It is not just for weight loss. It has been done for centuries religiously and for health benefits besides weight loss. You should be more careful though to get enough calories before and after. Not only am I a “normal” weight, I’m in the military and stay quite fit.
Other than autophagy already mentioned, it is good for insulin résistance improvements as well as reinitializing your immune system and of course reducing inflammation. I am at goal weight and fast for all those other things.
there’s various good scientific literature on autophagy effects probably being the greatest at the 36-72hr mark. weight loss is honestly a side effect of fasting as biologically humans were forced to fast. personally, i do it for weight loss but it’s not the main driving factor as for me, autophagy benefits has made my eczema disappear and i have so much more mental clarity that really helps with my depression and anxiety (in fact, i almost suspect my diet of refined carbs, frequent eating almost exacerbated my depressive symptoms and had I been fasting with minimal processed foods my whole life, my body wouldn’t be in a position to develop depression despite modern society).
​
edit: forced to fast probably isn’t the best phrase, for 2million years before agriculture was developed around 12000 years ago, humans (not homo sapiens per se but our descendants) had really no choice but to fast if they couldn’t kill animals.
Fasting has many benefits. You could google it and see for yourself. It’s not just for weight loss. I’ve seen some people in shape fasting for other reasons like for physical and mental health among other things.
Fasting is a very effective tool for all kinds of health benefits. Certain Cancer treatments, longevity et al
Do some research and you will see, science is just barely digging into the benefits of fasting.
Those sorts of fasts have a lot of benefits.
It’s a good way to detox and clean your system.
also good for mental things like, meditation, mental stillness, praying, spirituality
And also good for being in a state where you can take advantage of the benefits of fasting for longer periods. Thus making fasting more effective for All of its benefits
I think it’s healthy to do a 2-3 day fast once a month or every other month. The every other day thing doesn’t make sense. I do mostly OMAD with an eating window of about 1-2 hours (except I have a protein shake with almond milk when I wake up). So not a “true” fast but 150 calories in 22 hours then the rest of my day I do the rest of my calories in an hour or two. Works great, feel good almost always, good numbers and blood tests, workout everyday before I eat also