Can you really fast your way to a six pack?

Aidan Turner doesn’t eat until 7pm to get his perfect body. But in the race to be beach beautiful...

HIS taut, defined, abdominal muscles and sculpted biceps have made him an object of desire and envy. But Poldark star Aidan Turner (right) says his six-pack is not just down to hours in the gym, but rather starving himself all day.

The 35-year-old Dubliner revealed he fasts until 7pm when filming and exercises on an empty stomach to achieve the body that has made his fortune.

It sounds extreme, but intermittent fasting has a number of devotees in the celebrity world. Beyonce, Hugh Jackman and Benedict Cumberbatch all swear by it, especially when they want to drop a few pounds for a red carpet event.

Experts say the secret to its success is that, when we don’t eat anything for long periods, the body has no choice but to tap into its sugar and fat stores. Also, without the temptation of constant snacking, it’s easier to keep track of calories in and out.

But is it just another fad diet, or should we all be going hungry more?

WHAT IS FASTING?

INTERMITTENT fasting is defined as abstaining from or reducing food intake periodically for eight hours or more, and is one of the biggest — and most lucrative — diet trends on the planet.

Perhaps the most famous regime is the 5:2 or Fast Diet devised by Dr Michael Mosley. This involves eating the recommended daily calorie intake — around 2,000 for a woman and 2,500 for a man — five days a week, then just 25 per cent of those calories for the other two days.

Fasting might be relatively new on the dieting scene but it’s been around for centuries. With roots in ancient India, where it was used as an aid to meditation, fasting has historically also been a means of protest — think hunger strikes — and plays a part in all the major religions.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE FAST?

AROUND eight hours after your last morsel of food, the body goes into a fasting state, when it has to deal with the calorie deficit by drawing on its stores of sugar or fat.

Nowadays, very few of us ever enter this state and experience real hunger. The accepted dietary habit in the affluent West is to eat little and often — three meals a day with snacks in between — to stave off hunger and energy slumps.

‘After eight hours, the body is no longer burning the energy from recently eaten food and has to burn off what’s on board already,’ explains Roy Taylor, a professor of medicine and metabolism.

‘Sugar is stored in the liver as glycogen (a form of glucose) and doesn’t last long. If you were washed up on a desert island, you’d be through your sugar stores within 48 hours.

‘Your body then has to fall back on burning up your fat stores, which is when weight loss can occur.

‘We all carry around quite substantial stores of fat, even people who look slim. So the fat is there and will be used for energy when we fast.’

BUT IS IT GOOD FOR YOU?

NUMEROUS scientific studies show that as well as aiding weight loss, fasting can elicit other health benefits.

Scientists have found that it can lower blood pressure, body fat percentage and cholesterol levels. A 2014 study in America suggested that just one day of water-only fasting per week may reduce the risk of diabetes among those most likely to develop it, as it helps people manage their weight.

Another study at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles found that fasting for two to four days may even ‘reboot’ the immune system, clearing out old immune cells and regenerating new ones — a process that could protect against cell damage caused by ageing and chemotherapy.

‘It is well established that gaining weight increases the risk of conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer and arthritis of the knees and hips,’ says Professor Taylor, who led a series of studies which have shown what causes type 2 diabetes and how it can be reversed by fasting and weight loss. Latest figures from the Department of Health have revealed that six in ten adults are overweight or obese, rising to three adults out of four over the age of 50.

WHY WAIT TILL 7PM TO EAT?

ALTHOUGH Aidan Turner chooses to fast until 7pm, there’s nothing magic about that particular time.

Experts say it’s the length of time you go without food that’s more important. Susan Jebb, Professor of Diet and Population Health at Oxford University, says: ‘I’m not aware of any research on the effects of not eating specifically before 7pm. What’s more relevant is restricted eating, where people limit the number of hours a day during which they eat.’

Nutritionist May Simpkin says the simplest concept is to fast for 16-18 hours a day and only consume your food in the remaining six to eight hours.

So, if you eat your evening meal at 7pm, you wouldn’t eat again until at least 1pm the next day to ensure your body has had several hours in a fasting state.

WHAT TIME IS TOO LATE TO EAT?

RESEARCH has suggested that eating a big meal late at night and then going to sleep is bad for us, because our body has to focus on digestion instead of rest and repair. Eating late at night can also mean you feel hungrier than

usual when you wake up the next morning, thanks to the insulin your pancreas releases after a meal.

This, in turn, triggers the release of a hormone called ghrelin, responsible for triggering hunger. Ghrelin usually uses the naturally occurring fast between around 8pm to 8am to reset itself, ensuring you feel only normal levels of hunger in the morning.

The advice is that, whether fasting or not, we should allow a minimum of three hours after a meal before going to bed.

WHAT SHOULD I EAT TO BREAK A FAST?

IT’S amusing to imagine Aidan Turner returning, starving, after a hard day on set and devouring an entire cheesecake. But sadly, a fast does not give you licence to stuff yourself silly.

Whatever time of day you choose to eat, you must consume good amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fibre to ensure that you are getting essential nutrients and that your appetite is sated. ‘If you’re getting the essential food groups and your total calorie intake is less than the energy you are expending, it’s a case of job done,’ Professor Taylor says.

Studies into intermittent fasting show that people tend not to overcompensate when they do eat.

‘The body quickly adapts and gets into what we call a fed state quickly, so appetite and hunger decrease at a normal rate when we do eat,’ Prof Taylor adds.

CAN I EXERCISE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH?

FASTING is popular because it quickly taps into your fat stores so you should lose weight without needing to change anything else.

However, HSE guidelines state that to be healthy we should do at least 150 minutes weekly of physical activity — a mixture of aerobic and strength exercises.

But will Aidan Turner be more likely to keel over in the gym on an empty stomach or does working out while fasting speed up the fat burning process?

‘There’s no reason why you should keel over because the body will still help itself to whatever fuel it needs from your sugar stores,’ says Professor Taylor.

‘However, if you’re embarking on an intermittent fasting regime specifically to lose weight over a period of a few weeks, it’s not a good idea to exercise vigorously — just keep generally active instead.

‘Studies show overweight people are prone to eat more after exercise, so far better to concentrate on getting the weight loss out of the way before incorporating exercise into their lifestyle.’

CAN FASTING PUT MY HEALTH AT RISK?

FASTING might suit Aidan Turner but it’s not for everyone, including children, those with a low body mass index (BMI) who are already very slim, and anyone with type 1 diabetes, who would need a doctor to help them fast.

‘For the average adult, it’s perfectly safe to have longer gaps between meals and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t fast as often as every day if it suits you,’ says Professor Taylor.

‘It should be treated as a lifestyle choice, not a crash diet.’

WILL FASTING GIVE ME AIDAN’S ABS?

AS WITH all muscle definition, killer abs are simply well developed muscles that are not buried under too much ‘subcutaneous’ fat. To get them, you’ll need to combine regular exercises to challenge and develop the abs with a lean physique that shows them off. Which is where fasting comes in.

‘You can have the most toned abdominal muscles on Earth, but if you’re carrying excess weight you won’t be able to see them,’ says Professor Taylor.

‘It’s also far easier for men to achieve this sort of definition because they store less subcutaneous fat than women.’

DO DOCTORS RECOMMEND IT?

FAMILY GP and author Dr Philippa Kaye says that, for some people, three meals a day is still best. ‘What you eat is more important than when. It’s possible to lose weight and maintain it without going for hours without food.’