You don't have to fast every day to get the benefits of fasting, and not fasting every day helps keep your body's energy-burning rate high.

Intermittent fasting is easier to stick with than strict dieting because you don’t have to count calories—you just eat during certain hours.

Intermittent fasting functions as a hormetic stressor that enhances metabolic flexibility by training the nervous system and circadian rhythms to optimize fat utilization and recovery, rather than merely reducing caloric intake.

People with metabolic syndrome who try intermittent fasting lose about 4 pounds on average after a few months, even without counting calories.

Specific intermittent fasting patterns (one 36-hour fast per week, two non-consecutive 24-hour fasts, or three separate 16-hour fasts) increase norepinephrine, fat oxidation, and glucose tolerance while avoiding metabolic downshift.

People with metabolic syndrome who follow intermittent fasting see their body mass index drop by a small but measurable amount, meaning they’re losing fat relative to their height.