Let’s Talk Intermittent Fasting
There are many ways to use intermittent fasting, and you may have to try a few before you discover which works best for you and your body. The basics of IF involve splitting each day or week into periods of eating and fasting.
During fasting times, you consume only beverages that do not contain any calories or through your body out of the autophagy (cell recycling) phase. For most people, this includes water, black coffee or tea, and small amounts of bone broth. There are many arguments about how much you can eat or drink and still remain in this phase of cellular repair, but for beginners, your best bet is just not to eat anything.
Common Intermittent Fasting Methods
- 16:8 Method- Restrict your eating to an 8-hour period each day, such as from noon- 8 pm. You can adjust your window to your lifestyle. For example, those who rise at 6 am may want to break their fast earlier in the day and quit eating before evening. You may eat two or three meals within your window as you wish. You can adjust the window slightly, with some preferring to fast for 14 hours and others for 20.
- 5/2 Method- Restrict your eating two days a week to between 500-600 calories and eat normally the remaining five days. Some find this harder than others or experience slower weight loss. There are no research studies on this specific type of IF schedule, but it does fall in line with other types of fasting in terms of caloric restriction.
- Eat-Stop-Eat Method- This approach requires you to fast for 24 hours one to two days per week. You can choose to fast from dinner one day to dinner the next or from breakfast to breakfast; which is best for you is fine. You may drink non-caloric beverages, but you cannot consume solid food. Eat normally the other days of the week. Some people find a 24-hour fast to be difficult. You can ease into it by starting with a 14- or 16-hour fast and working your way up to a full day.
- Alternate-Day Method- This method has a few variations. It is basically fasting every other day, which can mean eating nothing at all to consuming 500 calories on fast days. Some even do 16:8 on fast days and normally eat the others. There are many studies on this type of alternating fast, which is quite effective.
- The Warrior Method- This diet is a variation on the 20:4 fast. Instead of eating nothing during the day, though, you consume small amounts of raw produce. During your eating window, you have one large meal. Food choices in this method are usually restricted to whole foods and unprocessed options.
Many people naturally like to skip meals or do not eat breakfast, which is a type of intermittent fasting, as well. Those with diminished appetites due to a low-carb diet, certain medications, or metabolic disorders may regularly practice IF without even realizing it. Most people have few issues adopting the 16:8 window because it fits nicely into the daily routine and you can still get plenty to eat during the eating window.