Health
People who have strict fasting days twice a week lose weight much faster than those who “sit” on a regular diet and count calories, experts say.
Scientists from the University Hospital of South Manchester conducted an experiment in which 115 women participated, each of whom wanted to lose weight. The participants in the experiment were divided into three groups.
The members of the first group were given the task of arranging fasting days for themselves twice a week. During the fasting day, they were allowed to consume no more than 650 calories and only at the expense of healthy foods. During the fasting day, women were forbidden to eat high-carbohydrate foods (pasta, bread, potatoes), as well as fatty foods. For the remaining five days, women could eat as much as they wanted, but they were asked to eat a healthy diet.
Participants in the second group had to abstain from carbohydrate foods twice a week, while the number of calories was not limited. The other five days of the week, they were allowed to eat whatever they wanted.
Participants in the third group followed a normal low-calorie diet for weight loss. They were allowed to eat no more than 1,500 calories a day, and their diet also excluded fatty foods and alcohol.
Three months later, all participants in the experiment were weighed. It turned out that women who restricted themselves twice a week lost twice as much weight as those who followed a normal low-calorie diet.
Dr. Michelle Harvie believes that fasting days have a lasting effect that lasts even on days when a person does not limit eating. In addition, Michelle Harvey notes that after fasting days, women tend to eat healthy even on days when they can eat without restrictions.