168 Is fasting super effective for weight loss? Eating the wrong food for a long time may cause loss of muscle! 4 health risks you must know

There are hundreds of ways to lose weight, among which the 168 fasting method has long been popular all over the world and is favored by many Internet celebrities and artists, including the 68-year-old Sammo Hung, who actively lost weight with the 168 fasting method and his body was obviously reduced in weight... Other stars include Rainie Yang and Joanne Tseng who are keen on the 168 fasting method to lose weight, but the 168 fasting method is not suitable for everyone. Nutritionist You Weiming of the Catholic St. Martin's Hospital reminds that people who use the 168 fasting method to lose weight for a long time will have four major health risks if they do not supplement enough nutrition.

Nutritionist You Weiming said that in order to maintain normal physiological functions and daily life, the human body must constantly eat a variety of foods to supplement the nutrients it needs. Therefore, if people adopt 168 intermittent fasting for a long time within the 8 hours when they can eat, if they do not eat enough nutrients the body needs, they will experience fatigue, lack of concentration, and desire to rest and sleep in their daily lives.

The 168 intermittent fasting weight loss method is also called the 16:8 fasting weight loss method, which means that the eating time is concentrated in 8 hours a day, and the other 16 hours are fasting. The principle is to allow the digestive enzymes and insulin in the body to fully break down food, while also giving the stomach and intestines sufficient rest time.

168 fasting method can help you lose weight quickly and improve metabolic syndrome

You Weiming, a nutritionist at the Catholic St. Martin's Hospital, said that if people eat a balanced diet and get enough nutrition, they can indeed gain many health benefits by practicing 168 intermittent fasting. According to many studies around the world, 168 intermittent fasting can help lose weight and improve indicators of metabolic syndrome, including: excessive waist circumference, high fasting blood sugar levels, and high triglycerides.

168 Intermittent fasting has a high risk of causing "nutrient deficiency", which is especially dangerous for people who are picky eaters or have an unbalanced diet.

Since the human body cannot obtain energy from food during the fasting period, the glycogen originally stored in the liver and muscles begins to be consumed 8 hours after a meal. After the glycogen is used up during the 16-hour fasting period, the body begins to use fat and protein as energy sources. Therefore, the loss of body fat and muscle causes weight loss, which can achieve the effect of rapid weight loss in the long run.

On the other hand, the original high-sugar, high-oil, high-calorie diet is transformed into appropriate calories and protein, and by controlling the intake of starch and oil, excess body fat and visceral fat return to normal levels, reducing metabolic impedance and allowing blood sugar and blood lipids to gradually improve.

People with an unbalanced diet who fast for 168 hours may suffer from "nutrient deficiency"

However, not everyone is suitable for the 168 intermittent fasting method to lose weight. 168 Intermittent fasting has a high risk of causing "nutrient deficiency", which is especially dangerous for people who are picky eaters or have an unbalanced diet.

In addition, fitness has become popular in recent years. People who exercise regularly want to use 168 intermittent fasting to control their weight, but this is actually not suitable because people who exercise regularly are usually in good shape and must supplement the various nutrients needed by the body through a balanced diet of three normal meals. The 168 intermittent fasting is affected by the restricted time for food intake, which can easily cause people who exercise regularly to not get enough nutrients, and instead become weaker and weaker.

If people adopt 168 intermittent fasting for a long time and do not get enough nutrients needed by the body within 8 hours when they can eat, they will experience adverse conditions in their daily life, such as fatigue, lack of concentration, and desire to rest and sleep.

To lose weight quickly with 168-hour fasting, you need to meet 3 indicators

Nutritionist You Weiming suggests that anyone who meets one of the following three criteria and is under the guidance of a nutritionist is suitable for using 168 intermittent fasting to lose weight quickly:

The first indicator: Body mass index (BMI) greater than 27.

The second indicator: men with waist circumference greater than 100 cm and women with waist circumference greater than 90 cm.

The third indicator: Men with a body fat percentage greater than 30% and women with a body fat percentage greater than 35%.

According to the Journal of Translational Research, 168-hour fasting can help people lose an average of 0.25 to 0.75 kg of fat per week. For obese people, if they stick to it for a whole year, they can lose 12 to 36 kg of fat, which is quite a lot.

Will 168-hour fasting cause muscle loss?

The 168-hour fasting method can help you lose weight, but some people are worried that it may cause muscle loss. Is this true? Nutritionist You Weiming said that most studies on intermittent fasting have shown that because of the restriction of calorie intake, weight loss occurs and both fat and muscle are lost at the same time, but what is interesting is that 90% of the weight loss is fat, while muscle loss only accounts for 10% of the weight loss.

As for people who adopt 168-hour fasting for a long time, what health risks should they pay attention to? Nutritionist You Weiming said that in order to maintain normal physiological functions and daily life, the human body must constantly eat a variety of foods to supplement the nutrients it needs. Therefore, if people adopt 168 intermittent fasting for a long time within the 8 hours when they can eat, if they do not eat enough nutrients the body needs, they will experience fatigue, lack of concentration, and desire to rest and sleep in their daily lives.

Regardless of the fasting method you adopt, you must pay attention to the optimal intake of calories and essential nutrients.

The worst thing about long-term 168-hour fasting is that the body will start to "thrift"

The worst case scenario is that the body experiences "thriftiness", that is, the body's metabolism slows down and the body's ability to consume calories is greatly reduced. Even if you eat less, it is not easy to lose weight. Once you eat too much, the body will enhance the absorption efficiency and then quickly gain weight again. As a result, the weight does not decrease, but the fat increases and the muscle is lost.

When adopting any fasting method, you must pay attention to the optimal intake of calories and essential nutrients.

Currently common fasting methods include: 168 intermittent fasting, 5:2 diet, warrior diet, 24-hour fasting, alternate-day fasting, etc. No matter which fasting method people choose, they must pay attention to the optimal calorie intake and essential nutrients they should eat. For example, for an obese person weighing 100 kg, nutritionist You Weiming recommends an initial calorie intake of 25 calories per kilogram of body weight per day, which means 2,500 calories per day. Then, the 2,500 calories should be consumed in the six major food categories according to the daily dietary guidelines to meet the body's nutrient needs.

People can refer to Table 1 for the recommended number of servings of the six major diets based on calorie requirements, so that they can eat enough food with sufficient nutrients, and avoid weight loss failure and metabolic imbalance due to nutrient deficiency caused by fasting.

(Form provided by nutritionist You Weiming)