What to know about five types of intermittent fasting
In this article, I am going to discuss what to know about five types of intermittent fasting. Overall, each of them is very effective, and which one you choose will depend on your lifestyle. Sometimes, I have found it beneficial to change some of them around to keep it interesting. In life, we are all about adaptation, so I recommend you to pick a fast that it applies to your circumstance right now.
Eating within a window of time / 16:8 method
Overall, when it comes to different types of fasts, this one is by far, my favorite. In this type of intermittent fast, you are mostly eating within an 8-hour timeframe and fasting for 16 hours. For example, if you finish eating by 8 PM, then you wouldn’t partake in any food until noon the next day. This is the standard time frame for this protocol, but you can fast longer! In fact, the longer you stay in the fasted state, the more metabolic practice you will get at burning stored body fat, and the deeper your fat adaptation will get1.
I usually like to do a 20 hour fast most days, even though there may be times when I may want to end my fast early depending on my cycle ( see this post). However, most times, I eat between 4:30 PM and 8:30 PM and fast between 8:30 PM until 4:30 PM the next day. It is easiest for me because I don’t have to worry about what I am going to eat for breakfast or lunch. I just know that I am going to breeze on past it and start with a healthy low carb snack at 4:30, followed by a delicious dinner. I’ll even have a light meal before bedtime as long as it is by 8:30 PM.
When you are just starting with intermittent fasting, I would recommend a small fasting interval. I think 16 hours fasting and an 8-hour eating interval is perfect for beginners; however, if that is too stressful for you, then just do the minimum, which is 12 hours. Also, if you want, you can start at 12 hours for a few days and then just gradually increase the hours every few days. For example, do 12 hours for 2-3 days and then go to 13 hours for a couple of days. I would recommend keeping doing this until you get to where you want to be! But make sure it is at least 12 hours! This is the ideal amount of time for fasting, and at that point, the body starts to rely on the stored body fat for fuel2.
For a 12-hour fasting interval, you would make your last meal at 6 PM and then eat at 6 AM the next day. Another thing to keep in mind is that fasting will reduce your risk for breast cancer recurrence if you go for at LEAST 13 hours! According to a JAMA oncology study, in a cohort of 2413 women( age 52.4 years), there was a mean fasting duration reported of 12.5 (1.7) hours per night. In repeated-measures Cox proportional hazards regression models, fasting less than 13 hours per night was associated with an increase in the risk of breast cancer recurrence compared with fasting 13 or more hours per night. Overall, it was found that prolonging the length of the nightly fasting interval may be a simple, nonpharmacologic strategy for reducing the risk of breast cancer recurrence3.
Other types of fasting
Now, I am going to examine what you need to know about the four different types of intermittent fasting. These other fasts are also beneficial and are excellent ways for you to get in good ketosis. Let’s take a look, and then you can pick the one that sounds adequate for your needs.
24-hour fasts
This method of intermittent fasting is just as it seems, you fast for 24 hours at a time. Essentially, you could have an eating interval from 5-6 PM and then eat the next day at 6. As long as your fasts are 24 hours, then you have conquered this! This method can be complicated, especially if you are a goddess who is just starting! I would recommend to only embark on this mission once you have conquered at least fasting for 20 hours at one time.
I must say that this is excellent for weight loss but can be challenging for hunger pangs. Fasting for 24 hours can be severe for some people, but eating a high-fat, low-carb diet can make a 24-hour fast easier, as a higher fat diet will tend to normalize your hunger hormones and provide improved satiety for a more extended period of time4. For more information on 24-hour fasting, I would highly recommend you purchase The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting.
5:2 fasts
This one is very similar to the 24-hour fasts except for its only two days a week, and on those days as women, you restrict your calories to around 500. On the other days, you would just eat normally. You cut your food down to one-fourth of your regular daily intake on two days of your choice per week. Again, as mentioned above, It would also be valuable on those days to stick to a ketogenic type of diet, so you are not feeling “hangry.” One of the keys here is to not exceed 500 calories on those two days so that you can stay in a fasting-mimicking state .5
The Warrior Diet
This diet, as popularized by Ori Hofmekler, consists of fast the majority of the day, then eating all of your calories in the evening6. In this, you would skip breakfast and lunch, then eat a large dinner in a four-hour window. Also, in this, you can eat keto-type snacks along with vegetables during the day. This has an appeal because small meals are allowed during the day. However, keep in mind that these meals should be low in carbohydrates to maintain a level of ketosis.
2-3 day Water Fast
This fast is just as it sounds, 2-3 days of fabulous H2O. Even though there are numerous benefits of this fast, it only should be supervised. This type of fast can give you a shorter transition into fat burning because you will rapidly burn through your glycogen stores and push your body to start using fat for energy7. It can be beneficial if you are dealing with a severe condition such as cancer, but again a health care provider should be on tap.
In conclusion, there are many different types of fasts that you could integrate into your life. However, as a keto goddess, I feel that the best starting out would be to eat within a time window. As women, this is the best because we are always on a schedule! If you know when you are going to eat versus fast, then you can plan your life around it. For me, it is so much easier to not eat during the day, so I can focus on tasks that I may have during the day. Whatever role you may play, I think that this one fits!
In conclusion, what to know about the five types of intermittent fasting is to make each one of them your very own. Fasting is not a one size fits all situation. Remember that when you fast, you should thoroughly enjoy it. If you don’t, then it’s not worth it to fast that day. Sometimes, you may have a time where you don’t really feel like fasting, and that’s okay too. If it doesn’t feel right for you, then don’t do it. It is pertinent to learn to enjoy the fast and take it in. If you psychologically train your brain, then it will make it all the better. Please read my post on seven intermittent fasting tips.
Namaste!
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1, 2 Intermittent Fasting (Time-Restricted Eating). (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2020, from https://www.burnfatnotsugar.com/assets/if.pdf
3 Marinac, C. R., Nelson, S. H., Breen, C. I., Hartman, S. J., Natarajan, L., Pierce, J. P., … Patterson, R. E. (2016). Prolonged Nightly Fasting and Breast Cancer Prognosis. JAMA Oncology, 2(8), 1049. DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2016.0164
4,7 MERCOLA, D. R. J. O. S. E. P. H. (2018). Fat For Fuel: a revolutionary diet to combat cancer, boost brainpower, and increase your … energy. Place of publication not identified: HAY House UK LTD.
5, 6Ciccarelli, L., Godinez, B., Gustin, A., Gustin, A., & Perfect Keto & Equip Foods. (2019, November 25). 7 Different Types of Fasting Explained. Retrieved January 26, 2020, from https://perfectketo.com/types-intermittent-fasting/
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