I increased my daily fasting window by 5 minutes per week for 2 years - now I'm doing 22:2!

Hey everyone! I’m up to 22:2 and here with another update.

Update 1 (16:8)
Update 2 (18:6)
Update 3 (20:4)

Previous updates TLDR: Starting weight: 190, current weight: 160. I started with baby fasts and bumped it up by 5 minutes every week. 16:8 was too intimidating when I started, but 12 hour fasts seemed more doable. Eventually, as I learned to accept my hunger and just let it pass, the longer fasts became physiologically and mentally easier than the shorter fasts I did early on. Little wins have built on each other to create “success momentum.” My biggest challenges have been social activities and exercising towards the end of a long fast, resulting in more frequent “cheats” as the fasting lengths have increased. Even when I’m short of my goal, I still usually end up with something like a 17 hour fast which itself is a success.

I definitely did not think I would ever make it to regular, 22 hour fasts, but here I am doing it 5 or 6 days a week without much trouble. I’ve noticed that time of day is much more predictive of how hard a fast will be rather than the length of the fast. I’ve been fasting from 7pm to 5pm the next day, but if I try to do 8pm to 6pm, that is so much harder.

I’ve also started losing weight again, whereas I kind of stalled for a long time on either side of 18:6. I actually think I’m getting quite close to my ideal weight, so I think I will finally bring my little experiment to an end and see if I hit a equilibrium after a few weeks/months of 22:2. Extended fasts are definitely on the menu for future experimentation though!

Two years is a long time do be doing something, so it’s kind of crazy to think about stopping my “5 minutes per week” rule, but this feels like the right finish line. I’ve never stuck with any sort of diet for even close to 2 years. I’m so grateful I found fasting, changed my relationship with food and hunger, and learned I’m much better at controlling “when” I eat even if I still kind of suck at “what” and “how much” haha. I really encourage anyone who’s struggling with the length of their fasting goal to try something like this (same goes for anyone nervous about starting). Thanks for letting me brag on here and best of luck to everyone in achieving their goals!