Short Term Fasting and Your Metabolic Rate

Basal Metabolic Rate or Resting Metabolic Rate is the amount of energy our bodies use at rest. It can vary enormously from one person to the next and can be affected by many variables including age, muscle mass, thyroid output, hormones and fitness levels.
BMR plays a crucial role when it comes to fat loss as the higher your BMR the greater your potential for fat loss due greater numbers of calories being expended.

If you have spent any time reading around the subject of fat loss and nutrition you will have no doubt read about the importance of eating small meals regularly. Current trends suggest that eating 5-7 small meals per day is the best approach for fat loss while ensuring BMR does not decline.

One very interesting study (http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/71/6/1511) flies in the face of this common belief and reported that short term fasting for a period of up to 4 days had no negative effect on metabolic rate and even more surprisingly indicated that resting energy expenditure significantly increased.

The implications of short term fasting for fat loss are that by including a short term fast (for example 24 hours) into your nutritional strategy you can effectively cut out an entire days worth of calories with no negative effect on metabolic rate thus making fat loss easier and faster.

I have personally done several short terms fasts and found the experience interesting.

The first thing I became aware of is how often I would turn to food, or rather feel hungry when I became bored.

The second thing I noticed was that what I often thought of as hunger was not REALLY hunger at all. By the end of my first 24 hour fast I can safely say I was properly hungry!

I experienced a deep seated yearning for food rather than a passing thought of “ok I am hungry now and should eat.”

Of course I lost a few pounds too but most of this would have been through my muscle glycogen (carbohydrate) stores emptying and taking water with it.

If you want to find out more about intermittent fasting and how it can be used to promote fat loss you may be interested in reading EAT, STOP, EAT which is a very informative e-book written by Brad Pilon.

Brad is a nutrition professional with over eight years experience working in the nutritional supplement industry specializing in clinical research management and new product development. Brad has completed graduate studies in nutritional sciences specializing in the use of short term fasting for weight loss.

Please Note:-

Short term fasting is not something that should be jumped into blindly.
If you do decide to try short term fasting please make sure you do your research first. It is NOT for everyone and participating in such practices is at your own risk. Should you have any doubts you should consult your Doctor or GP.