AFTER the holidays, many began embarking on their Balik Alindog Program. After a load of heavy meals, alcohol, and an unhealthy diet, one of the most common questions asked was: how can I lose weight faster than the speed of light?

The short answer, if you ask many dieters, is: Intermittent fasting.

When you follow an intermittent fasting eating pattern, you go for extended periods of time without consuming any calories.

This is the only method for Jean Aubrey Sunga, 23, to lose the weight she gained during the Christmas season.

“I have been doing intermittent fasting for two years now and I would say this is really effective to me because not only does it help me lose weight, it also allows me to discipline myself in terms of eating,” said Sunga.

Sunga also skips eating breakfast every day because she said this pattern “works best” for her weight loss program.

Limited nutrients

According to Nutritionist Dietitian Melvin Bernandino, fad diets including intermittent fasting may offer promising instant results, but those who are planning to lose weight need to take into consideration that these fad diets limit specific nutrients.

“These different nutrients are needed by our body (different organ systems) in order to function well,” Bernandino said.

These necessary food groups include Go (energy-giving), Grow (body-building), and Glow (body-regulating) food.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association also revealed that the timing of eating and food patterns have no association with weight loss.

This comprised the length of time participants ate after getting up, the extent of their time frame for eating throughout the day, and how close to bedtime they usually eat.

Over the span of six years, the study monitored the food patterns and timing of 547 individuals as well as data on their weight and health. No correlation was found between a person’s weight and the time of day they ate their meals in the results, the study said.

“Our findings did not support the use of time‐restricted eating as a strategy for long‐term weight loss in a general medical population,” it said.

Skipping breakfast

In a separate study, the Journal Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics said that skipping lunch or dinner increases the chance of dying from any illness, while skipping breakfast raises the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Even among people who regularly consume three meals, having two adjacent meals that are less than or equal to 4.5 hours apart is linked to a greater risk of dying from all causes.

“Our research revealed that individuals eating only one meal a day are more likely to die than those who had more daily meals,” said lead author Yangbo Sun in a statement.

Participants who skip breakfast are more likely to acquire fatal cardiovascular diseases, whereas those who skip lunch or dinner are more prone to dying from any cause, the study said.

It said the research suggests eating two to three meals throughout the day to avoid the risks of getting cardiovascular diseases.

In general, skipping meals emphasizes consuming more calories all at once, which, according to the study’s senior investigator Dr. Wei Bao, can make it more difficult to regulate glucose levels and cause further metabolic decline. This may also account for the link between a shorter meal interval and mortality, as eating more frequently would result in a higher energy load, it said.