This year, Christian Lent began on February 14th. According to a study, most people plan to avoid alcohol, sweets or meat in the 40 days until Easter – often with the aim of improving their health and losing a few kilos.
How can this be achieved successfully? Nutritionist Prof. Dr. Claus Leitzmann and nutritional doctor Dr. Petra Bracht answers the most important questions about losing weight in her book “Klartext Losing Weight”.
In the interview, Prof. Leitzmann explains the benefits of fasting and what happens to the body when we go without food.
What method do you recommend for Lent?
Prof. Dr. Claus Leitzmann: It depends on what you want to achieve. The classic fasting of one to four weeks without food or with few calories in liquid form is mainly followed for health reasons; you can lose one to two kilos per week.
The form and length of fasting must be discussed individually and, in the case of illnesses, with doctors who have experience with fasting.
In order to lose a few extra pounds, periodic or interval fasting, which consists of two phases, is recommended. In the first phase, you can eat within 8 hours and “fast” for the remaining 16 hours. This method is easiest to carry out if you eat from midday onwards and finish your last meal before 8 p.m. For breakfast lovers or if this timing does not fit well with working hours, the eating phase can be extended to ten hours. There is also the option of eating just once a day.
What happens in our body when we fast?
Intermittent fasting is a corrective in which the metabolism changes and the body cleanses, comparable to a “major cleaning”. The body uses up the stored carbohydrates in the first two days. Autophagy is then initiated, a sophisticated recycling system in the body that frees the cells from harmful waste such as aged or non-functional cell components.
These are surrounded by a shell and broken down by enzymes, which are fed back into the cell to rebuild healthy cell components. Moderate exercise such as walking and relaxation exercises as well as dancing or working in the garden are recommended accompanying activities.
How do you deal with cravings for fatty, sweet or other unhealthy foods?
These products determine whether periodic fasting is healthy or really leads to weight loss. Because very fatty, sweet or salty products are not only unhealthy, but they also cause you to eat more than you are hungry. That’s not how you lose weight.
Therefore, avoiding these products is a prerequisite for success. To resist cravings, drink a glass of water, make a phone call, do a few stretches, get some fresh air, or otherwise distract yourself.
Overall, a certain amount of patience and willpower, or as they used to say, discipline, is required. If you really want to lose weight, you must have the energy to be successful.
Besides losing weight, what other benefits does fasting have?
Anyone who has fasted successfully can confirm that positive effects appear after just one day and are perceived as a win. Breathing becomes more intense, heart rate and blood pressure are lowered, digestion becomes less problematic and sleep becomes deeper.
Overall, a pleasant mood, a joy in being and an urge for physical activity spread. This results in new contacts, perhaps even new friendships, all important for more joy in life.
Is long-term intermittent fasting healthy or should you do it regularly for a few weeks?
The health effects primarily depend on the composition of the meals. That’s why we recommend a wholesome, plant-based diet. The longer this is practiced in conjunction with intermittent fasting, the more lasting the effects are, because the body adjusts to this new rhythm.
Anyone who doesn’t want to or can’t adapt to intermittent fasting on a long-term basis will still benefit from a lifelong, whole-food plant-based diet.
Are there people for whom intermittent fasting is not suitable?
Intermittent fasting is actually suitable for everyone. Exceptions are children and adults with particular difficulties in eating or with metabolic disorders that are not compatible with a 16-hour fasting period. In these cases, you should consult a doctor and clarify whether the fasting method is good.
This article was written by (ncz/spot)