So i started IF and today is my second day. I’m doing 12-6. The weekend is coming and i usually go out over the weekend. Can i switch the time or i just have the break the rule for one night? What do you guys do over the weekend?
IF is a lifestyle not a religion therefore make the adjustments that work for your lifestyle.
I’ve posted a few times on here about cheat days, but the biggest piece of advice that I can give you is to avoid a big intake of sugar based foods and/or drinks when you change things up in terms of hours/intake during the weekend.
IF works because your body achieves ketosis via fasting, while you benefit from the reduce intake of food as well as the reduction of insulin production. You can’t lose weight while your body is producing insulin, so a reduction of calories via portion control/fasting/calorie counting, combined with a keto or dirty keto diet, will really aid your weight loss because you are avoiding the big sugar/carb spikes, keeping you a steady state of ketosis.
On a cheat day, you are aiming to be neutral with your weight and diet this weekend. Its ok to not fast this weekend for the same hours you usually fast, but optimally you want to avoid big intake/windows of eating spikes.
I do a cheat day myself once a weekend, but on those days I try to avoid as much sugars and carbs as possible (maybe I will eat pistachios and cashews at a party rather than potato chips. Nuts still have more carbs and calories than a salad, but I’d rather snack on nuts than the other choices. In terms of drinks, try to stick with clear booze like vodka, gin or tequila but pair these with diet soda, diet tonic or skinny margarita mix or just straight lime juice as these mixers will keep your sugar/carb/calorie intake lower than otherwise. Avoid wine and beer as they are sugar/carb based drinks. Another benefit of a vodka diet soda is that the hangover from same is a lot easier than the same amount of beers/wine etc because you have less sugar withdrawl the next day.