Confused about which diet to follow. Fed up with contradictory advice? Intermittent Fasting gets thumbs up from most experts

End diet derangement syndrome

Confused about which diet to follow? Tired of contradictory advice? One approach seems to have the thumbs-up from most experts. 

By Iza Trengove

Trying—and failing—to shift those extra kilos, no matter how hard you try? Some experts now say that your brain simply has its own sense of what your body weight should be, and programs the body to return to this “set point”, no matter how much exercise we do or what diet we follow. 

Needless to say, these experts have advice about how to coach your brain and body to accept a new “set point”. 

This new (and discouraging) concept joins the plethora of contradictory and confusing diets out there, contributing to the feeling that the decks are unfairly stacked against the poor dieter. 

Some say the key is to count calories and eat six small meals day. Others insist a high-fat low-carbohydrate (HFLC ) diet is the ultimate weight loss strategy. And then there is the bunny-hugging, plant-based diet brigade, which claims it has the answers. 

Those in favour of calorie counting say it is all about creating a calorie deficit and eating fewer calories than one uses. HFLC fans, on the other hand, believe that eating fat and protein will encourage one’s body to switch its energy source from glucose to fat. This will improve energy levels, avoid insulin resistance and lower bad cholesterol. Not so, say the vegetarians, who claim they are saving the planet but also point to research which says plant-eaters live longer than meat-eaters and are healthier. No wonder that in the US veganism has grown by 600% in the last three years and in the UK 600,000 adults are vegan according to a Vegan Society poll in 2019 up from 542,000 in 2016 and 1,2 million are vegetarian. 

Confusion about which diet to follow, says Dr Hannetjie Edeling, Johannesburg counselling psychologist, registered dietitian and author, leads to over- and binge-eating, condemning one to a vicious--and ineffectual--dieting cycle. 

Agreement on intermittent fasting

But all is not lost. There is one dieting strategy that most experts agree works. It doesn’t only support weight loss but has many health benefits. Intermittent Fasting (IF) is becoming increasingly popular, says weight-loss expert and registered dietitian Amanda Weber from Somerset West. One reason for its popularity is that it is easy to implement and, more important, to stick to. It does not focus so much on what one eats but rather when one eats. 

Basically, IF involves fasting for a period of 16 hours, although the range seems fairly flexible with some fasting for as few as 14 hours and others for as long as 18 hours. At a practical level, this could mean having dinner at 7pm and then fasting until 11am the following day. The end result is that one does one’s eating between 11am and 7pm—two or three meals within an eight-hour period. 

While fasting, one is allowed to drink water, black coffee, herbal tea or diluted juice. 

Opting for water seems the most natural choice, and it’s completely calorie-free. The aim is to drink a beverage with fewer than 50 calories so that one’s body remains in a fasting state.

An alternative to daily fasting is to fast for one or two days per week. On the fasting days, one may eat a total of 500 calories a day and then follow a normal diet the rest of the week. Some people prefer to fast on alternate days.

Weber explains that when one fasts, one’s body initially uses carbohydrates as fuel. Once this source is depleted, the body starts to break down the fat stored in cells to produce ketones. These ketones enter the bloodstream and are used to produce energy in the cells. By depleting fat stores, ketosis causes real weight loss. 

Research is inconclusive about how long it takes to reach a state of ketosis. Edeling warns that women metabolise food differently from men, and some individuals take longer to reach ketosis. 

On balance, it seems that the best way to practice IF is to eat a late breakfast, substantial lunch and early supper within the eight-hour period since one’s body metabolises food faster during the day. But it all depends on one’s lifestyle.

According to Weber, IF allows one to lose weight regardless of which diet one follows. However, it is important to avoid sugar and eat healthy, unprocessed, free-range food that includes fibre and all the essential nutrients. Her advice to clients is to make a lifestyle change and to eat less and healthier. Variables such as one’s gender, age, hormones and exercise regime all play a role in determining how much weight one will lose. 

Edeling says she has seen the best results in clients who follow a high protein and low-carb diet while practicing IF.

DNA testing can also be a good way of determining which diet plan is best for you. It can also give you a head’s up as to your predisposition to diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. One cannot change one’s genes, but one can work with them. tailoring one’s diet and taking the right supplements.

Additional benefits

IF has many other benefits besides weight loss. Growing evidence indicates that it helps to prevent inflammation, a condition that can lead to various diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, cardio-vascular disease and Alzheimer’s. During ketosis, a complex set of metabolic processes can reduce inflammation. Edeling says IF allows one body to cleanse itself of waste products and old DNA in one’s cells that could cause inflammation.   

But IF is not necessarily for everyone. Weber says it is contraindicated for those with a history of eating disorders, those who take medication every few hours or those who suffer from diabetes. In some instances, athletes may also find it difficult to sustain their blood-sugar levels while fasting while, says Edeling, women should not practice IF during menstruation. 

Ideally, IF should be implemented gradually so that the body can adapt to using fat as an energy source. Jumping in at the deep end can have unpleasant side-effects like dizziness and nausea. 

The real point? Everybody has a unique biochemistry. Experiment cautiously and find out what works best for you. And even if you don’t end up losing weight, all the experts agree that IF will add healthy years to your lifespan.