Last Updated on May 20, 2022 by Latrice
There are a few things to consider when choosing an intermittent fasting method besides thinking about which one works the best for weight loss.
Choosing an intermittent fasting method that doesn’t work for you is like suffering unnecessarily and making intermittent fasting way harder than it has to be.
You might choose to fast for 20 hours a day because the weight loss results you’ve seen look fantastic, but you started out KNOWING you struggle to go from meal to meal without snacking.
That’s a set up for failure, girl. Jumping from eating a total of 6 times a day to eating once will hurt. And it is an unnecessary hurt.
Or you choose to do a 16/8 intermittent fasting routine with most of your fasting done at night, but forget to consider that you like going on dinner dates when a fine date comes along.
As soon as that fine date shows up and ask you to dinner, you’ll change your eating window. Then you find yourself barely fasting at all.
Choosing an intermittent fasting method that considers your life over if it works the best improves your chances of sticking to it.
And it’s not like you have to stick with one fasting method.
You can start with one for where you’re at in life and your health and then transition into another routine when you’re ready.
In this week’s tidbit on intermittent fasting, I share how to choose an intermittent fasting method that works best for you.
I came up with these things to consider based on what I had to consider to find an intermittent fasting method that worked best for me.
The intermittent fasting methods
These are the intermittent fasting methods I’ve read about and have tried. If there are more, please help a lady out and leave me a comment.
16:8 Method
The 16:8 method involves having a fasting window of 16 hours and an eating window of 8 hours. Eating nothing for 16 hours and then eat 2 to 3 meals within a window of 8 hours.
Modified Warrior Diet from Edward V. of Fledge Fitness
Edward V. of Fledge Fitness on YouTube made modifications to The Warrior Diet that involves fasting for 20 hours a day and then eating within a 4 hour window.
The original warrior diet consist of eating raw vegetables and fruits during the day and eating a large meal at night. I do Edward V’s version of the warrior diet.
Check out his explanation of The Warrior Diet below.
The 5:2 Diet
The 5:2 method involves eating normally for 5 days of the week and then eating small meals of 500 to 600 calories for 2 days of the week. For women, it’s 2 meals of 250 calories each and for men it’ll be 2 meals at 300 calories each.
Alternate-Day Fasting
Alternate-Day Fasting is fasting every other day. Some alternate-day fasting methods do allow for 500 calories during “fasting” days.
Eat-Stop-Eat
The Eat-Stop-Eat method involves fasting for 24 hours 1 to 2 days a week. This can be done by not eating lunch from to lunch or from dinner to dinner.
Fat Fast
Fat Fasting is consuming nothing but fat in a blended drink during a fasting window. I’ve seen it coupled with the 16:8 method where someone would fat fast for 16 hours in a day and then eat 2 to 3 meals within 8 hours.
Now that we’ve run through the different methods, let us get into how to choose the best FOR YOU.
How to choose the best intermittent fasting method FOR YOU by answering 3 questions
Choosing the best intermittent fasting routine that’ll work for you is important since it’ll improve your chances of sticking to it.
Trying to force an intermittent fasting method that does’t work with your life and current diet is extra stress you really don’t need.
Consider answering these 3 questions when determining which intermittent fasting method will work in your life and current situation with food.
How long have you been eating healthy?
Fasting tends to be the hardest when you’re coming straight off the Standard American Diet due to how addictive, sugary, and high carb the diet can be.
Jumping right into a fasting window can cause sugar withdrawal symptoms that make it really difficult, and even painful to stick to.
If you’re fresh off of the Standard American Diet, or tend to eat more highly processed foods than not, try starting with shorter fasting windows where most of your fast is done while you sleep.
Do this while you are transitioning to cleaner eating and detoxing from sugar.
Also cut out snacking and eat three meals of real foods during your eating window. Increase your fasting window as you adjust.
If you’ve been eating cleaner for some time now, and eat processed foods on occasion, you can likely get away with longer fasting windows.
If you notice it is hard to fast, eat a strict keto diet, allow your body to adapt to burning fat, and shorten your window until you feel comfortable. Then go for longer fasts.
Are you comfortable going hours or days without eating?
Some people can handle fasting an entire day while some feel more comfortable fasting for hours within a day.
Test it out for yourself. If you’re comfortable going 20 hours, you might find it not too bad going a full 24.
I sometimes fall into a 23 hour fast if I spend extra time at the gym. Pay attention to how you feel.
Struggle to fast or fear going days without eating? Pick a method that has you fasting for hours instead of a day or more.
I’m at the point where I can fast for 48 hours just fine. Sometimes 72 hours when I’m occupied and well adapted.
But I started with shorter fasting windows and worked my ways up. You likely will too.
What does your schedule look like?
Fasting is easier to do when you’ve got other things to do. Trust. Fasting during work, class, or while working on a project can make time less noticeable.
If you also workout, you might consider doing your fasting within windows that consist of hours instead of days. Especially when first starting out.
Working out can increase your appetite so having a fasting window that ends right after your workout instead of the following day can curve that increase and save you the torture.
Choose to fast during hours when you’re the most active and if you workout, and know you still tend to deal with hunger and increased appetite, plan to end your fast afterward.
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