Does Intermittent Fasting Work For Weight Loss?

The science behind fasting is nothing new—just ask the Buddhist monks. People have been fasting for thousands of years for various reasons. Improved health, deeper meditation, and spiritual practice have all been cited as motives for this dietary exercise. In recent years, fasting has become popular once more as a way to lose weight. Intermittent fasting is the most recent development in the fasting trend, and you’ve probably seen the claims it makes to help you lose weight, shed inches, and reveal a slimmer, smoother body shape. Let’s look a bit closer at intermittent fasting, and at what it can and can’t do for you.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Fasting put simply, requires you to go without eating or drinking anything for a set period of time. Intermittent fasting means establishing regular periods of fasting throughout the day or week and encourages frequent intervals of fasting rather than prolonged periods of deprivation, which can be tough to stick to. There are several variations within intermittent fasting. Some plans recommend just drinking water, some allow for liquids such as juices throughout the fast, and some include low-calorie, easily digestible foods such as fruit and vegetables.

What Happens To Your Body During Intermittent Fasting

Though fasting might sound difficult and unnatural, it’s actually something you do already—while you’re sleeping. During those six to eight hours of sleep, your body goes into repair mode, flooding your system with restorative chemicals and hormones that boost your immune system, repair damage, and allow you to wake up refreshed. Fasting works similarly, giving your body a break so it can attend to other important work.

A Typical Intermittent Fasting Plan

There are as many different ways to fast as there are ways to diet, but plans tend to fall into one of two categories: daily or weekly. In a daily plan, your intermittent fasting schedule would include periods of non-eating between meals, with regular intervals of 4-5 hours without food—so no snacking! In a weekly plan, you might choose to go a full day or two without a meal or eat only one meal per day for two or three days a week. It might take some trial and error before you find a plan that works for your lifestyle.

Intermittent Fasting And Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, the key to intermittent fasting is that it gives your metabolism a break, triggering the same type of activity that your body does while asleep. However, when you’re fasting to lose weight, timing is everything: fast too long, and your body flips a switch and starts to preserve calories. For this reason, the short intervals of non-eating with intermittent fasting have shown to be effective for weight loss. Going without food gives your body gets the time it needs to burn calories before being loaded up with more.

What Intermittent Fasting Can’t Do

Intermittent fasting has a few drawbacks. The most obvious of these is that it takes considerable discipline, planning, and attention in order to result in weight loss. Like dieting, most people find it difficult to stick to a plan that revolves around deprivation. Done right, intermittent fasting can help you lose a few pounds overall. What it can’t do, however, is help you shed weight from specific areas that tend to hold onto fatty tissue, like the abdomen, thighs, and other stubborn areas.

How Aesthetic Treatments Can Help

Aesthetic treatments can help you achieve your body goals in several ways. Even with intermittent fasting, you may reach a plateau where you find you can’t lose any more weight, or you may have stubborn areas where the weight won’t budge no matter what you do. If that’s the case, then fat treatments are an excellent way to melt away fat in specific areas, like the flanks, belly, or thighs. These treatments are non-invasive, comfortable, and require no downtime, unlike surgical procedures like tummy tucks and liposuction. Venus Bliss™ treatments use advanced diode laser and complementary radio frequency technologies for slim, smooth, and natural results.

Weight loss can be a long and difficult journey, fraught with emotional highs and lows. It’s unrealistic to expect that any one method, like intermittent fasting or fad diets, will give you the results you’re hoping for. Usually, it requires a combined strategy that includes diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes. For the best chance of achieving the look you want, take advantage of the expert help and proven results of aesthetic treatments. These treatments use advanced technology to get you looking and feeling your best safely, quickly, and comfortably. If you’d like to learn more, use the search field below to find a certified provider near you.

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Venus Bliss™ is cleared by the FDA and licensed by Health Canada for non-invasive lipolysis of the abdomen and flanks in individuals with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or less, with the diode laser applicators. The (MP)² applicator is cleared by the FDA for temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite, and licensed by Health Canada for temporary increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, and temporary cellulite reduction. Venus Bliss™ has CE Mark as a non-invasive medical aesthetic device enabling a comprehensive approach leading to body contouring, addressing fat reduction, skin tightening, circumference reduction, and cellulite reduction.

