Intermittent Fasting as a College Student: Does it Work?

 

   Hi everyone!

    Today, I am here to talk about a trend that many people are hopping on to try right now: intermittent fasting! This time though, I am here to talk about it for college students, or anyone else with a hectic schedule. While there is a TON of information out on the internet about this lifestyle, there are very few cohesive posts with unbiased information focused towards younger people (who tend to be running around, attending a few parties here and there, as well as staying up late and consistently experiencing an irregular sleeping schedule.) As I have nothing to sell to you, I am here to promise that this is all pretty much unbiased information for you to take and use as you'd like!

Intermittent Fasting: What is it?

First and foremost, let's talk about what exactly it is. If you already know, you can scroll down to the next section! Getting started, though, let's talk about the text book definition of intermittent fasting (from Wikipedia):

    Intermittent fasting, also known as intermittent energy restriction, is an umbrella term for various meal timing schedules that cycle between voluntary fasting (or reduced calorie intake) and non-fasting over a given period.

Three methods of intermittent fasting are alternate-day fasting, periodic fasting, and daily time-restricted feeding. Intermittent fasting may be similar to a calorie-restriction diet, and has been studied in the 21st century as a practice to possibly reduce the risk of diet-related diseases, such as metabolic syndrome. However, intermittent fasting has been criticized as a fad.

The science concerning intermittent fasting is contested. The American Heart Association (AHA) states that intermittent fasting may produce weight loss, reduce insulin resistance, and lower the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, although its long-term sustainability is unknown. The US National Institute on Aging states that there is insufficient evidence to recommend intermittent fasting and encourages speaking to one's healthcare provider about the benefits and risks before making any significant changes to one's eating pattern. A 2019 review concluded that intermittent fasting may help with obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and inflammation.

                          -  (Wikipedia) 

        The idea here is that, despite centuries of evolution, we are still very recently descended from a long history of people who really only had so many hours in their days. Our ancestors woke up, hunted, gathered, prepped their food, then went back to bed as soon as the sun began to set. There really was no reason for them to be up with the moon and the stars, especially as they tended to wake up much earlier than most of us typically do now-a-days. In the 21st century, however, we have a million reasons to be up past 9pm, and technology and the lightbulb just make staying up later even easier for us. With the added hours to our days, of course, comes added snacks.

        It's no surprise either that obesity was extremely rare within the working classes back in the day, and intermittent fasting may or may not have a large deal to do with that. (On top of the fact that these people were also extremely more active then the average person today is. Hunting moose for dinner takes a significantly higher amount of energy than cooking in the 21st century, I'd assume.) 

    

Okay, now I know what it is. Does it work?

            As you can see from the above Wiki definition, the third paragraph explains that while there are studies to suggest that intermittent fasting is helpful, as well as contains numerous proven benefits, it's not certain how much these actually help in the long term. There's also no evidence to suggest that fasting really helps to increase one's overall health. At the end of the day, as much information as there is on the internet, very few long term studies have been conducted. With that, these research studies have had various obstacles and other factors, all that can lead to skewed results... meaning, we really still have a lot to do in regards to deciding if this actually works or not. Sorry, I know, probably not the answer you wanted to hear. But, I still have good news, so keep on reading!

         When taking all this information in, we are, in all honesty, back at square one in regards to any sort of "diet" (even though intermittent fasting does not count as a diet.) Basically, you never really know if it's going to work until you try it. Everyone's body is beautifully different, meaning it functions differently than even your closest family members. 

    I can, say, however, that I have tried it - and I can attest to some various aspects of the diet, as a young adult with a busy lifestyle. Those are below, at the next subheading.  Within that, though, I want to talk more about the breakdown of a fasting schedule like this one, especially in college. 

My Short-Term Journey with Intermittent Fasting: Busy Schedules & College Prep

            I have to admit, I fail at every diet I start. This is very unfortunate for me, considering I have IBS, anxiety, and numerous other health issues that add up to make my digestive tract a living nightmare. I was very skeptical when I first began reading about fasting. As someone who's also always had a nightmarish relationship with my body and food, I was nervous at what something that included "fasting" would do to my mental health. 

