Dieting vs Fasting: Why Neither Is the Magic Answer

At some point, almost everyone bumps into fasting.

Intermittent fasting.

16:8.

18:6.

“Just black coffee until lunchtime.”

It’s usually presented as the missing piece — the thing that finally makes weight loss easy.

Sometimes it works.

Often it doesn’t.

And when it fails, people assume they failed.

They didn’t.

What Dieting and Fasting Have in Common

Dieting and fasting look different, but they rely on the same idea:

👉 Control food harder, and results will follow.

Dieting does it by rules:

• Calories

• Points

• “Good” and “bad” foods

Fasting does it by time:

• Eat here

• Don’t eat there

• White-knuckle the clock

Both can create short-term results.

Both tend to collapse the moment real life intervenes.

Because neither addresses how you actually eat day to day.

Why Fasting Sometimes Works (At First)

Fasting can help because:

• It reduces decision-making

• It shortens eating windows

• It can accidentally reduce calories

For some people, especially those who:

• Like structure

• Don’t mind hunger

• Have predictable routines

…it can feel freeing.

But that doesn’t make it superior.

It just means it fits their life — for now.

Where Fasting Goes Wrong

Fasting becomes a problem when:

• You spend the morning counting minutes until food

• You overeat when the window opens

• You feel “good” for fasting and “bad” for breaking it

• Social meals become stressful

• Hunger turns into a daily battle

That’s not discipline.

That’s friction.

And friction always wins in the long run.

The Big Scrummy Truth

Weight loss doesn’t come from when you eat.

It comes from what happens consistently, across weeks and months, without drama.

If fasting helps you eat normally and calmly — fine.

If it makes food louder, harder, and more obsessive — it’s working against you.

Hunger is information, not a test of character.

What Works Better Than Dieting or Fasting

Instead of asking:

“What rules should I follow?”

Ask:

“What can I do most days without thinking?”

That usually looks like:

• Regular meals

• Enough protein and fibre

• Foods you actually like

• No moral judgement attached to eating

Boring?

Yes.

Effective?

Also yes.

The Goal Isn’t Control — It’s Calm

Scrummy isn’t anti-fasting.

It’s anti-fighting food.

The aim is for eating to fade into the background of your life — not become a daily negotiation with the clock.

If a way of eating only works when everything is perfect, it won’t last.

And if it doesn’t last, it doesn’t work.

Eat in a way you can live with.

Even on a stressful Tuesday in winter.

Especially then.