The Promise Of Intermittent Fasting

A popular diet trend works well for many weight watchers, and the benefits might extend beyond your waistline

- Rozalynn S. Frazier

LIKE MANY PEOPLE who put on extra weight, Jerico C. was surprised when it happened to him. A native New Yorker who loved walking around the city, he used to be able to eat whatever he wanted whenever he wanted and stay pretty thin. But then, well, life happened. A move to California meant more driving and less walking. His advertising sales job required company dinners and later nights. Two kids left little time to think about healthy eating, and get-togethers with his extended Filipino family meant lots of big meals. “When you welcome anyone into your home, it's an automatic feast,” he says. Suddenly, Jerico turned 40 and found 199 pounds on his six-foot frame. “I had to do something different, he says. It was around that time that he came across a post on social media by a friend who had dropped about 60 pounds. How'd he do it? Jerico asked. IF, said the friend. If? If what? Jerico responded.

The answer was intermittent fasting (IF): fasting completely for discrete periods of time and eating most anything you want otherwise. That can mean fasting for parts of a day, a day at a time, or two days a week. Jerico decided to try an 18:6 plan, which meant carving out a six-hour window-say, from noon until 6 p.m.—when he could eat whatever he wanted and then going the next 18 hours with absolutely no food (but unlimited water, coffee, tea, and other non-caloric beverages). Two and a half years and 25 pounds later (give or take a few, thanks to the pandemic), Jerico hasn't looked back. “I like it a lot, he says. “It has made me realize that our appetite is more tied to seeing food than needing it. I do miss breakfast food, though. In fact, I regularly have breakfast for dinner.