8 Intermittent Fasting Myths You Should Stop Believing

Since successfully using IF as a method to lose weight, my relationship with food has improved so much. I have better control over my eating habits. I’ve reduced my snacking. And I truly enjoy the healthy meals I have for my eating window. (Meal prep has helped tremendously for this, too)

I’ve also improved my metabolism in a BIG way and my body is more efficient when burning stored fat. There are tons of benefits to IF, and I can honestly say I feel amazing by following this eating structure. 

As many benefits as there are to Intermittent Fasting, there are some myths out there that need to be debunked too, and that’s what I’m going to discuss in this post.

After reading this, you’ll feel better informed on how to successfully implement IF in your lifestyle.

What is IF?

Intermittent Fasting (or "IF" for short) is a strategy for scheduling your meals that involves the windows of when you eat and when you fast (go without eating). IF doesn't follow any specific meal plan or diet style, as it is more concerned with the timing of when you eat more than what you eat.

You can also look at my previous posts, like Does Intermittent Fasting Work For Weight Loss?, Beginner’s Guide To Intermittent Fasting and Intermittent Fasting For Women: A Complete Guide for even further info on the benefits of IF.

There is a lot of misinformation out there about IF that can cause massive issues for someone trying to learn this strategy. So, in this post, I'll dive into thee major myths of IF as I see them, and share what the truth actually is so you can be successful with your IF strategy.

Let's dive into these myths.

Myth #1: You can eat whatever you want during your eating window.

While Intermittent Fasting is all about controlling when you eat, you also have to remember that what you eat is important too. This is a huge intermittent fasting myth. Look at it this way. If the only food you put in your body is unhealthy, you are not going to feel very well, are you?

You want to eat food in that eating window that will fuel your body for success and sustain you in a good way until you eat again. The better you eat during your eating window will impact how good you feel in your fasting window, and will help create a cycle of feeling satisfied and energized.

That means you'll want to follow a relatively clean diet, which avoids eating food that cause inflammation. If you want to see changes for the better, treat your body well and feed it amazing food. If you need help getting started, here's a free 5-day anti-inflammatory diet meal plan that will work with an IF schedule.

Myth #2: IF is a miracle cure for weight loss.

Sadly, IF isn't the miracle cure people would like to think it is. This is an intermittent fasting myth. That being said, IF can be a great tool that will help increase weight loss, if combined with other important factors. If you're looking to lose weight with IF, following a mostly clean-eating diet, getting regular exercise (even walking counts!), and eating at a calorie deficit will be your best bet.

There are many pieces to the puzzle when we talk about being healthy and losing weight. I'm talking about exercising, reducing our stress levels, and doing the best we can to help start our day with energy from restful sleep.

Myth #3: IF will work for everyone.

While IF can work for a lot of people, it is not a good idea for certain types of people.

• People who are on medication that requires food should speak with their doctor about whether fasting is a good idea, or if there is a different medication that can be taken on an empty stomach. For further info on this, I recommend reading my post on which medications break a fast.
• Similarly, if you're diabetic and on medication to help support insulin levels, it is important to speak to your doctor.
• Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should focus on staying well-fed throughout the day, and times of fasting could negatively impact their ability to provide for the baby.

Myth #4: Fasting puts you into starvation mode.

When someone is in a fasted state, their levels of insulin are reduced and they are getting a constant supply of energy from stored fat. This make your body actually burn energy more efficiently, and is not in a starvation state. The idea of starvation s we know it doesn't occur after simply skipping a meal. Rather, it would take a lot longer to reach a starvation state.

Myth #5: You can't have anything during your fast, even water.

Depending on the type of fast you're following, you can absolutely have water throughout your fast. In fact, I drink water a lot during my fast because it helps you to feel full and less hungry.

Additionally, you can also have several other food items as long as they don't contain calories to trigger an insulin response. For further information, I recommend you read my video on what breaks a fast so you can void unwittingly breaking your fast.

Myth #6: Fasting makes you lose muscle.

While in a fasted state, your body actually increases its secretion of HGH, the Human Growth Hormone. This effectively makes it so your body holds onto your lean muscle mass, and makes it easier to add muscle in a fasted state. Fasting will actually enable you to add lean muscle while losing overall body fat percentage, making it a great option if you're looking for a body transformation. Actually, I found a study here that backs up the fact that when you exercise while fasting, you can gain just as much strength and muscle mass as women who were eating on a regular 3 meals a day regimen.

Myth #7: Fasting slows your metabolism.

This is simply not true. To back that up scientifically, this study shows that Intermittent Fasting has terrific effects on lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism, protein metabolism, and neuroendocrine metabolism. This results from a significant increase in norepinephrine, which stimulates your metabolism and instructs your fat cells to break down body fat. 

What we should be aiming for is to stop our bodies from working so hard to digest food (constantly grazing is not ideal). Instead, we want our bodies to run efficiently (tying in with Myth #1) with the help of food based on the 3 macros – carbohydrates, fats, and protein.

Myth #8: You need to eat breakfast – it’s the most important meal of the day.

I know, we all grew up hearing that breakfast is the most important meal and we have to start our day with a morning meal. Well, I’m going to debunk the myth that breakfast “jump starts” your metabolism and if you skip it, you’ll only overeat all day and gain weight as a result.

Randomized controlled trials have shown that in no way does skipping breakfast sabotage your weight loss goals.  

I like to use the analogy that the body is like a machine, and similarly to a car, we want to give our body fuel like we do a car to keep it running optimally. But do we fill our vehicles with fuel daily? No, we put in fuel when the car needs it. Our bodies are the same – we don’t need to constantly replenish with food if it’s not yet needed.