whichonespink04 t1_j2bchdy wrote
Yeah, unfortunately this study tells us exceptionally little and doesn't really support intermittent fasting per se--though it certainly doesn't detract from it--primarily because it was compared to normal diet and so there's no way to attribute the blood pressure improvement to the diet versus the weight loss. It would be interesting to compare to average changes in systolic blood pressure with similar weight loss. Incidentally, this paper is pretty damn embarrassing in that it literally never (as far as I can find), not even once, mentions what unit the damn weight is measured in (nor any of the other measures except once to say mmHg). It kind of makes a big difference between pounds and kilograms. I presume it's kilos, but how hard is it to put the unit in a couple times? Hard to say if the weight difference is considered clinically significant too because the studies ranged in length from 1-12 months.
I'm not saying don't try it or it isn't helpful for people, but this doesn't add much or anything to support its use.
mr_doppertunity t1_j2c4418 wrote
Why IF works for weight loss: caloric deficit.
Why keto works for weight loss: caloric deficit.
Why %dietname% works for weight loss: caloric deficit.
Why does IF improve health: you lose excess weight and your health markers get back to normal.
Why does keto improve health: you lose excess weight and your health markers get back to normal.
Why does %dietname% improve health: you lose excess weight and your health markers get back to normal.
Yet another study supports this claim.
Mostly, there’s really nothing more to add to it. People often forget that correlation doesn’t mean causation and give diets some exceptional qualities, while the effects they see are caused by the mere fact they lost weight. And you can lose weight on beer and ice cream (literally) and still improve your health.
IF is merely a timing protocol, for the most people it’s primarily helpful to control hunger and to not dive deep into counting calories (as satiety is achieved faster by having larger meals in smaller time window), maybe some can benefit from keeping insulin levels low. That’s all.
So eat a balanced diet, lose excess weight and improve your health markers, but it’s up to you whether to follow IF.
P. S. I see posts like “eating 6 meals bad”, but I can eat 8 meals while doing IF (I guess I’m always in postprandial state while not fasting), so there’s absolutely no relation between those.
whichonespink04 t1_j2e1yb5 wrote
I don't think it's quite that simple, but I do think that calorie deficit is the central factor for weight loss in most diets. I do think there is some role for timing and body state in the efficiency with which someone absorbs calories and how they metabolize them that can produce an effective calorie deficit between calories invested and calories that are usable and I think some diets capitalize on that. There may be some role of body-integrated calorie catabolism during ketosis states, but I'm less sure of the legitimacy there and haven't read enough to really know.
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