Macon Magazine

October/November 2025| maconmagazine.com 87 E very few years, the health and fitness world is defined by a new set of trends, fads, and catchphrases. As we know, many of these fade away with time, either because something new overshadowed them or because science caught up and disproved them. This is what occurred, for example, with the "low-fat" trend. Consuming low fat was considered a valid method of lowering body fat and protecting cardiovascular health until studies showed that following a blanket low-fat diet actually was not as effective for reducing fat and could, in fact, harm health. In this current era, intermittent fasting fits the bill as one of the topics constantly being brought up, debated, and scrutinized. The question is: Is intermittent fasting merely another fad that will also fade away, or is there something to it? Also, is intermittent fasting something you should consider for your own health? In short, I believe the answers to all of these questions are yes, but let's get into it a bit. To understand what intermittent fasting is, you must first understand fasting. Fasting is abstaining from food or drink for some period of time, often for spiritual or health reasons. While "partial" fasts have been popular in recent years, fasting in the traditional sense has meant pausing the consumption of all food while drinking water, and perhaps other unsweetened beverages. Intermittent fasting is fasting that occurs over specific intervals of time. The individual practicing intermittent fasting, or IF for short, consumes foods during an "eating window," and outside of that time, ceases eating. The primary purpose of IF is to benefit health in the following ways: Shawn McClendon is an ACE-certified personal trainer and owner of Back to Basics Health and Wholeness LLC, an organization dedicated to empowering people to take control of their health and avoid lifestyle disease. He runs a YouTube health and fitness channel, writes on health and fitness topics at shawnmcclendon. com, speaks on health and fitness, and has authored several health/fitness books. Fat loss and improved body composition Improved fasting insulin and cholesterol levels in the blood Modest reduction in systolic blood pressure Improvements in heart health Possible improvements to digestion and gut microbiome Improvements to longevity That said, it's important to note that a research abstract was released in 2024 by the American Heart Association suggesting that people who followed an eight-hour IF schedule (eating during eight hours of the day and fasting the other 16) had a 91 percent higher risk of cardiovascular death. However, research abstracts are considered preliminary, and several other experts have disputed these findings based on limitations of the study, including the fact that participants self-reported their dietary information and that other health-affecting factors were not taken into account. The two things I deduce from the concept of IF are these: The larger your eating window, the more food you're likely to eat. The person who eats from rise time to bedtime is potentially going to consume more food than the person who stops eating a few hours before bed. Eating less is often not a bad idea, particularly if you're seeking to lose excess fat. Nighttime eating isn't the best idea, anyway. It's almost universally accepted that eating a heavy meal right before bed isn't great (if you can help it). It's bad for digestion—I learned this the hard way after one bout of indigestion— and it's thought that such a practice leads to more fat gain and insulin resistance. So, while we wait on the verdict of the controversial eight-hour window IF study, practicing a form of IF where you at least stop eating after a certain time—say, after 8 p.m.—may be a good idea for individuals seeking to lose a little fat while improving blood markers and digestion. This would work out to roughly 14/10 IF (14 hours of fasting and a 10-hour eating window). If you want to add a bit more punch to your efforts, I would also consider eliminating snacking between meals, as well as the consumption of sweetened beverages throughout the day. Such snacks and drinks simply aren't necessary and almost definitely result in weight gain and health detriment. Above all things, whatever your eating window, choose mostly whole, minimally processed foods, do your own research on IF, and discuss any diet changes with your physician. In the spirit of the arts issue, one could end their eating window for the day and go to a show or exhibit to pass the time until bed. Oh, and it might be a good idea to avoid Gray Highway, Tom Hill, and other spots in our great city after 8 p.m., with all their late-night fast-food selections! Just saying!

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