The Devastating Consequences of Alternating Binge Eating and Fasting

A new trend of alternating between binge eating and fasting – also sometimes referred to as Alternate Day Fasting – has been picking up steam over the last few years. As strategic fasting, when done properly, is starting to receive support from medical studies, a slew of fad diets based on fasting have been making their way into circulation throughout the general public.

The problem is that just because a diet involves fasting, it doesn’t mean that it is safe or that its results align with the studies that have been conducted. In fact, more often than not, fasting fad diets place a person’s health in danger and often slow down their metabolism so it’s even harder for them to be able to lose weight than it was before they started the diet. The same can be said about the trend of alternating between binge eating and fasting. There is a long list of consequences that dieters are facing when they attempt this form of extreme eating habit.

Among the consequences of alternating between binge eating and fasting include:

• An unhealthy relationship with food – Many people who attempt to follow alternate day fasting diets greatly struggle. This is because the types of impulses that come with eating as much as you want and then eating nothing at all are greatly conflicting. Your body is never allowed the chance to adapt. As a result, it can lead to powerful food cravings which lead a follower of this type of diet to make a range of unhealthy food choices. Their cravings can cause them to eat a larger number of fatty, sugary and salty foods instead of focusing on a nutrient dense and balanced diet.

• Accidentally eating far more in one day than you usually would in two – Taking a day off eating can easily cause people to feel as though they can get away with eating whatever they want on their binging day. As a result, many of the people who eat in this style end up consuming more calories on their binging days than they would if they simply ate normally for the two days. Unfortunately, this can mean that after all the hard work, the result is actually weight gain and not weight loss.

• Psychological struggles that damage future weight management motivation – Trying to keep up with an alternating fasting and binging diet can be very tough psychologically. This is particularly true because of the hunger the individual must overcome, not to mention the fatigue, lightheadedness, and the social component as many people don’t understand or agree with this type of dieting. The result, particularly if the weight loss goals are not achieved and maintained, can be that the individual will find it harder to self-motivate for weight management – even in a healthier and less extreme way – in the future.