Intermittent fasting seems to be arousing the interest of many people on their journey to wellbeing and fitness. In 2019, intermittent fasting was among the most searched topic on the internet especially for its relation to the management and even reversal of type 2 diabetes. Though not a simple exercise to get involved in, and yet still not an easy lifestyle to maintain, intermittent fasting has been said to have quite some positive changes in the weight loss and fitness journey when well-practised.  Simply put, intermittent fasting is regulated fasting where one has an open window period for eating and a closed one in which they abstain from food and drink only water.

Each time we eat, our bodies’ breaks down the food into sugars and utilizes the required amount for daily continuous activities. In most cases, however, we consume more than the body requires. When this occurs, the body does not utilize all the calories at a single time, but instead stores away some of it in the form of fats. The major hormone involved in breaking down food for both use and storage is insulin. Insulin is secreted in amounts proportional to the amount of food that requires to be stored. After the body utilizes what it requires, the rest is broken down into fats and distributed in the body in the order that the physiology allows.

The body primarily has two states, the fed state where it is using glucose for energy or the starved state where it uses the fat stored for the production of energy. Maximizing on the fasted state means the body relies and more on the stored fat, and this is the core principle behind intermittent fasting. During the fasting period, the body reduces the reliance on the readily available sugars from consumed carbohydrates and utilizes the fat cells by breaking them down for energy. When this happens, one getting leaner and the body fat reduces.