I am starting intermittent fasting today to improve my health as well as to lose some weight. I am going to implement a 18:6 schedule. I was wondering, is there anything inherent to intermittent fasting that leads to more/faster weight loss besides a calorie deficit? For example, if I were to consume 1500 calories spread across the entire day not doing IF vs 1500 calories between 2 meals spread 6 hours apart and 18 hours of consuming nothing with IF, would weight loss be different between the two?
Not dramatically faster per say, but better at making the deficit do what you want it to - force the body to burn stored fat. By giving the body more time between meals it lets digestion and insulin levels die down. This is important because the body won’t break down fat while insulin is high.
If you are just starting make sure fasting 18h isn’t too much for you. It’s better to build it up than to feel discouraged because it’s too hard to keep up with and give up. Besides the insuline point, IF has an excellent effect on your body and mind: more energy, more focus, « feeling » healthy overall. Also, it is quite hard to reach the 1500 calories a day of you fast 18h, unless you eat very fatty and sugary food - the point is not for you to restrict yourself but it’s more beneficial as a process if you keep your calorie count on check.
You should be proud of yourself! It is not an easy journey to start so bravo for the initiative! It’s worth it ;)
I have been fasting for a while, but just recently read the book fast, feast, repeat, by Gin Stephen’s. It has really helped me with motivation by learning more about the science behind fasting. I really reccomend reading it if u would like to know more about what goes on in your body during the fast.