Intermittent Fasting vs Calorie Counting: Is One Better than the Other?

New research suggests intermittent fasting vs calorie counting, both weight loss strategies initiate similar results. A couple of years back intermittent fasting started gaining attention. Since then, Dieters and experts have debated which is more effective: intermittent fasting vs calorie counting. Few argued that traditional calorie monitoring is a more effective method for quick and effective weight loss. Others believe restricted eating (intermittent fasting) to specific windows of the day naturally helps in successful weight loss.

While evaluating intermittent fasting vs calorie counting, one might not be better than the other for losing or maintaining weight. Some people find intermittent fasting simpler and easier than calculating the calories of every bite. While the rest of them find it easier to monitor calorie intake than keep themselves away from food for long hours. If you are weighing the merits of intermittent fasting vs calorie counting, and trying to evaluate which one of these is more convenient for you, here’s what to know:

Intermittent Fasting vs Calorie Counting: Quick Comparison

Intermittent Fasting	Calorie Counting
The strategy allows specific hours of eating and fasting during the day	The strategy in which you track your number of consumed calories in a day
Fasting for a specific number of hours each day or each week	Following a certain calorie deficit criterion by eating fewer calories than your body burns
Helps in weight loss, reduces inflammation, and improves blood sugar control	Effective for weight loss, develops healthy eating patterns, and flexibility in food choices
Have certain side effects like fatigue and hunger, can be difficult to follow	Can be difficult to track accurately, time-consuming method

Intermittent Fasting vs Calorie Counting: Why They Are Comparable?

“All diets work” is a modern sensation among weight loss specialists. The majority of weight loss experts believe sticking to any one of the energy reduction plans will work in losing excess fat. However, intermittent fasting vs calorie counting are two entirely different processes. Here arises a question why they are compared and how do they draw similar outcomes?

Intermittent fasting shortens your eating window and you will likely be consuming fewer calories. Hence automatically both terms explained in this article intermittent fasting vs calorie counting overlap. Intermittent fasting reduces your appetite during the whole day and prevents late-night snacking. Calorie counting also keeps you away from late-night cravings as you might be already done with your calorie count for that day.

Certain similar executions of intermittent fasting and calorie counting make both of them equally effective and successful. There are also numerous contrasting practices in both weight loss methods. For instance,

Intermittent fasting does not technically follow ‘specific rules’ and focuses on the overall quality of a diet.

On the other hand,

Calorie counting is all about consuming healthy foods by counting each one of your intake calories.

Intermittent fasting prioritizes nutritious whole foods lower in fat and calories. While calorie counting follows not all calories are created equal. For example, complex fiber and carbohydrates will likely keep you fuller throughout the day.  

How Much Should I Eat? Quantity and Quality

If you are not very familiar with calorie counting and want to know how it works click for better understanding. Here you can easily understand what type of foods you need and how much quantity you should be consuming. The article explains everything you need to know about calorie counting according to your age and needs. This easy-to-follow pattern can be the best way to find how much quantity is alongside the quality of food your body demands. Moreover, the recommended number of servings explained can help you quickly start without making any confusion.

How Studies Have Compared Intermittent Fasting vs Calorie Counting

Research for the evaluation of intermittent fasting vs calorie counting was performed at a renowned university in Chicago. In this study around 70 adults with obesity took part and these participants were divided into three sets. One set of people could eat by a restricted daily caloric intake pattern. The second set was asked to only eat between noon to 8 pm. And the third group of people was kept without any dietary changes.

After careful observation for about a year, the results for intermittent fasting vs calorie counting surprisingly appeared similar. The study found that a group of people taking counted calories in a day lost the same amount of weight that people with short eating windows got. Both sets of participants lost around 5 percent of their body mass.

The results for intermittent fasting vs calorie counting appeared quite similar but there was an important difference too. It was the ‘blood sugar management’ people with an 8-hour eating window showed improved insulin sensitivity. This means the bodies of intermittent fasting people draw better results at regulating blood sugar. However, the study also claimed that more research is required to declare how restricted eating patterns may help with type 2 diabetes and impaired insulin sensitivity.

One important aspect to keep in mind is that both weight loss strategies cannot draw the same results when followed for a longer period. For instance, recently a study was published stating that people with a restricted calorie diet lost more weight. This research compiled the results of two groups following these weight loss strategies for more than six years. The group that followed intermittent fasting showed weight gain when they consumed medium or large-sized meals during their eating window.

Hence, restricting your daily calories cannot allow overeating and results in consecutive weight loss or sustaining a healthy weight.

Intermittent Fasting vs Calorie Counting for Effective Weight Loss

It is important to note how both diets work for you as per your daily activity and living style. Experts suggest that it is crucial to have a keen eye on your eating and lifestyle patterns. This is because studies have contrasting opinions about intermittent fasting vs calorie counting. People have shown positive results with both dieting strategies. So, without understanding the working criteria of both diet patterns you cannot say which one is going to work for your body type.

You can take help from your past experiences by evaluating which weight loss efforts helped you a bit and which did not. This way you can get a clue what type of strategy among intermittent fasting vs calorie counting will work for you. For instance, if you have tried reducing your calorie count in any way and it made you feel more obsessive, then the calorie counting method is not for you. In this situation, you can rely on intermittent fasting where you don’t have to count your calories all the time.  

It is also recommended to pay attention when you feel hungrier during the day. this way you can evaluate which time of the day you should cut off intermittent fasting.

Is One Weight Loss Strategy Better than the Other Between Intermittent Fasting vs Calorie Counting?

While comparing two different weight loss strategies you cannot clearly state which one is better than the other. Because it completely depends on the people and their preferences using a certain weight loss strategy. For some people, it is easy to restrict their calories while others find it a headache to always check a single bite of calories. Similarly, numerous individuals feel at ease when they have a short eating window while others think it’s difficult to stay hungry for long hours.

It is an individual who needs to decide which is better intermittent fasting vs calorie counting.

Frequently Asked Questions