Malaika Arora has consistently advocated for a healthy lifestyle, incorporating yoga and a balanced diet. But did you know that she once admitted to skipping breakfast, which is considered the most crucial meal of the day?

“I don’t generally have breakfast because I fast. I do intermittent fasting, so I don’t eat breakfast. I directly eat lunch. My lunch is regular dal, sabzi, roti, and rice. I try to eat all organic produce. Dinner could be soup. I am obsessed with khichdi. I eat that,” Malaika told Pinkvilla in 2019.

Taking a cue, let’s understand how intermittent fasting affects the body.

Intermittent fasting, or IF, is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and fasting. Unlike traditional diets that focus on what you eat, IF focuses on when you eat. “During fasting periods, your body switches from burning sugar to burning stored fat,” said Dt. Vaishali Verma, consultant- nutrition and dietetics, Manipal Hospital Dwarka.

It emphasises that meal timing makes all the difference.

When done correctly, experts suggest that IF can be beneficial as it can lead to weight loss, improved blood sugar control, and reduced inflammation, contributing to more energy.

There are several intermittent fasting windows. The most popular are:

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16/8 method: Fast for 16 hours and eat within an 8-hour window each day. For example, you could skip breakfast, eat lunch at noon, and have dinner by 8 pm.

5:2 method: Eat normally five days a week and fast for two non-consecutive days, aiming to consume only 500-600 calories on those fasting days.

Eat-Stop-Eat: Fast for 24 hours once or twice a week.

Do you also practice fasting?

When to do intermittent fasting?

If you’re new to fasting, begin with a shorter fasting window and gradually increase the duration. “Instead of starting with a 16 16-hour fasting window, it is always better to start with 7 hours, as it will help your body to adapt to the process gradually. During your eating window, focus on consuming nutritious foods,” said Verma.

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What to note?

How does eating organic produce help?

Dt Vanshika Bhardwaj, senior dietician, Marengo Asia Hospitals, Gurugram, elaborated that foods that are natural or little processed are also easier for your body to digest, which helps to maintain better digestive health in general, and are preferred over processed foods.

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