Intermittent fasting for women over 50 jennifer aniston

With abs like that, Jennifer Aniston certainly doesn’t look like she’s in her 50s. The Friends star says that while she does try to eat a healthy diet and get the right amount of exercise, adopting one simple, healthy habit has had the biggest impact — intermittent fasting.

In an interview with Radio Times promoting her Apple TV+ show The Morning Show, Aniston, 52, revealed that intermittent fasting (IF) has changed her life. Specifically, she practices a version of IF called the 16:8 diet. “I do intermittent fasting, so no food in the morning,” she said. “I noticed a big difference in going without solid food for 16 hours.”

The premise of the diet is that you eat during an eight-hour window of your day, and fast (consuming no food) for the other 16 hours. Not eating for 16 hours might seem a little daunting, but it’s important to note that for a portion of that time you’d be sleeping. So if Aniston eats dinner from 6:30 to 7 at night, she will not eat the next day until 11 a.m. Proponents of intermittent fasting say that the practice can help your brain function better, boost your immunity, improve your blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and help with weight loss.

During your eating window on a 16:8 diet, there aren’t any strict rules about how many calories you can consume or which foods you should eat. However, Aniston has previously explained to Elle magazine that she eats mostly nutrient-dense whole foods like fruits, vegetables, a balance of proteins, unrefined carbs, and heart-healthy fats. She doesn’t restrict any foods completely, but does limit processed foods and added sugar.

Aniston also added that even though she is fasting in the morning, she will drink a glass of celery juice. There’s not much science to back it up, but many celebrities are jumping on the celery juice train claiming that it fights inflammation and improves gut health. Some argue that celery juice technically breaks a fast, but there’s some debate about this. Clearly, it’s not doing Aniston any harm.

As for the rest of her wellness routine, Aniston told the magazine that she likes to get her day off to a healthy start. She wakes around 9 a.m., has a mug of warm water with lemon followed by her celery juice, and completes a workout midmorning. She makes sure to prioritize sleep every night, and she’s a huge fan of collagen protein, which she says has improved her gut, hair, and skin health. With habits like these, we can see why she looks so fabulous!

• Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are both fans of intermittent fasting.
• This means they don't eat any solid food for 16 hours every day.
• The "Morning Show" costars do drink coffee and juice in the mornings, they told the UK magazine Radio Times.
• While research has found that intermittent fasting has health benefits such as lower blood pressure and increased longevity, nutritionists and dietitians have pointed out that it may not work for everyone.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are both fans of intermittent fasting, in which you increase the daily overnight window where you don't eat food.

The actors and costars of "The Morning Show," which launches on Apple TV Plus on November 1, told the UK magazine Radio Times that they shunned solid food for 16 hours every day, leaving them a window of eight hours for eating.

"I do intermittent fasting, so there's no food in the morning," Aniston, 50, told the magazine.

"I noticed a big difference in going without solid food for 16 hours."

While some advocates of intermittent fasting say that all you should consume during fasting hours is water and tea or coffee without milk or sweetener, both Aniston and Witherspoon said they preferred to stick to a liquid diet in the mornings, drinking juice and coffee.

Read more: How calorie-counting actually helped me develop a healthier relationship with food

Aniston said she's a night owl and usually wakes up at around 8:30 or 9 a.m.

"Today, I woke up and had a celery juice," Aniston said. "Then I started to brew some coffee, but I don't drink coffee that early."

The actor said she fed her dogs, meditated, and worked out before drinking her coffee.

Witherspoon added: "I just have a green juice and a coffee in the morning."

Her morning routine, however, starts somewhat earlier than Aniston's. She said her 7-year-old son wakes her up at 5:30 or 6 a.m.

Witherspoon, 43, said that she is in fact a morning person but doesn't love exercising early.

"I find it really hard to work out before 7:30 a.m. But that's the time I start one: 7:30 a.m,," she said. "I probably do that six days a week."

Though Aniston said she works out one fewer day a week than her costar, Witherspoon said she often asks Aniston for "well-being" advice because she "knows so much about health and fitness."

"Well, we want to thrive, right?" Aniston said. "We're just beginning."

Intermittent fasting has health benefits

Intermittent fasting has become increasingly popular in recent years, and studies have found a slew of health benefits, from lower blood pressure to increased longevity.

While some people fast to lose weight, many experts agree that the main reason it may lead to weight loss is that having a smaller window of eating means you're likely to eat fewer calories.

"This type of fasting often results in the consumption of fewer calories overall, which contributes to weight loss," Sue Ryskamp, a dietitian at the University of Michigan, said earlier this year.

Rhiannon Lambert, a registered nutritionist, agrees, writing that "the overall picture is that this is most likely due to overall calorie reduction, rather than the results of the fasting diet itself."

Research by Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, published in the British Medical Journal in January found that skipping breakfast could help people lose weight.

Read more: There's even more evidence that skipping breakfast might help you lose weight

David Higgins, a Hollywood personal trainer and physical therapist who has worked with the likes of Margot Robbie, previously told Insider that he thinks breakfast is overrated.

Read more: Margot Robbie's personal trainer thinks breakfast is overrated, and he says there are 2 clear benefits to fasting in the morning

But intermittent fasting doesn't have to mean skipping breakfast: If you prefer to eat in the morning, you can have your final meal earlier in the day and begin your fast after that.

It needn't be a 16-hour fast either — some people start by splitting their day into 12 hours for eating and 12 hours for fasting and then gradually increase the fasting window.

Intermittent fasting isn't for everyone

Many nutritionists and dietitians have pointed out that intermittent fasting may not work for everyone, as some people simply function better when they eat throughout the day.

"Fasting can be a slippery slope to unhealthy habits and a screwy relationship with food," Jessica Cording, a registered dietitian, wrote for Shape magazine in August.

She added that for most people, it simply isn't a sustainable way to live and eat.

Lambert said that fasting could lead to fatigue, mood changes, low energy levels, and overeating.

"If you enjoy breakfast, then there is no need to fast until lunchtime because someone else lost weight from it," she said.

"There is no 'magic' behind intermittent fasting, and it is not superior as a weight-loss tool, but it is an interesting area of research that may well expand."

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