First week I began with a modest 2 14 hour fasts to get my body used to it.
Following week I did 3 16-18 hours and realized it was getting really easy (not that it was ever super hard).
Third week I did 16-19 hour fasting every single day. I’m happy to say I lost the 10 winter pounds that were stubbornly clinging to me (I just turned 30 and realized it was becoming hard for me to lose weight for the first time in my life, which is why I tried the fasting). My ‘’love handles’’ and extra belly fat melted away like butter, and I feel great! So far I have had no problem with hunger pangs or loss of energy. My body got used quickly to the new feeding cycle. HOWEVER, I find the 16-19h cycles so easy (basically effortless) to follow that I realized I was becoming a bit TOO enthusiastic about it. I realized this week that my weight was going down too rapidly and that I was heading straight for going BELOW my healthy IBM.
I decided to reign myself in and limit the fasting to twice a week, despite being perfectly willing to do it everyday, as it might be a bit TOO MUCH for my body. I also don’t think it would be good for me to do 2-3 day or week long fasting as I’m already on the lower end of my healthy weight, and I feel this would deplete my fat reserves to an unhealthy point.
All in all, I love it, feel great and find it a breeze, but I realize I need to be wise about it and careful not to over do it. This is also my own personal experience and I can’t speak for anyone else, as we all have different weights, and bodies!
I also found intermittent fasting to become easier and easier as I increased the duration and frequency of the fast. It has been dangerously encouraging to visibly see a difference in photos and in the mirror after only a month or so. I want to continue to burn that sneaky, interstitial fat that has crept up slowly throughout my alcohol-fueled twenties, but not to the point that I start to lose my 34Ds!