ISLAMABAD: If you’ve learnt about health, nutrition and weight loss through the use of mainstream magazines, books and forums, you’ve probably been told that ‘skipping meals will lead to weight gain’ and ‘starvation tricks your body into storing fat’. Unfortunately, most of the information found within mainstream weight loss brands is either drawn from poorly conducted studies, or to mislead you into buying another product. However, what evidence really shows is that periods of fasting can have a massive impact on weight loss and human health. Today, we will explore seven secret benefits of fasting that weight loss brands don’t want you to know, that by the time you’re done reading, you’ll see why skipping a meal isn’t so bad after all. Fasting Can Improve Your Weight Loss Progress Fasting that is controlled within a set period of time can have an impressive impact on your weight loss progress. This is because fasting allows the body to use fat as its primary source of energy instead of carbohydrates (sugar). Fasting Speeds Up Your Metabolism Fasting will give your digestive system a rest, which allows your metabolism to burn through calories more efficiently. Poor digestion can affect your ability to metabolise food and burn fat. Regular periods of fasting can regulate your digestion, and promote a healthy bowel function, thus improving your metabolic function. Fasting Improves Your Insulin Sensitivity Better insulin sensitivity helps you tolerate carbohydrates (sugar) more efficiently. Studies show that after periods of fasting, insulin becomes more effective in telling cells to take up glucose from blood. Fasting Improves Hunger The fast majority of dieters have been led to believe that meal frequency is very important. Which is why the general rule of eating a meal every 3-4 hours to prevent hunger has been stapled a fat loss given. However, true hunger cannot be experienced within a few hours of not eating. True hunger can take anything from 18-24 hours. Fasting works as a reset button to help regulate your hunger hormones so that true hunger can be experienced; not to mention, you get full a lot sooner. Fasting Can Help Establish A Better Eating Pattern Fasting can have a positive effect on those who suffer with binge eating disorders, and for those who find it hard to establish a correct eating pattern due to lifestyle priorities. The beauty of fasting allows you to set a feeding period that suits your lifestyle. Which means going all day without a meal is okay. If you like to eat large meals, fasting allows you to consume most of your daily calories and nutrients in one sitting. Fasting Improves Your Lifespan What many people don’t know, is that eating less improves your lifespan. Studies show that cultures who practice long periods fasting have a longer lifespan than those who don’t. One of the primary effects of ageing is a slower metabolism. The less you eating, the less toll it takes in your digestive system. Of course, you don’t need to live in a different part of the world to reap the benefits of a longer lifespan, you can simply make fasting a part of your lifestyle for the long-term. Fasted Workouts Promotes A Better Fat Loss Fasting on an empty stomach shows to improve the results of fat loss without jeopardising muscle mass. Even whilst fasted, the body still has plenty of amino acids to be accessed. Due to the popularity of fasting, many competitive bodybuilders prefer fasted workouts instead of fed workouts, to help them reach digit body fat percentages; when the workout is over, the feeding period begins. Published in Daily Times, May 31st 2018.