. Bear in mind that you still consume the same amount of food as you usually do, just in a constrained time frame,” says Siddhant Bhargava, co-founder of a health and nutrition company.

WHY THE CRAZE?

When it comes to some of the pros of reverse fasting, convenience and ease of execution top the list. “It’s definitely more comfortable because it’s done at night, which is the normal sleeping time for a person. Hence, it gets easier to continue the fast for a longer period of time, with an early dinner and a slightly late breakfast,” says Jaydeep Bhuta, nutritional consultant.

He adds, “Consumption of starchy carbohydrates gets converted into sugar or glycogen, which gets stored in your liver as fuel, and is depleted whenever required by your body to fuel your daily activities. When you do reverse fasting, your body has lready depleted this glycogen or sugar (primary fuel) because of long hours of zero consumption of carbs, which is why your body reaks down body fats to uel your daily activities.”

NOW ITS DOWNSIDE

Like all diet plans, reverse fasting, too, comes with its own set of drawbacks. If it’s done without the support of a scientifically planned chart or expert supervision, it may cause adverse symptoms. “Some side effects include fatigue, light headedness, dizziness, headaches and low blood pressure,” says Delnaaz T Chanduwadia, chief dietician of a hospital.

Further, it’s common knowledge that fasting could hamper the absorption of some medications and vitamins. And therefore, it is not sustainable for a large group of people. “Studies have shown that those who have fasted every alternate day for a year, have shown to have elevated low-density lipoproteins levels. This was because, on the non-fasting days, these individuals would binge eat unhealthy foods. Those who are not following a wellplanned diet, could find themselves thinking of food during fasting hours,” says Chanduwadia.

SHOULD I GO FOR IT?

Each individual needs a profile when it comes to nutritional requirements. Kejal Sheth, nutritionist, puts things in perspective: “This diet is ideal for somebody with an extremely busy schedule and erratic meal timings.” It’s also helpful for those who’ve hit the weight-loss plateau. “Reverse fasting has shown miraculous effects to break the plateau phase,” says Sheth. But she recommends that the following people avoid it:

■ People suffering from bloating or other digestion-related issues.

■ A study suggested this diet helps reverse diabetes and blood pressure-related conditions, but the sample size in that study included only three men. So, diabetics should stay away from this diet, as it may increase the risk of hypoglycaemia.

■ Those on medications should be cautious before following this kind of a diet.

With inputs from Farahnaz Hashmi, dietician

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