Andrew Sun

Mouthing Off | Intermittent fasting is trending but it’s no substitute for healthy eating – let’s focus on the quality, rather than quantity, of what we eat

Intermittent fasting – abstaining from food for prolonged periods – is the diet du jour; meanwhile more restaurants are getting on the small-portions bandwagon

But is any of this helpful for weight loss? While it may work for some, perhaps the rest of us should focus on what, rather than how much, we’re eating

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Intermittent fasting is a diet that is trending, and while it may work for some of us, it’s no substitute for eating healthily all the time. Photo: Shutterstock

Andrew Sun

Published: 7:45am, 6 Apr 2023Updated: 12:22pm, 21 Jun 2023

Intermittent fasting has become the trendy diet du jour.

Undoubtedly one of the most popular health and weight-loss regimens practised today, it involves various routines for caloric restriction, from not eating two days a week to abstaining from food for 12 to 16 hours straight daily. The exact length depends on how hardcore you are.

My current intermittent fast record is between two to three hours, longer if I skip afternoon tea.

As prescribed diets go, there is not much to be cynical about intermittent fasting.

There’s no corporate lobby or product agenda being pushed from fasting, no gurus peddling nutritional plans, or wacky theories about prehistoric man’s consumption patterns – seriously, how can you do a proper Paleo diet without including lean and healthy stegosaurus meat, poached without the skin of course.