There are a lot of myths surrounding fasting. Some people believe that it’s the only way to lose weight, while others think that it’s dangerous and can lead to health problems.
In reality, fasting can help curb consumption, clean up your body, decrease your risk of cancer, and help you lose fat. Here are the top five fasting myths, debunked.
1. Skipping Breakfast Ruins Your Metabolism
Myth: Skipping breakfast leads to excess hunger cravings, which makes you gain weight.
Truth: A 2014 study was done with two groups of obese individuals. One group ate breakfast and one skipped, and they found no change in weight in either. This shows that eating breakfast is not essential.
So, if you eat an unhealthy breakfast, you are at risk of gaining more weight, but if you skip breakfast it does not cause excess cravings, rebounding effects, or weight gain.
2. You Can’t Function Without Eating
Myth: If you do not eat carbohydrates every few hours, your brain won’t be able to function properly.
Truth: Your brain can actually run on energy that’s produced in the liver called ketones. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, fasting for long periods or taking a low-carb approach will help your body tap into ketones.
This will reduce liver fat, cirrhosis, and fatty liver syndrome, all while allowing you to remain energized.
You don’t have to run purely off ketones every single day, but you absolutely can perform without carbohydrates or frequent meals.
3. Eating Frequently Is Healthy
Myth: Eat often to stay healthy
Truth: Studies show that short-term fasting induces a cellular repair process called autophagy. This is where your cells recycle old and dysfunctional proteins and cells to create energy.
Some studies suggest snacking and eating frequently can have negative effects on health and raise your risk of disease.
For example, one study found that coupled with a high-calorie intake, a diet with more frequent meals caused a greater increase in liver fat, indicating that snacking may raise the risk of fatty liver disease.
Tap into autophagy by fasting and you will recycle and clean up your cells, which will clear out your liver and provide a major boost to your immune system.
4. Fasting Will Make My Body Starve
Myth: Not eating shuts down your metabolism and prevents you from burning fat.
Truth: Study after study shows that fasting for up to 48 hours can boost your metabolism between 3.6-14%, Fasting actually allows your body to burn more fat, not less.
5. Fasting Is Bad For Your Health
Myth: Fasting is bad for you
Truth: Fasting has major benefits for your metabolic health, such as improved insulin sensitivity that will balance the blood sugars in your body. Fasting reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, which are the root of 98% of all diseases.
Fasting taps into the healing process in your body. The main reason it does this is that many people haven’t gone a day without eating. There is nothing you can do that will use up more energy and resources than digest food.
If you give your body a break from that exhausting activity, it gets to use all that energy to repair your body. Fasting clears out inflammation, prevents heart disease, bolsters your immune system, and repairs the cells.
Summary
That’s the power of fasting. If you want to learn how to do it effectively and avoid plateauing, check out my rotational fasting training right here.
