What happens to the body when fasting and its effect on weight loss

Scientists know that a person can go on average for 3 weeks without consuming food. And a week at most without water. But fasting is a very ambiguous practice: traditional medicine, in general, does not accept it, pointing out a huge number of negative aspects, while the alternative loves it, considering that fasting is the discovery capable of remedying all ills. In this post, we are going to study whether fasting helps you lose weight or not.

Fasting is a state caused by insufficient intake of substances necessary to maintain the body’s self-regulation. At the same time, there is the so-called “therapeutic fasting”, which is adopted by those who practice alternative medicine. These people voluntarily reject food and water for a while, claiming that in this way the body becomes purified and healthier. Traditional medicine does not support these practices.

However, during fasting, the person apparently loses weight. we from awesome.club We decided to find out what dangers this process entails and whether it is really possible to lose weight by starving yourself.

We looked at the situation where a person is hungry for a not too long time and it doesn’t have a lethal outcome. What really happens?

During the first 2 days, the body uses all available glycogen stores in the muscles and liver. These are the carbohydrate stores that provide the body with quick energy.

Between the third and fourth days, the process of ketosis begins. This is the time when the body starts burning stored fat for energy. For a while, the feeling of hunger subsides, the blood sugar level drops. But then the person will feel hungry again and the sugar can drop to critical levels. In this case, the metabolism slows down and the hormonal balance can be altered.

If a person does not ingest food or water, all these processes will proceed more quickly. But this can trigger dehydration, which will lead to very low blood pressure.

It is necessary to leave this state gradually, starting with liquid food.

The most obvious benefit of fasting is rapid weight loss. But here we cannot avoid having implicit disadvantages, which we will talk about later.

All the other advantages, which you may have heard, have not been confirmed by science. Yes, sometimes fasting helps relieve symptoms of illness. For example, experts were able to alleviate 7 out of 10 irritable bowel symptoms through fasting. But these are specific cases and it would be a mistake to extend them to all.

The disadvantages of this fast “diet” are much greater:

The risk of developing heart problems in children whose mothers went hungry or ate poorly during pregnancy; Change in menstrual cycle in women; Constipation; Bone fragility; Slow metabolism; In the case of prolonged fasting, there is a risk of developing avitaminosis, which leads to peeling skin, hair loss, brittle nails and the like; Chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract can be exacerbated.

Most experts agree that fasting is an insane way to lose weight. Because that way, what you lose quickly is liquid, but not fat.

Fasting helps to easily get rid of a couple of extra pounds, but as soon as the person returns to the normal diet, the pounds also return. At the same time, problems with being overweight can only get worse. The fact is that fasting slows down metabolism (as in this way the body tries to conserve energy), which then may not return to normal.

Fasting for 1 to 2 days will not do much harm if you are a healthy person. But people who already have problems with their kidneys or liver can only make them worse. Therefore, experts do not recommend fasting without consulting a doctor.

And the best way to lose weight is still eating fewer calories. Nutritionists recommend consuming fewer calories than you expend. It may not be that fast, but it is effective and not harmful to health.

Despite the adverse effects of fasting, it is indicated in some cases. Most of the time, people have to temporarily give up some foods before surgery and different tests. In these cases, fasting is a necessary measure. But most of the time it shouldn’t last long.

If you still want to temporarily abstain from food, be sure to consult your doctor and ensure that this practice does not cause serious harm to your health.

Have you ever practiced fasting? Did you get the desired result? Tell us, leave your comment below!