Adam Sandler tried intermittent fasting because he 'ate a lot over the pandemic'
Adam Sandler has been trying to work out recently, he told Ellen DeGeneres, but hasn’t been entirely successful. “I ate a lot over the pandemic,” the actor admitted during a virtual appearance on The Ellen Show Monday.
Sandler explained that after weighing himself while at a doctor’s office, he realized the scale wasn’t exactly where he expected.
“I took my shirt off, I stripped down to my underwear, took my sneakers off ‘cause I didn’t want the extra pounds from that. And I stood at the doctor’s scale and you know how those are pretty accurate. I put it at a spot I thought it would be good but I had to take that big thing and move it to the next spot … and it went pretty high and I was very sad with myself,” the 54-year-old recalled jokingly.
Sandler’s experience is a common one. Stepping onto the scale is easily the most popular way people start their weight loss journeys. However, the actual effectiveness of using a scale to measure overall health, which is the most important, is mixed. A scale can be a solid tool to utilize in a health journey, but using it as the foundation to indicate physical well-being can be dangerous.
According to a study written by C. R. Pacanowski, J. A. Linde, and D. Neumark-Sztainer, “self-weighing has not always been found to be beneficial for weight control.” And while self-weighing can be a good approach to your health, it can also exacerbate mental health issues and, in certain cases, eating disorders. Registered Dietician Rachel Fine agrees, explaining that there’s “no reason” to weigh yourself every day and that “[w]eighing yourself at the same time on a weekly basis will give you a more accurate picture.”
Fortunately, it sounds like Sandler is not looking at the scale too often — but he did try another new health trend.
“I did the intermittent fasting…” Sandler said. “I allowed myself 6 hours a day to eat and just get so excited during those 6 hours that I ate a lot of pizzas. I kept looking at the clock going, ‘Alright, you got 40 minutes left to eat,’ and I would go bananas.”
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between eating and fasting, in which someone will typically designate a daily window to eat and then fast the remainder of the day. The idea is that by fasting, your body will decrease your appetite and slow your metabolism, which will allow you to lose weight.
But while it can be effective, a 2019 study from Harvard Health Publishing suggests that there may be serious health risks involved with this latest health craze. Namely, you could find yourself overwhelmed by hunger due to not eating for long stretches of time, which could lead to overindulgence in food during your window of eating, something that Sandler clearly fell prey to. And the study concludes that “there's no strong evidence that fasting adds health benefits beyond any other weight-loss strategy.”
While tracking weight and intermittent fasting can have certain benefits, ultimately, taking a more holistic approach is best for establishing a healthier lifestyle.
Of course, in either case, the best thing you can do is consult your doctor before you try any sort of dieting or weight-loss strategy, as they will provide the best guidance and expertise when it comes to creating a general health strategy that will be effective and sustainable without doing anything dangerous for your longterm health.
So, Mr. Sandler, we wish you the best of luck on your health journey — and remember: don’t be too hard on yourself.
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