Fitness & Nutrition

How to do intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is a great way to lose weight, increase energy and get healthier. But it can be tough to start intermittent fasting if you don’t know how to do it properly. Intermittent fasting is a healthy, sustainable way to lose weight and improve your overall health. With proper preparation and support, you can stick to your plan and reap the benefits.

This quick guide will show you how to start intermittent fasting, including tips on what to eat and what not to eat, as well as how to stick to your plan.

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you cycle between periods of eating and not eating, or fasting. It’s a great way to lose weight⁽¹⁾, improve insulin sensitivity ⁽²⁾, and boost your overall health ⁽³⁾.

There are many different ways to do intermittent fasting, but all involve abstaining from food for a set period of time each day or week. Some people choose to fast for 12 to 16 hours each day, while others may fast for 24 hours once or twice a week. The key to successful intermittent fasting is to find a method that works for you and stick with it.

The most common method is the 16:8 method. This involves fasting for 16 hours and eating for 8 hours. You can do this by skipping breakfast and only eating lunch and dinner. It doesn’t mean eating continuously for eight hours! Or, you can stop eating at 8 pm and start eating again at 12 pm the next day. If those times don’t work for you, simply shift them one way or the other by an hour or two. For example, stop eating at 7pm and start at 11am the following day.

Fasting every day may not be appealing, so you might like to consider breaking yourself in gently. There are numerous ways to do this. Firstly, you could simply choose not to eat after your evening meal. Once you have embedded this habit into your life, you can either eat breakfast later or have your evening meal earlier. This may not work if you get up early for work and usually eat before you leave the house. So another suggestion is to just fast on days when it is more convenient.

Alternatively, you may like to consider another popular intermittent fasting method, the 5:2 diet. This involves eating normally for five days each week and restricting your calories to five hundred calories on two days. Those two days should not be consecutive days. Ideally, one day during the week and one during the weekend. For example, on Sunday and Wednesday.

Why should you start intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting has many benefits for your health, including weight loss, improved insulin sensitivity, and reduced inflammation.

Intermittent fasting can help you lose weight by reducing your overall calorie intake. When you fast, your body is forced to use stored energy (fat) for fuel. This can lead to weight loss, especially if you don’t compensate by eating more during your eating windows.

Intermittent fasting can also help improve insulin sensitivity. Insulin is a hormone that helps your body process sugar. When insulin levels are high, your body stores more fat. But when insulin levels are low, your body burns stored fat for energy. So, by reducing insulin levels with intermittent fasting, you can help your body burn more fat⁽⁴⁾.

Intermittent fasting can also reduce inflammation. Inflammation is a major risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Intermittent fasting can help reduce inflammation by reducing the production of inflammatory monocytes. Monocytes are small proteins that play a role in the immune response.

Therefore, by reducing inflammation, intermittent fasting can help protect against diseases like heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease⁽⁵⁾.

What to eat while intermittent fasting

When you’re intermittent fasting, you can eat anything you want during your eating windows. There are no restrictions on what you can eat. However, it’s best to stick to healthy, whole foods. This includes fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats. This will help to minimize cravings and prevent overeating. It is also a good idea to drink plenty of fresh water when you are fasting.

If you are eating for a shorter amount of time than usual, you will find that you naturally eat less. Ideally, it is best to eat no more calories than you usually do. If you are eating more calories than you burn, fasting will not make a difference.

What to eat or drink during fasting hours

During the hours when you are fasting, it can be tricky to know what you can and cannot eat or drink. The short answer is that you should abstain from all food. While that may sound tough, remember that the majority of those hours will be spent asleep. Hopefully for about eight hours.

During waking hours, you can drink certain liquids. For example, some people choose to only drink water, while others may also allow themselves to have coffee or tea. However, coffee and tea should be black with no sugar. You can also drink fruit or herbal teas. Why not mix it up a bit and then you won’t get bored.

Finally, you can also drink clear broth. Simply boil up some bones, strain and drink the broth. You can use bones left over from a roast chicken, or buy beef bones from a butcher.

How to stick to your intermittent fasting plan

The best way to stick to your intermittent fasting plan is to make sure you’re prepared. This means having healthy food options available and knowing what you’re going to eat ahead of time. It can also help to tell your friends and family about your intermittent fasting plan. This will help them understand why you’re not eating during certain times of the day and encourage them to support your efforts. Finally, don’t be too hard on yourself if you slip up. If you have a bad day or cheat on your plan, don’t give up. Just start again the next day.

You now know how to do intermittent fasting, what it entails and how to start. As with anything that is worth doing, it's important to be patient; results from intermittent fasting may not be immediate. But if you stick with it, you will see many health benefits in the long run.