Venus Versa™ is cleared by the FDA, licensed by Health Canada, and has CE Mark as a multi-application device intended to be used in aesthetic and cosmetic procedures. The SR515 and SR580 applicators are cleared by the FDA, licensed by Health Canada, and have CE Mark for the treatment of benign pigmented epidermal and cutaneous lesions and treatment of benign cutaneous vascular lesions. The HR650/HR650XL and HR690/HR690XL applicators are cleared by the FDA, licensed by Health Canada, and have CE Mark for the removal of unwanted hair and to effect stable long-term or permanent hair reduction for Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV. The AC Dual applicator is cleared by the FDA, licensed by Health Canada, and has CE Mark for the treatment of acne vulgaris. The DiamondPolar™ and OctiPolar™ applicators on the Venus Versa™ system are cleared by the FDA for non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides on females with Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV. The DiamondPolar™ applicator is licensed by Health Canada and has CE Mark for non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides on females with Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV. The OctiPolar™ applicator on the Venus Versa™ system is licensed by Health Canada and has CE Mark for temporary body contouring via skin tightening, circumferential reduction, and cellulite reduction. The NanoFractional RF™ (Viva) applicator is cleared by the FDA, licensed by Health Canada, and has CE Mark for dermatological procedures requiring ablation and resurfacing of the skin.

NeoGraft^® is cleared by the FDA, licensed by Health Canada and has CE Mark with indication for use in suction-assisted follicular extraction and re-implantation. It is an auto-graft system and can be used on both male and female patients.

ARTAS iX™ is cleared by the FDA, licensed by Health Canada and has CE Mark with indication for use for harvesting hair follicles from the scalp in men diagnosed with androgenic alopecia (male pattern hair loss) who have black or brown straight hair. ARTAS iX™ is intended to assist physicians in identifying and extracting hair follicular units from the scalp during hair transplantation; creating recipient sites; and implanting harvested hair follicles.

Venus Legacy™ is cleared by the FDA for the non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in females with Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV with the OctiPolar™ and DiamondPolar™ applicators, and temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite with the 4D Body (LB2) and 4D Face (LF2) applicators. It is licensed by Health Canada and has CE Mark for the temporary increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, temporary cellulite reduction, and temporary wrinkle reduction.

Venus Velocity™ is cleared by the FDA, licensed by Health Canada and has CE Mark for hair removal, permanent hair reduction (defined as the long-term stable reduction in the number of hairs re-growing when measured at 6, 9 and 12 months after the completion of a treatment regimen), and the treatment of pseudofolliculitis barbae for all Fitzpatrick skin types.

Venus Fiore™ received regulatory approval in Israel for aesthetic and functional treatment of the vagina, labia and mons pubis. Venus Fiore™ is available for sale in India, Hong Kong, and other selected Asian countries.

Venus Viva™ is cleared by the FDA, licensed by Health Canada, and has CE Mark for dermatological procedures requiring ablation and resurfacing of the skin. The DiamondPolar™ applicator is cleared by the FDA, licensed by Health Canada and has CE Mark for the treatment of moderate to severe wrinkles and rhytides in Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV.

Venus Freeze Plus™ is cleared by the FDA for the non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in females with Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV. It is licensed by Health Canada for temporary skin tightening, and temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite on the abdomen and flanks, using the DiamondPolar™ and OctiPolar™ applicators. The DiamondPolar™ applicator on Venus Freeze Plus™ has CE Mark for the non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides, and the increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, and cellulite reduction with the OctiPolar™ applicator.

Venus Heal™ is licensed by Health Canada and can be used for the treatment of both acute and chronic disorders of the musculoskeletal system, such as muscle spasms, back pain, and soft tissue injuries, and results in effects such as pain relief, myorelaxation, increase of local blood circulation, and edema reduction. In the U.S., Venus Heal™ is cleared by the FDA for the relief of minor muscle aches and pain, relief of muscle spasm, and temporary improvement of local blood circulation. These indications enable the treatment of certain soft tissue injuries and conditions.

Venus Glow™ is cleared by the FDA as a Class I motorized dermabrasion device. It provides a dermal rejuvenation treatment that works to open up and deep-clean pores. Venus Concept is the exclusive distributor for Venus Glow™.

Venus Epileve™ is licensed by Health Canada and has CE Mark for hair removal, permanent hair reduction (defined as the long-term stable reduction in the number of hairs re-growing when measured at 6, 9 and 12 months after the completion of a treatment regimen), and the treatment of pseudofolliculitis barbae for all Fitzpatrick skin types. Venus Epileve™ is also CE-Marked for hirsutism.

Venus Freeze™ is cleared by the FDA for the non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in females with Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV. It is licensed by Health Canada for temporary skin tightening, and temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite on the abdomen and flanks, using the DiamondPolar™ and OctiPolar™ applicators. The DiamondPolar™ applicator on Venus Freeze™ has CE Mark for the non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides, and the increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, and cellulite reduction with the OctiPolar™ applicator.

Venus Swan™ is cleared by the FDA for the non-invasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides, and licensed by Health Canada for the non-invasive treatment of cellulite reduction, skin tightening, and temporary reduction in the appearance of stretch marks.