Time Restricted Eating - Magic Pill?

Time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting is the rage. Everyone I meet tells me that they are doing it. So much so that my authenticity as someone who works in health and wellness becomes suspect if I ask them why. 

Why? What do you mean by why? Everyone is fasting. Even the Jains, Christians, and Muslims did it. 

So, obviously, you might wonder why I am asking and not simply going with the flow. 

One of the easiest things to do in life is to simply become one of the herd. The lion eats the lone gazelle separated from the herd, you might argue.

But what I have learned about health, nutrition, and wellness is that there is often more to a story than what seems apparent on the surface. 

I have nothing against intermittent fasting or time-restricted windows. The test of its success has to come in clinical terms. Blood pressure, weight, body fat, cholesterol, thyroid, and so on. 

But if your numbers are not improving, then clearly fasting is not doing it for you. 

There are many reasons why fasting might actually be harmful. If you have a hypothyroid condition, for example, your metabolism slows down and you become sluggish, In such a situation, fasting makes things worse. 

Your body believes that it is not getting energy and needs to slow down. There is a famine. You are slowing down an already slow metabolism.

Similarly, if you are working to build muscle, you should eat up to 1 gram of protein per pound of weight, ideally broken up into at least three meals. The same applies if you are over the age of sixty, in which case loss of muscle or sarcopenia is very common. 

So, as you can see, there is no magic pill. We just like to believe there is. You would be best served if you did not simply read this blog or follow someone on social media blindly. 

This is your health, after all. Apply your own understanding to build your own religion. 

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain