Intermittent fasting—also known as periodic fasting—is a hot topic. But opinions are divided on whether it actually works. In this blog post, we'll explain what intermittent fasting is, how it works, and our perspective on it. Spoiler alert: it works, but only if you cooperate!

Intermittent fasting, what is it?

Intermittent fasting is called periodic fasting in Dutch, and that pretty much sums it up. With intermittent fasting, you only eat during a specific period. For example, you could eat for an eight-hour period each day and fast the rest of the time. There are many different intermittent fasting plans. The most popular is the 16:8 method: you fast for 16 hours a day and eat within an eight-hour window. For example, you eat your first meal at noon and your last at 8:00 PM. Then you eat nothing for 16 hours. You can also choose to fast once or twice a week for a period of 24 consecutive hours. Drinking is allowed during the fasting period, as long as you choose coffee, tea, water, and calorie-free drinks. Numerous variations are possible.

Intermittent fasting, what does it do?

Intermittent fasting is a popular method for weight loss. This is partly because you only eat for a short period of time, so you're likely to consume fewer calories, but there's more to it. Fasting increases growth hormone, which promotes fat loss and muscle mass preservation. Intermittent fasting also reduces insulin resistance, leading to better blood sugar levels. On Voluitlevenmetdiabetes.nl, we read that your body burns fat instead of glucose during the fasting period, which keeps blood sugar levels low, reduces insulin needs, and restores insulin sensitivity over time. If you fast for longer periods, your body also produces norepinephrine, a stress hormone that works similarly to adrenaline. After 24 hours of fasting, it increases your metabolism by about ten percent.

Intermittent fasting, hype or fact?

Some people think intermittent fasting is a fad, but we firmly believe in the positive effects of intermittent fasting. Besides the benefits mentioned above, it also reduces inflammation and oxidative stress, which can have a positive effect on chronic diseases. It can also help if you want to lose weight, although there's a catch. As Rémon Koetje, Lifestyle coach and trainer at Happy Bodies in Alkmaar, previously explained in his blog, there's no miracle cure that will make you lose weight. Intermittent fasting is no miracle cure either. For example, if you follow the 16:8 method and stuff yourself with cream cake, frikandellen, and chocolate milk during the eight hours you're allowed to eat, the chance of losing weight is quite small. If you make the right food choices during the eating window, exercise regularly, and ensure you sleep well at night, intermittent fasting will definitely contribute to your weight loss.

Intermittent fasting, is it safe?

Intermittent fasting is safe for most people, but certainly not for everyone. Skipping meals may not be advisable if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. If you have kidney stones, diabetes, or other medical problems, or are unsure, always consult your doctor before starting intermittent fasting.

In recent years, Marcella van Doorn saw the needle on the scale slowly moving in the wrong direction. She almost decided to accept that the kilos would not disappear so easily as the years went by. Until one of her trainers at Happy Bodies recommended the VYTAL nutrition app. Marcella is now not only five kilos lighter, she also feels that she can easily maintain this. In this blog, she shares her experiences.

A gym without daredevils

Almost four years ago I ended up at Happy Bodies in Heemstede through someone else. I had already visited quite a few gyms, but Happy Bodies is really different. There are no daredevils parading around in front of large mirrors here, there is a place for everyone, young and old, athletic or less athletic. It is very personal here. I train twice a week in the Milon circle. Very efficient, but to be honest I don't necessarily like that the most. The Synergy lessons that I also follow once a week, that's what really makes me happy. The trainer sets out a kind of course, for you personally or in a small group, with weights, ropes or balls. Very varied. I find the regular measurements quite confronting, but at the same time it is very stimulating.

Pleasantly surprised

My weight is a point of attention for me. Especially now that I'm getting older, I notice that I've unknowingly gained a few kilos that don't go away so easily. Very frustrating, but I really didn't feel like following some kind of starvation diet. When one of the trainers at Happy Bodies suggested that I get started with the VYTAL app, I wasn't immediately enthusiastic. I always eat fairly healthy, and wondered what I would gain from this. Six weeks later I was already very pleasantly surprised: I had lost five kilos of fat and four kilos of weight.

