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Intermittent fasting was supposed to change the way we think about eating. For years, fasting was one of the biggest trends in nutrition and health.

The idea was simple, when you eat might be as important or more important than what you eat. Timing your meals properly could help you lose weight, improve your metabolic health, reduce your risk of disease, and perhaps even live longer.

16:8 became a household term. The 5:2 diet exploded in popularity. Alternate-day fasting attracted serious scientific attention. Books, podcasts and social media turned intermittent fasting into one of the most talked-about approaches to nutrition.

But over time, this hype seems to have started dying down. Intermittent fasting (and time restricted feeding) are still very popular, but they don't seem as dominant as they once were.

In this episode of the All or Something Podcast, we take a step back and look at the rise and fall of intermittent fasting.
- Why did fasting become so popular in the first place?
- What did the early research actually show?
- How much of the excitement was supported by good evidence?

We break down the different forms of intermittent fasting, including time-restricted eating, 16:8, the 5:2 diet and alternate-day fasting, and explain how they actually compare with conventional calorie restriction.

We also look at one of the biggest questions surrounding fasting: does fasting have unique benefits, or does most of the benefit come from the fact that people simply end up eating fewer calories?

As always, people misinterpret these videos as us saying intermittent fasting doesn't work, but that isn't what we are saying at all. We are saying that maybe it doesn't work as well as what many people claimed, and maybe it works for a different reason as well.

P.S., If you want to support us and would like monthly lifting workouts, you can join the Momentum by Sohee fitness app. http://momentumbysohee.com

If you are interested in fat loss science, you can purchase Ben's best-selling comprehensive fat loss book, Everything Fat Loss. http://geni.us/EverythingFatLoss

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In this episode, Sohee opens up about something she hasn’t talked about publicly before (or privately, really). This is her experience with postpartum depression and the mental health challenges she has faced since becoming a mum.

We talk honestly about what postpartum depression can actually look and feel like, why it doesn’t always look like the stereotypical picture of depression, and the feelings that can be difficult to admit.

We also discuss postpartum rage, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, the enormous transition into parenthood, and why new mothers can struggle even when they desperately love their baby.

This is a deeply personal conversation, but it’s also an important one. If you’re a new parent, know someone who is, or simply want to understand more about postpartum mental health, we hope this episode helps you feel a little less alone.

If you’re struggling with your mental health after having a baby, please speak to someone you trust and seek professional support. You do not have to deal with it alone.

P.S., If you want to support us and would like monthly lifting workouts, you can join the Momentum by Sohee fitness app. http://momentumbysohee.com

If you are interested in fat loss science, you can purchase Ben's best-selling comprehensive fat loss book, Everything Fat Loss. http://geni.us/EverythingFatLoss

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Cheat meals are one of the most common strategies in the fitness and dieting world. The idea is simple: eat “clean” all week, stick to your diet, and then give yourself permission to eat whatever you want for one meal—or even an entire day.

But do cheat meals actually help with fat loss? Do they boost your metabolism, prevent metabolic adaptation, make dieting easier to stick to, or provide some other physiological benefit? Or are we giving them far more credit than the evidence deserves?

In this episode, we take a closer look at the science behind cheat meals and the claims that have made them so popular. We discuss what research tells us about planned indulgences, calorie restriction, adherence, hunger, and overeating.

But we also think there's a bigger issue worth discussing: why do we call certain foods a “cheat” in the first place?

For some people, a cheat meal approach to eating can be completely harmless. But for others, the concept of cheat meals can reinforce a cycle of restriction, food rules, guilt, overeating, and compensation.

When you spend the week being “good” and then feel like you've earned the right to eat everything you've been restricting, is that really helping you build a healthier relationship with food?

We talk about where we think the line can start to blur between dieting behaviours that resemble disordered eating and why eating a pizza or having dessert doesn't need to be considered cheating.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Where the idea of cheat meals came from
- Whether cheat meals actually provide any metabolic advantage
- Whether they improve adherence to a diet
- The difference between a planned indulgence and a binge
- Why labeling foods as “good,” “bad,” or “cheats” can be problematic
- Restriction, overeating, guilt, and compensatory behaviors
- Whether cheat days are different from cheat meals
- What the science actually says—and what comes from fitness culture rather than research

Obviously, we don't think there's anything wrong with eating foods that you enjoy. That is not the question at all. The question is whether calling them a “cheat” actually makes your relationship with food worse.

If you've ever wondered whether cheat meals are a useful dieting strategy or just another fitness industry rule we accepted without questioning, this episode is for you.

P.S., If you want to support us and would like monthly lifting workouts, you can join the Momentum by Sohee fitness app. http://momentumbysohee.com

If you are interested in fat loss science, you can purchase Ben's best-selling comprehensive fat loss book, Everything Fat Loss. http://geni.us/EverythingFatLoss