I’m interested in starting IF, but I’m not totally sure how to. Is it safe to just jump straight into something like 16:8 or would it be better to gradually work your way up to that?
I don’t have any health issues that would make IF unsafe for me, mentally or physically, and it seems to be working great for most people here.
I know it’s unlikely that there’ll be one correct answer on how to get started, but I’m curious to hear from people.
I am someone who recently started and just gaining momentum. I think it is better to choose an eating window which would suit your daily schedule and life style. Also it is good to have your last meal at least a couple of hours before your bed time. It is easy to push my breakfast by a couple of hours since I am WFH any way. Also I am consistent now with when I have my dinner. I downloaded Zero app and it helps me keep track of my hours. It also motivates me because I know that if I touch food once I set the fasting clock running, it will have to be reset again and will push back my break fast time. I tried to start with 16:8 which was a disaster. Then I started again with 14:10 which was the easiest for me considering my previous schedule but by week 3, I can see my fasting window is already 15+ hours almost everyday even without me trying. Also tracking your weight loss helps you keep the momentum. Best of luck.
What is your normal eating pattern? Determine how many hours a day you eat, and then start by reducing that. Many people already eat only once or twice a day, so it makes sense to just reduce your eating window from how you already eat. I mean I normally only eat during a 6 hour window anyway, so it would have been backwards to start with 16:8.
I started with 14 hrs for the first day and was surprised that it was a little challenging. But the next day I already did 16 hrs, and it has been fairly easy most days. While there is not much you can do wrong by just skipping breakfast, I recommend to read up a little more on IF if you feel unprepared. You can do that while you already fast 😊. There is a difference between a clean fast (no calories), and a dirty fast (e.g. a few calories, like cream in coffee). And many do keto while fasting, or at least low carb. In most fasting books and podcasts, this is a common theme, but not necessarily clear imho. Good luck!
Honestly, just start. If you really want to ease into it, go a few nights without eating anything after dinner. You’ll find that you can easily go 12+ hours and then bump it up from there.
Personally, I started out thinking I was going to do 5:2, found out on my first fast day that I felt great, and decided to just start fasting every day. You got this!
Just do 24h fast (OMAD) and be done with it. All these 16:8, 20:4 “eating windows” are frankly complete crap and are wholly over thinking the concept of fasting.
OMAD is not difficult whatsoever either. It’s all mindset.