When we fast, there are several things in our body on the cellular and molecular level. One of the things is that our body will adjust hormone levels to make our stored body fat more accessible. The food we eat is broken down by enzymes in our gut and eventually ends up as molecules in our bloodstream. Carbohydrates, particularly sugars and refined grains, are quickly broken down into sugar that our cells use for energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If our cells do not use the sugars, we will store it in our fat cells. Sugar can only enter our cells with insulin, which brings sugar into the fat cells and keeps it there. When we stop eating, our insulin levels go down and our fat cells can then release the stored sugar, to be used as energy. The entire idea of intermittent fasting is to allow the insulin levels to go down far enough and long enough that we burn off our fat. Not only that, when we fast, our human growth hormone levels go up and our body\u2019s cells also change the expression of genes and initiate important cellular repair processes. So scientifically, there are major health benefits in fasting aside from weight loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2014 study found that this eating pattern can cause 3\u20138% weight loss over 3\u201324 weeks, which is a significant amount, compared to most weight loss studies (1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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