            Either way, I was struggling to fit into my jeans, I was working 24/7, packing for college, and also drinking a considerable amount in order to cope with my emotions and get my tolerance back up for college. (I do not condone this. Especially not to cope with your emotions. Go to therapy instead!) 

            I figured that, since I wasn't finding considerable time to exercise, the gyms were closed, and I was too tired to figure out how to run outside, I would try to lose weight through this strange new method instead. After doing my research, (hours upon hours of it, trust me,) I decided to give it a try with the idea of fasting at night while I slept, and then eating for a limited time during the day.

         The actual method of it is not what makes you lose weight, but rather the method assumes that in cutting back your allotted time for eating, you will then drastically reduce the amount of calories you consume. It makes sense, as when one only has about 8 hours in a day or so to consume food, you do end up consuming a lot less calories. It also tends to make the person more mindful about what exactly they are putting into their body. That's to say, you should hopefully be eating healthier. 

    When I started, I made sure to snack on vegetables with a side of ranch in between my meals, instead of chocolate. If you intermittently fast but only consume junk food during the day, I'm quite sorry, but you definitely will not see any results. 

        Fasting actually started out alright for me, as a matter of fact. I found that when I cut off my eating schedule anywhere from 5-7pm, I woke up feeling decent. At first, cutting off my meal time at 5pm seemed impossible. I went bed starving for the first few days, as well as woke up ravenous, but it ended up getting better the longer I did it. I also had another reason to continue doing it: gone was my horrible morning nausea, and I even had a little more energy waking up. I figured this could be a fluke, but the longer I did it, the more it stayed a new true pattern. 

         My other winning factor was the fact that the times, (while they should be pretty exact), didn't have to be the same every single day. Sure, I noticed I'd feel a little sick if I strayed too far off my schedule, but it didn't kill me to cut off at 2am and not eat until 2pm the next day, instead of my usual 7pm-10am fasting schedule. Usually, when waking up hungover at college, I don't eat till around 2pm anyways, which makes that a perfect weekend schedule when you're out raging the night before. 

        With intermittent fasting you can take days off, too. So if you're a person that needs a massive hangover brunch on Sunday morning, but you were out till 3 the night before, it's okay to take a day off! Just be careful to eat healthy on your days off, especially if you were drinking the night before. 

        If possible, though, it is best to keep up the fasting as much as possible, keeping a minimum of 12 hours of no new food in your body. Anything with calories counts, so unfortunately, even if you only have one white claw, you still are technically breaking your fast. 

        Along with this, you need to be mindful of what alcohol you are consuming. The average shot of plain vodka has about 106 calories in it, and that adds up a LOT when you need to consume like 10 shots to keep you going for a night. Be careful with mixers, and try to stick with limited amounts of lower calorie drinks if you can, so your hard work from the week before isn't for nothing.

        The key to this, unfortunately, is moderation. It's a lot easier for me because my school really only parties about 3 times a week, but I know for a lot of schools that's not exactly the case. (Looking at you, major party schools). In this case, you're going to have to choose what days you're going to fast, as it's really not practical to intermittent fast beginning at 3am till 3pm the next day with classes and everything else a college student tends to have going on in their life. 

        While intermittent fasting allows for a lot of wiggle room, there is where it is not negotiable. We are temporarily fasting, not starving ourselves and our bodies. You need to make sure you're nourishing your body properly, eating enough calories to keep yourself going, and getting enough sleep to make this process beneficial even in the slightest. If you start to slack on getting proper nutrients, you might find that your body begins to gain weight (as you'll end up binging more), as well as find yourself with a compromised immune system, more mood changes, and a full list of other nasty side effects. 

        

        At the end of the day, it's worth a shot to see if it works for you. I've been doing it for a little less than a month now, and I'm probably down about 5 pounds. As long as I keep up my self control, I should be able to keep it going even in the crazy semester to come! 

        Best of luck, and take care of yourselves! 

                    XOXO - Emma

So, have you tried intermittent fasting? What did you think? What worked for you? Let us know in the comments!