Clear and flexible

With three teenagers at home and a job as an independent career coach, I don’t have time for some complicated diet. This app is very clear. I know exactly what I’m allowed to eat – which is quite a lot – and it’s very flexible. Today I had a recipe with broad beans on the menu, but I still had fresh spinach that needed to be used up. It’s very easy to find a replacement recipe with spinach. Even if my husband is coming over for lunch, I can simply indicate that I want a recipe for two people. It’s also nice that you can plan ahead. I know exactly what groceries I need to get and if I’m giving a training, I can prepare some snacks the day before. I recently went away for a weekend. I brought a crate with the things I needed. My fellow travelers thought it looked so delicious that I ended up making salad for the whole group.

Sustainable result

What also works well for me is that I now always have a kitchen scale on the counter. For example, if I am allowed to have nuts as a snack, I now weigh them. Because the scale is there anyway, I do it. In the past, I would have just filled the bowl. I had almost given up hope of losing weight, it is very nice to discover that it is possible. It is simply very cleverly set up. Your supervisor acts as a stick behind the door, checking off the meals feels like a kind of reward and the fact that it is very visual also stimulates me. It is not really a diet at all, you learn to deal with food differently. That ensures a sustainable result and prevents you from yo-yoing.

We are searching en masse for a miracle pill that will magically give us our ideal weight. Unfortunately, that pill does not exist and will never come. Yet it is not all that difficult. 'Everything works, except the person himself', says Rémon Koetje, Lifestyle coach and trainer at Happy Bodies in Alkmaar. In this blog he explains how that works.

Cause of obesity combination of factors

Half of all Dutch adults are moderately or severely overweight and almost 14 percent of adults are severely overweight, according to the website of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. The cause can be found in – a combination of – personal factors such as age, gender, blood pressure or genes, living, residential and working conditions, but of course lifestyle and habits also play a major role. Think of nutrition, exercise and, not to forget, sleep. Odin Nijenhuis, franchisee of Happy Bodies in Aalsmeer and Hoofddorp Floriande, already wrote it in his blog: the person who invents a pill that allows you to lose twenty kilos in a month, never has to work again. But that pill does not exist and will never come. Yet there are plenty of ways to achieve a healthy weight, as long as you are consistent in what you do. Let's zoom in on those lifestyle aspects.

Nutrition

Losing weight starts with making choices in terms of nutrition. You lose weight if you use more energy than you take in: a so-called negative energy balance. For weight loss, it doesn't matter whether you fill your body with hamburgers or spinach, as long as that energy balance is – slightly – negative. But as colleague Danny Kors, head nutrition coach Happy Bodies Lifestyleclubs, wrote in his blog about nutrition and weight loss: your body needs good fuel and by eating as many unprocessed products as possible, you will lose weight faster. At Happy Bodies we work with the smart nutrition app from VYTAL. This way we can help you with a nutrition plan that is tailor-made for you: how many calories do you need, what is a good number of eating moments and how do you make healthier choices. Because let's face it: healthy weight loss is not about filling up, but about good nutrition.

Movement

When you exercise, you burn calories. Regular exercise therefore helps if you want to lose weight, because it contributes to that negative energy balance. One catch: do not overestimate how many calories you burn. If you have walked for an hour and then reward yourself with a delicious apple pie, you will miss your goal. But there are even more reasons to exercise regularly. For example, you improve your immune system and reduce the chance of a chronic disease. Strength training in particular contributes to better health in various ways. And rest assured, you really do not have to exercise like crazy. Moderately intensive exercise already works wonders.

Sleep

'You win the Tour in bed', Joop Zoetemelk once said. But you also lose weight in bed. Various studies have shown that people who sleep less than five hours a night gain more weight than people who sleep longer. Not only are temptations lurking late at night, the body also needs sleep for recovery and regulation. If you sleep too little, your body produces more ghrelin, the hormone that causes a feeling of hunger. So just go to bed on time.

Losing twenty kilos in a month—whoever invents a pill for that will never have to work again? Despite what social media would have us believe, losing weight requires patience, a lot of patience. But there is hope. Odin Nijenhuis, franchisee of Happy Bodies in Aalsmeer and Hoofddorp Floriande, explains in this blog how to stay motivated to achieve your goal.

Good health requires work

I see many people around me struggling to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Good health—just like challenging work and a good relationship—requires work. When I spoke with the founders of Happy Bodies about their concept, I was immediately enthusiastic. So, when they decided to expand their success through a franchise, I didn't hesitate. On September 1, 2019, I opened the doors of my first location in Hoofddorp Floriande, and on January 15 of this year—the day gyms were allowed to reopen—the second location in Aalsmeer followed.

