Does energy restriction from intermittent fasting affect resting metabolic rates ( RMR )?
There ' s no good research on this yet , but there are some studies to show that when you lose weight with intermittent fasting , lean muscle mass is retained . By retaining lean muscle mass , you can keep RMR high , so I suppose you don ' t get that drop in RMR that happens very commonly with continuous calorie restriction .
And can patients still follow an intermittent fasting regime while they ’ re exercising ?
It ’ s completely personal and dependent on intensity . If you do a high intensity training session , it ' s important to replenish your energy stores pretty quickly , so fasting mightn ’ t be ideal . If it ' s a walk or a yoga or pilates session , a lot of my patients don ' t find it affects their stamina so much . Some people don ' t fast every day either , so I suggest not fasting on higher intensity training days .
What we do know , however , is that while intermittent fasting will help to retain muscle , it won ' t help to build lean muscle tissue , so for someone who wants to lose fat and gain muscle , it ’ s probably not the best strategy to use , particularly for men .
How does intermittent fasting affect gut health ?
There are some strains of bacteria that might thrive in a fasting state . One study found that some of the anti-inflammatory microbes in the bowel increased during fasting and there was a slight increase in the production of short chain fatty acids as well .
Digestion and gut function are the main things I ' ve observed with people who do intermittent fasting . People will either report their bowel habits are more regulated and they feel less bloated , or on the flip side , that they used to be really regular and now they ’ re not . The latter could be because eating first thing in the morning is a trigger for opening your bowels , but if all of a sudden you ’ re not eating and not having an early morning coffee , bowel motions can be thrown off a little bit .
© Dietitian Connection 27 Infuse | May 2021