Tag: diet

Different Ways To Do Intermittent Fasting

Before I go over various methods of intermittent fasting, let’s remember what this means. In simple words, intermittent fasting is refraining from eating for a set amount of time, and then eating your meals in a time window. When this behavior is repeated, you are said to be intermittent fasting. There are a couple of reasons why people do this- losing weight being one of the most common.

One of the things I love the most about this process is that it offers various options in which it can be performed. As we all know, every person is unique, and every body reacts in a different manner. Therefore, it is very important to choose the method that works best for you, and suits your lifestyle most appropriately.

Let’s begin by listing the intermittent fasting method I have the most experience with:

  1. 16:8

The 16:8 method consists of fasting (abstaining from eating or drinking anything other than water) for 16 consecutive hours, and having an eating window of 8 hours. During the 16 hours of fasting, you are allowed to drink water or non-caloric beverages such as plain coffee of tea. This is one of my favorite methods, and one which I have personally done a couple of times in the past and has always proved effective.

My personal experience:

I prefer to begin my fast at 8:00pm after my least meal of the day, and break the fast the next day at noon (12:00pm).

What a normal eating window looks like for me:

First meal: (Typically at 12:00pm) Coffee with milk, 2-3 scrambled eggs, toast, fruits.

Second meal: (Typically at 3:30pm) A sandwich or rice and protein, Greek yogurt with fruits.

Third meal: (Typically at 7:30) Rice, beans, protein, veggies, dessert.

The longest I’ve done intermittent fasting for is 2 months and I have always managed to lose 10-15 pounds. However, there are people who adopt IF as a permanent lifestyle because of the added health benefits.

2. Alternate Day

This other method of fasting can be done in a couple of ways. Some people fast an entire day, while others allow up to 500 calories. On feeding days, typically people eat as much as they want.

This method of fasting is quite extreme, and therefore might not be suitable for beginners or for those with certain medical conditions. Although, I would recommend for any person with a medical condition to consult their doctor before trying any form of intermittent fasting.

My personal experience:

I haven’t done this exact method but I have fasted for three days in the past. Although it was more than 5 years ago, I remember the experience was awful, from having no energy to feeling faint. Moreover, I also did a juice cleanse for 4 days a year ago. Like the name implies, I was only consuming juice, and I was desperate to eat food even on the first day. I say IF should be an experience you feel comfortable with, so if this is not the case with the alternate day, there are other methods in which this could be done.

3. 5:2

This 5:2 method consists of eating standard amount of relatively salutary food for 5 days and reducing calorie intake on the other 2 days. Generally during the 2 fasting days, calories are reduced to 500-600 a day, and these two days are never consecutive. For instance, if you fast on a Monday, your next fasting day should not be Tuesday. A schedule that a lot of people who practice this method follow is fasting on Mondays and Thursdays and eating normally the other days.

4. 12 Hours

Finally, here comes the easiest option for beginners- the 12 hour fast. This method is a lot more tolerable and simple than the other types of fasting mentioned above. Therefore, it is the one I recommend for beginners. After you adjust, if you feel like you want to see faster results, I suggest moving to the 16:2 method.

This 12 hour fast consists of deciding on a 12 hour fasting window every day, and adhering to it. The best time to start your fast depends on whether you sleep in or not in the mornings. If you are an early bird, the best time to begin the 12 hour fast is 7:00pm because this means you are ready to have breakfast by 7:00 am the next morning and the hours fasting were barely felt. Just like if you tend to wake up late, then I suggest starting the fast at 12:00am so that you can resume eating at 12 noon the next day. This, and the 16:2 method are completely up to your preferences.

Hope this was helpful, and feel free to share tips, ideas, and comments on your experiences with these methods 🙂

What a day of Intermittent Fasting looks like

I started to intermittent fast again. Not too long ago I kind of fell of the wagon and went through a whole month of super bad eating. There were days where I did okay but most of the month I was eating horribly. I’m talking about 3000-4000 calories daily, sometimes even more. It happens, you can’t beat yourself up about it. This tends to happen to me especially after a while of being super strict with myself on what I eat.

During that month I tried different things to get back to a healthier lifestyle when it comes to food but I couldn’t find the strength to actually get on with it. Finally, I came to my senses and reflected on how I need to gain control again. Not only does it banish all the efforts I’ve put into the gym in the past months, but also it makes me feel awful.

So, I decided to try intermittent fasting once again, only this time I’m not really calorie counting and I am NOT being super strict on myself. I eat whatever I want but I try to respect the fasting hours.

There are days where my appetite is through the roof and I eat way more than I need but that’s okay as long as I respect more or less the IF. I’m trying not to be harsh on myself and just give my body what it craves in order not to fall into an endless binging period. Lately I spend all my day studying and doing school work which normally makes me want to eat all day. Needless to say there are days where I eat way more than I should, but intermittent fasting has helped me not to gain weight on days like this.

Below I’ll document two days of intermittent fasting. One where I eat a lot, and another one where I don’t get as anxious about food.

Yesterday: Day where I eat more:

  • Woke up at 9am and had a cup of black coffee with a tiny bit of milk and sugar
  • Jumped rope for 30 minutes
  • Did some school work
  • Had my first meal at 12:30pm
    • I had three toasts topped with avocado and parmesan cheese, 2 scrambled eggs, and bowl of fruits with maple syrup
    • 10 minutes later I tried some peanuts and chocolate snack I was brought, and a jello
  • Kept working on a lab report
  • At 4:30pm I had what I would call lunch
    • Two toasts with avocado and parmesan cheese, and two toasts with cottage cheese
    • Greek yogurt topped with the peanuts and chocolate snack
  • Continued studying
  • Got hungry from studying (anxious) so I went and had two keto sugar free chocolates I had just bought and a handful of the peanut and chocolate snack (big mistake buying that hehe)
  • Finished my school work
  • Had dinner at 9:00pm. I couldn’t have it at 8 as I should have because I needed to prioritize finishing my school report
    • Steak, little bit of congris, banana, chips
    • yogurt with my forbidden peanuts
    • jello
    • a little cookie
  • At 10pm I started to work on another school assignment and I felt the need to snack
    • Potato chips with a bit of cottage cheese on the side

And that concludes my day. Obviously it was way too much and I need to work on that but I don’t want to beat myself up about it. At least I did not binge at night which usually happens when I eat like that throughout the day. One step at a time <3.

A little realization I had days ago and was made clear yesterday once again, is that chocolate gets me out of control. I tend to eat way more in a day when I have some sort of chocolate.

Today: Moderate day

  • Had coffee at 8:00 am
  • Went to class from 10am-3:00pm
    • Had a caramel macchiato with almond milk from starbucks at 2pm
  • Had my first actual meal at 4:00pm
    • Three little toasts with avocado, parmesan cheese, turkey bacon, and cucumbers mixed with soy sauce and everything bagel seasoning (really recommend).
    • Greek yogurt topped with fruits and maple syrup
  • Did some school work
  • Had a protein shake at 6:00pm
  • Had dinner at 8:00pm
    • About half a cup of white rice, fish, broccoli, fried plantains.
    • For dessert I had my usual cup of yogurt with fruits.

As you can see, there is a big difference between these two days. However, I respected the fasting hours as much as I could and I actually did not even gain water weight from the day I ate more. I guess this has to do with the fact that I did respect the IF and had my first calories of the day at 2:00pm today which was the Starbucks coffee.