Wrong expectations

What I find truly special is that people often come to us with the wrong expectations. They picture the traditional image of a gym: loud music, lots of mirrors, sweaty bodies, heavy weights, and seeing and being seen. Happy Bodies isn't a gym; we're a lifestyle club. We're very accessible, have a homey atmosphere, and in 35 minutes you can train your entire body. And—perhaps most importantly—our coaches are truly dedicated to you. If you have a health challenge to tackle, we're happy to help.

Gaining weight is a gradual process, losing weight should be too

Research by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) shows that approximately half of Dutch people aged 20 and older were overweight in 2020. A staggering 37 percent are moderately overweight, and 14 percent are severely overweight. When people want to do something about this, they often set far too ambitious a goal. This can be detrimental to their motivation. Those ten or twenty kilos of excess weight weren't gained in a month, and you won't lose them in a month either. Gaining weight is almost always a gradual process. Every year, you gain a kilo, and step by step, you become less and less energetic. Until you've reached your limit.

Burn more energy with the right nutrition

Losing weight in a healthy and responsible way is also a gradual process. Crash diets that require starving yourself don't work, or only temporarily. You lose weight quickly, but the weight comes back just as quickly, creating a yo-yo effect. This is not only very frustrating, but also dangerous, as research by Columbia University commissioned by the American Heart Association has shown. It can also backfire. By maintaining your nutrition and making the right choices, you stimulate your body to burn more energy.

You eat an elephant in pieces

How do you eat an elephant? In pieces. That's also the advice we give people who want to lose weight. By setting interim goals, you stay motivated. Start by losing five kilos in six months. Discuss with your coach how you can achieve that, and be patient. If you look at your progress week by week, it might only seem like small steps, but if you look back after six months, you'll have dropped a dress size!

Over the past forty years, the number of overweight people worldwide has almost doubled, according to research by the World Health Organization (WHO). It's no wonder, then, that so many people are trying their best to lose weight. Yet, it turns out it's not that easy. In this blog post, Danny Kors, head nutrition coach at Happy Bodies Lifestyle Clubs, shares his perspective on nutrition and weight loss.

Personalized nutrition plan

In the previous blog post, Frank already talked about the smart nutrition app we use at Happy Bodies. This app, combined with our nutritional expertise, allows us to help people create a personalized nutrition plan. This way, we can advise them not only on calorie count and frequency of meals, but also on making healthier choices.

OERstrong

Because that's often where the crux lies, with those healthier choices. People often think they're eating healthy, but when we zoom in on what that actually entails, I see things differently. My perspective on nutrition is definitely different from that of a "standard" dietitian. I look much more at nature, how nature intended us to interact with our food. In addition to my Sports and Exercise training, I also completed a coaching program at OERsterk. The OERsterk concept for optimal health is based on three pillars: relaxation, nutrition, and exercise. With nature as the starting point. We're becoming increasingly disconnected from nature, and that's one of the main reasons why we're experiencing more and more health issues. Unhealthy weight is one of them.

Healthy weight loss is about eating well and not filling up

Many people who want to lose weight and enthusiastically start working out consider protein to be very important. They then eat a lot of cottage cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products. It's actually strange, considering we're the only mammals that still consume dairy products in adulthood. Of course, you need protein, but it's also found in fruit and green leafy vegetables. Nature takes care of that very well for us. Moreover, glucose is an even more important fuel for your muscles. Glucose is mainly found in fruit. It's also important to eat products that contain valuable nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Many products today—think white bread and white pasta, for example—contain empty calories. Your body can't handle much of that. Healthy weight loss is about nourishing yourself, not filling yourself up. By eating plenty of fruit and healthy products like salads and zucchini spaghetti, and also exercising and relaxing regularly, you change your lifestyle for the better.

Eat a lot and still lose weight

Losing weight has nothing to do with going hungry. Your body needs fuel, after all. By eating as many unprocessed foods as possible, you'll lose weight faster. People we help lose weight often say, "I have to eat so much, and yet I'm still losing weight!" That's how it works when you nourish your body well instead of filling it up. The nutrition program we offer at Happy Bodies allows me to fully express my creativity. Currently, twenty people have completed the first eight-week program, and a remarkable ninety percent have achieved good results. People lose up to two pounds per week. That's the beauty of such a customized program: the Milon circle, which is completely tailored to your body, and the VYTAL nutrition app with a personalized nutrition plan.