Fasting simply refers to the situation where a person decides to go for a considerable period of time without food. In order for it to qualify to be termed as ‘fasting,’ the period of time when one goes without food must be longer than would otherwise be considered normal. Thus, going without food for the five hours between eight in the morning (when you take your breakfast) and twelve noon (when you take your lunch) cannot be considered as being fasting, notwithstanding the fact that you don’t get to eat food in (a still considerably long) period of time. But going for a whole day or two without food would, in most cases, qualify to be termed as engagement in fasting – because the periods of time done without food are extraordinarily long.
Our focus for this discussion is on exploring the fasting weight loss connection (if indeed there is such a connection). And as a first step in this direction, it may be in order for us to acquaint ourselves with the nature of the weight problem, and what actually causes it. This is where it would turn out that the weight problem manifests when a person’s body weight is greater than what would be considered ideal for a person of their (physical) description. The problem tends to be caused by the accumulation of food reserves – which is, in the first place, caused by consumption of greater amounts of food than necessary. When faced with such greater amounts of food (and being the highly efficient unit it is), the body opts to store it in a form it can recall a later point, should be faced with food insufficiency. The food is stored in the form of fat.
The problem with the modern world (and this is a ‘good problem,’ by the way) is in the fact that situations when the body is faced with starvation for long enough to start making use of these food reserves are very rare indeed nowadays. But the body is unaware of this, and continues to pile up every extra food it can get. The end result is that the person in question ends up being overweight, and is forced to lose weight, or stay at risk of a litany of scary health problems.
So we are now at a point where we are trying to see whether fasting can have any use in the fight against the problem of the bulge which comes about in that way.
As it turns out, fasting (of itself) is not likely to serve you a great deal in your (direct) effort to lose weight. That is because people who attempt to lose weight by fasting almost inevitably end up bingeing shortly thereafter, thereby negating any gains they may have obtained. The body feels ‘punished’ and decides to ‘get even’ at some point, as soon as the fast is over: by demanding more food. And while fasting does lead to starvation and does therefore force the body to make use of the reserves in it, the problem is that the body, upon detecting such starvation, becomes very economical is the usage of such reserves. The end result is that the weight loss benefits obtained can turn out to be very marginal indeed.
But on another note, focused, consistent and regular fasting can lead to development of self control in the person who practices it. And seeing that compulsive eating is one of the causes of the weight problem, the person who gains self control in this way would have found, in fasting, the key to overcoming such compulsive eating, and eventually attaining the optimal weight.