LOUISVILLE, KY- Endora Todd didn't always look like this.
She use to be a hundred pounds heavier and unhappy.
She lost the weight with the help of a Louisville clinic but like many people she worried about gaining the weight back then a video on online totally changed her mindset.
- Intermittent fasting became popular two years ago
- The diet is not recommended for teens
- Another program involves eating 5 days a week and fasting for the other two days
"So typically I will do 16 hours of fasting which includes my sleeping hours and then I will eat for eight hours sometimes I will fast for a full 24 hours or I will fast for 48 hours and I just see the benefits of maintaining lean muscle mass and my insulin resistance is corrected also just having more energy," Todd said.
She calls the eight hours in which she does eat her open window but the other 16 she simply sips on water, tea, or coffee.
"I don't get hungry and there's a difference between cravings and hunger that's what people get confused so I’m looking for hunger symptoms such as dizziness, that dry metallic taste in my mouth, my stomach cramping and growling so I don't hungry but of course everyone has cravings so if you bring in 12 dozen Krispy Creme donuts of course I'm going to crave it but am I really hungry? "Tood said.
And when it is time to eat, which is usually around 2 o'clock in the afternoon she doesn't go crazy and fill up with fast foods.
It’s salads, lean meats, and complex carbohydrates that fill her plate.
For her fasting is an eating pattern not an eating plan.
Todd also says eating like this doesn't stop her from having a social life.
"A lot of my girlfriends they always think I’m a little weird anyway because I would do my own thing but you can't argue results," Todd said.
And while Todd’s doctors say that her lab work looks like someone twenty years younger nutritionist Michelle Eckhart isn't as convinced.
"The studies on humans are very very few far and in between. They are short term usually and they don't involve a lot of people so there's not a lot of valid scientific research that shows that its successful in the long term certainly in the short term we can see some weight loss," Eckhart said.
It also raises a level concern for people with certain medical conditions.
"Intermittent fasting can be dangerous for people with diabetes especially with type one diabetes on insulin or type 2 diabetics on insulin or any kind of blood sugar lowering agent. So that can be a very dangerous type of weight loss for people like that. It also can be very dangerous for people that have eating disorders, have a history of eating disorders, or have a family history of eating disorders they may be susceptible to falling into a pattern were they are not eating enough," Eckhart said.
Todd has heard the criticisms but says for her it just works and in some ways allowing her to discover a deeper spiritual connection with herself and the people around her because she not always thinking about her next meal.
"I will always practice fasting when I was smaller growing up in a Southern Baptist household fasting was a way of showing penance and things of that nature now that I'm older and I understand the idea behind fasting not only from a spiritual standpoint but also from a nutritional and health standpoint I will always practice fasting of some sort,' Todd said.
It's also a good idea to check in with your doctor before starting any type of new diet plan.