Hormonal
Intermittent fasting regimens that induce the metabolic switch (shifting from glucose to fatty acid/ketone oxidation) preserve lean muscle mass more effectively than continuous caloric restriction.
If you are trying to lose weight while keeping your muscle, try intermittent fasting. It helps your body switch to burning fat and ketones, which protects your muscle better than just eating less all the time. Make sure you fast long enough (12+ hours) to trigger this switch.
In support of this, retention of lean mass is increased following IF regimens for weight loss, as compared with continuous CR regimens in humans (8).
Why this rating
The paper is a review citing multiple animal studies and some human trials, but notes that human data on body composition is not 'well understood' and requires more research.
Source
Flipping the Metabolic Switch: Understanding and Applying the Health Benefits of Fasting
Stephen D. Anton et al. · Obesity · 2017
DOI 10.1002/oby.22065
More from this paper
- Intermittent fasting improves cardiometabolic risk factors, including insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and inflammation, by triggering the metabolic switch.Good
- Intermittent fasting enhances cognitive function and protects against neurodegenerative diseases by increasing BDNF and ketone levels.Moderate
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →