Does Intermittent Fasting Help With Healthy Weight Loss?

Intermittent fasting isn't a new concept, but over the past few of years, it's been gaining traction as one of the most popular dieting strategies out there.

While there are many proposed benefits of intermittent fasting, like improved digestion, better sleep, and increased energy, one question that surrounds intermittent fasting is whether or not it can help with healthy weight loss and management.

Intermittent fasting isn't technically a diet. It's more of a strategy or a tool that you can use along with your eating plan.

There are many types of intermittent fasting, but the basic idea is that you alternate set periods of time when you eat with set periods of time when you fast, or completely abstain from food.

Even though there are no strict rules about what you can eat, board-certified internist Vincent M. Pedre, M.D., says that when it comes to weight loss, intermittent fasting is a "tactic that almost always works when everything else has failed."

You don't have to take his word for it, though. There's a lot of science that says so, too. 

A 2020 review in Nutrition1 that compared several weight loss diet strategies reported that people who incorporated intermittent fasting lost an average of 4 to 10% of their body weight over a period of four to 24 weeks.

Another review found that 27 subjects who did intermittent fasting saw 0.8% to 13.0% weight loss2 from their baseline weight.

While this diet style may result in eating less, it's possible to lose weight with intermittent fasting even without changing your calorie intake2.

That's because unlike normal calorie restriction, intermittent fasting may also help support hormone balance, like insulin, ghrelin, and leptin, which all play a role in your hunger and metabolism.

This hormonal regulation is one of the reasons most of the weight you lose—as much as 79%3—with intermittent fasting is in the form of fat.

Intermittent fasting may also help improve insulin sensitivity, which can decrease inflammation, making you feel less swollen and puffy, and has positive effects on your gut health, which Pedre calls "an often-overlooked but crucial aspect of losing weight and cultivating overall health."

The 2020 review in Nutrition summarized that periodic fasting1 (also called the 5:2 diet) seems to be the most effective way to use intermittent fasting as a weight loss tool. 

However, Pedre says he doesn't believe in one-size-fits-all approaches and the most important thing is to take your individual needs into account. 

While intermittent fasting is certainly an effective tool, it's not a miracle solution, and there are some things that might stall or prevent weight loss. 

Functional medicine doctor Mark Hyman, M.D., says one mistake that can prevent you from losing weight is excessively snacking between meals and eating all day.

He explains that even though there are no "rules" about what to eat when intermittent fasting, the quantity and quality of your food still matters.

While there are lots of benefits of intermittent fasting, there are some drawbacks, too. And according to Pedre, hunger is the biggest one. 

While hunger tends to diminish as your body gets used to fasting, it can be a problem in the beginning stages, he says. And sometimes that hunger can lead to overeating the wrong types of foods during your feeding windows.

However, you can combat this hunger by sticking to satisfying whole foods, like lean meats, healthy fats and oils, and lots of fiber-rich veggies, when it's time to eat, Pedre says.

Avoid refined carbohydrates and sugars, which can cause blood sugar fluctuations that make hunger and cravings worse.

It can also be difficult to stick to intermittent fasting when there are changes in your schedule or nighttime social events.

Intermittent fasting can help you lose weight in a healthy way, but it's not a miracle solution.

If you're eating lots of unhealthy foods or excessively snacking during your feeding windows, it can prevent weight loss and any other potential health benefits of intermittent fasting.