I have personally heard this comparison from people in my life who mean well. Multiple times! “How long are you going to starve yourself?” Or, “Of course you’re losing weight, you’re starving!”

And I would be lying if I said that initially, I had similar fears…. “will I feel like I’m starving?” or “Is Intermittent Fasting Starving myself?”

Over my journey with fasting and having a daily eating window, these are the things I’ve learned that make my Intermittent Fasting vastly different than starving.

Choice

I am in control. I can eat when I want. No one is withholding food from me! I am voluntarily in a fasted state. Starvation would be involuntary.

If I were to feel like I needed to eat, I am always in control of opening my eating window.

For instance, if I were to plan a 24 hour fast and at hour 19 I really feel like I want to eat, I will eat. I am able to flex and change my mind. The choice belongs to me and me alone!

Availability

Fasting doesn’t occur because food is scarce. I don’t eat One Meal a Day (OMAD) because I don’t have enough food to get me three meals a day. In fact, food is in abundance here and I am often in positions to say “no thank you” to food.

Someone who is facing starvation may not know when their next meal will come.

Duration

Sure, some people do extended fasts, but for the most part Intermittent Fasting is a short term delay. While the fasting occurs on a regular basis, each doesn’t last extreme lengths day after day. *Note* Even those that are extended in length, are done so voluntarily with an option to end!

The body doesn’t starve and wonder where the next meal will come from over a short period of time. The body goes into starvation when food is withheld over a long time period. The length coupled with involuntary and scare availability make starvation much different than intermittent fasting.

I eat SO much!

With eating every single day, I always enjoy food. While I limit my eating window, I don’t limit quantity for the most part. So if you’re still wondering, is intermittent fasting starvation, ask yourself this: “Does a starving person eat their favorite foods every day, in the quantity they enjoy?”

Absolutely not. You can check out what I ate for an entire week and see if you would consider me starving!

Cause & Effect

One of the greatest differentiators between fasting and starvation is the effect it has on an individual’s health. We will explore the specific health benefits of fasting in future posts.

On a personal note I’ve reversed a fatty liver, returned near perfect blood work, my eyesight improved, my skin and nails have improved, I sleep better and the list could go on! Most people who intermittent fast find many benefits (beyond weight loss) to this way of life.

While I have no personal experience with starvation, I am willing to bet you’d be hard pressed to find a starving individual telling you the great benefit starvation has had on their health!

Boldly Oppose! Share your experiences with intermittent fasting is NOT starving yourself.

I actually look forward to someone telling me that I’m starving myself now. Sure it took a while for me to grow in confidence & experience, but knowing how great I feel now, I an no issue telling others just how wrong they are! It’s almost fun enlightening them on the differences of intermittent fasting and starvation.

Share if you meet opposition in your fasting lifestyle, too! Discuss your benefits, discuss how good you feel! And remember, a starving individual wouldn’t be able to sign the praises of