I wanted to do a quick post on this, as this topic is one of the most discussed in both medicine and society in general. Namely, whether fasting is a good and healthy approach to weight loss, which is largely determined by whether the weight we lose during fasting is mostly fat or muscle. Even mainstream doctors readily agree that if it is the former then the effects of fasting would be considered beneficial and if it is the latter, the effects of fasting would be devastating since losing muscle mass not only makes one (relatively) fatter (ratio of muscle to fat mass), but also drastically lowers one’s resting metabolic rate (RMR) since RMR depends heavily on fat-free muscle mass. So, if chronic fasting results mostly in muscle loss that would make a person not only relatively fatter as a result, but also continue to gain weight on even fewer calories than previously eaten due to their now lower RMR. Well, the study on the Biggest Loser show participants was pretty clear in its findings that this devastating outcome from fasting (and/or “endurance” exercise) is exactly what happens in humans.
If that study was not convincing enough, here is another expert medical opinion below, with an added explanation why fasting may have this negative effect, while also, once again, implicating obesity as an endocrine disorder driven by estrogen.
