Intermittent Fasting for Maintenance of Weight Loss

You may have heard of intermittent fasting, the 5:2 diet, eat-stop-eat, the 16/8 method… there are many different names for intermittent fasting but essentially they all follow the same theory of having periods during which you can eat “normally” and periods of “fasting”. By reducing your calorie intake, no matter what method you choose, you should lose weight or be able to maintain your weight. 

Following bariatric surgery you are required to follow a specific diet. The post-bariatric surgery diet is designed to allow your stomach to heal properly following surgery (as well as avoiding side effects and complications), help you adjust to eating smaller amounts of food that you can comfortably and safely digest, and of course, help you to lose weight. 

Intermittent fasting is not recommended as part of your initial post-bariatric surgery diet. It is important that you follow the dietary advice given by your dietitian or healthcare professional after your surgery to ensure that you are consuming an appropriate diet that will not only assist in weight loss but also be rich in necessary nutrients. 

In today’s blog, we are going to look at the benefits of intermittent fasting for those that have had bariatric surgery and are already at their target weight and would like to maintain their new lifestyle; or for those who have gained weight since their initial weight loss and are exploring realistic diet options to return to their desired weight.

What is intermittent fasting? 

“Intermittent fasting or intermittent energy restriction is an umbrella term for various meals timing schedules that cycle between a period of voluntary fasting and non-fasting over a defined period. Non-caloric drinks are permitted during fasting periods, contrary to religious fasting.” – Wikipedia

Weight loss is one of the most common reasons for people to give intermittent fasting a try. “Fasting” involves a period of you eating nothing, or very little. Our ancient ancestors didn’t have the abundance of food that we have today, so they were often subjected to periods of fasting in between meals, meaning the human body is very used to enduring periods without food (despite what we may be used to in this modern world). 

By eating fewer meals as a result of fasting, you are reducing your calorie intake. Additionally, intermittent fasting changes hormone levels to facilitate weight loss. Which is why this method can assist in weight loss or long-term weight maintenance. 

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Aside from weight loss, which is often the desired outcome, there are many other benefits to intermittent fasting. Although the benefits of intermittent fasting are still very much in the research stages, the indications so far have been nothing but positive. 

• Insulin resistance – when fasting your insulin sensitivity improves and levels of insulin can drop dramatically. Lower levels of insulin make stored body fat more accessible. Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance, lowering blood sugar levels and fasting insulin levels. 
• Cellular repair – during fasting periods your cells initiate a cellular repair process, for example, a process called autophagy, where cells digest and remove old and dysfunctional proteins that can build up inside of cells.
• Increased levels of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) – levels of HGH have been shown to increase significantly as a result of fasting, the benefits being fat loss and muscle gain to name but a few. 
• Brain Health – intermittent fasting increases the brain hormone BNDF and may aid in the growth of new nerve cells. 
• Animal studies – animal studies have suggested that intermittent fasting may prevent cancer. Studies in rats have shown that fasted rats showed an increased life-span. 

Different Types of Intermittent Fasting

The most popular forms of intermittent fasting diets are below. These are the most popular as they have been found to be the easiest to follow, and more importantly, to stick to long-term. Diets often don’t work as they are short term solutions, but if you can introduce long-term lifestyle changes then you are much more likely to lose weight and maintain that weight loss. 

The 5:2 Diet – this method requires you to only consume 500-600 calories (500 for women, 600 for men) on two non-consecutive days of the week, and then to eat normally for the remaining 5 days. 

16/8 Method – this is a flexible approach that you can tailor to your own schedule. It involves restricting your eating period to 8 hours in a day, then fasting for 16 hours in-between. So, for example, skipping breakfast and eating between 12-8 pm, or eating between 9 am – 5 pm. 

Eat-Stop-Eat – this method involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week, for example not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day. 

Whichever fasting method that you decide to follow all have the same benefits and will result in weight loss, as they are all creating a calorie restriction during the fasting period each week. 

How Intermittent fasting can help post-bariatric surgery patients

Unfortunately, many patients who experienced significant weight loss following bariatric surgery find that they may regain some weight eventually or struggle to maintain the weight loss long-term. This is where intermittent fasting may prove to be a useful technique specifically for post-bariatric surgery patients who are still learning to live with significant lifestyle changes.

• Eliminates the ‘what to eat’ factor – making healthy choices can be hard, deciding what to eat whether you’re at home, out for dinner at a restaurant or shopping in the supermarket can be a daunting task. By introducing fasting periods you are eliminating several weekly meals, helping to streamline that thought process. 
• Water consumption – during periods of fasting you are generally not permitted to consume anything other than water or drinks that have no/little calories (such as diet sodas, herbal tea etc.). Followers of intermittent fasting often find that they consume more fluids, meaning they are finally hitting their required daily water intake. 
• Smaller portions – it is easy to think that during the ‘normal’ eating periods you can ‘pig out’, whereas what actually tends to happen is that your tolerance for bigger portion sizes reduces due to the periods of fasting, helping your body and mentality return to that post-bariatric surgery state of mind and eating. 
• Sustainable – unlike other ‘fad diets’ intermittent fasting appears to be sustainable. During periods of non-fasting you aren’t required to eat a specific diet or product (although of course eating a healthy combination of proteins, fats and carbs is always recommended), and there is no restriction meaning that you won’t ‘cave’ and gorge on all of those lovely treats that you haven’t been allowed to eat following a standard ‘diet’. 

There is still a lot of research into the long-term benefits of intermittent fasting but so far the results are looking positive and as a flexible, sustainable lifestyle choice it certainly is getting the thumbs up from us! Are you willing to give it a go?