Currently doing 16:8 but want to get to a point where I can do 20:4 or OMAD. Those who have done it/are doing it, how did you get your body to adjust to a longer fast? Did you just jump into it and your body got used to it or was it a slower transition? What was the process like?
Any tips you have for someone who wants to get to that point?
Sorry, lots of questions - but just feel free to answer any question! :)
I started 16:8 and didn’t feel like it did much so I knew I needed to shorten my window. I did it somewhat slowly over a few weeks. When I was doing 16:8 I would pack a lunch for work, a snack and have dinner planned. The first week I just tried to wait until 1 or 2pm before eating my lunch. Then I stopped bringing a lunch and brought a protein shake and small snack that I would eat around 3 or so. As the days went by I kept trying to eat my snack later and later. I eventually stopped bringing a snack but still brought the protein shake. I would try to hold off on having the protein shake until my drive home. The protein shake would help curb the urge to binge as soon as I walked in the door. I still tried to plan my dinners as much as possible so I wouldn’t snack as much. As the days went by it became easier to make it through the day. I also noticed that if I was light on protein during my OMAD the next day was a little harder to get through. Good luck!!
I do 20:4 but started at 16:8, which turned into 18:6 and then I found I could do less some days and now have been doing 20:4 for the last few months. It kind of happened naturally for me. I didn’t start out thinking I’d do 20:4.
Few questions for you, OP:
Age/Sex/Height, Starting weight, Current Weight, Goal weight?
Do you track your food? If so, how many grams of fat, protein, and total carbs are you getting each day?
If you don’t track your food, what does your typical menu consist of every day?
Initially i did a 19:5 diet but then i was starting to get conditioned to eat less. after 10 days i was pretty much having one meal a day at 6 pm. But usually i sip on a soda can at 12 pm it helps with the hunger pangs.
Started w 3 meals at 16:8. Did that for 1 week before I felt ready for 18:6. Did 18:6 as 2 meals + 1 protein shake for about 2 weeks and then bumped up to 20:4 with just 2 meals. 2 weeks into that schedule and I stayed out a bit too long, didn’t want to spend money on food and did a 26hr fast.
After that, I pretty much switched to a 1500cal OMAD cycle. Four weeks in, I did a 48hr fast w 1 meal refeed every two weeks. 6 weeks of that and then the 48hr fast became a weekly occurence. I occasionally did 2x 48hrs in a week. I took a week off of work for my birthday and did a 72hr fast.
OMAD has been the longest schedule I’ve kept. After about 16wks of that and the weekly 48hr, I switched to rolling 48s, where I fast for 48hrs, eat one meal at or above maintenance, and then start fasting again.
Logged it all in Zero so when someone asks, I can check my calendar and figure out how many weeks I did each cycle 😛