5 Intermittent Fasting Methods, Reviewed - Healthline

Types of Intermittent Fasting · The 16/8 Method: Fast for 16 hours each day, for example by only eating between noon and 8pm. · Eat-Stop-Eat: Once or twice a week ... HealthlineHealthConditionsDiscoverPlanConnectShopSubscribeNutritionHealthyEatingMealPrepVitamins&SupplementsLifestyleDietsWeightManagementConditionsProductsNutritionEvidenceBasedProsandConsof5IntermittentFastingMethodsWrittenbyCeciliaSnyder,MS,RDandKrisGunnars,BSc—MedicallyreviewedbyGrantTinsley,Ph.D.,CSCS,*D,CISSN,Nutrition—UpdatedonFebruary23,2022WhatitisProsConsBottomlineIntermittentfastinghasbeenoneofthemostpopularhealthtrendsofthepastdecade.Somepeopleswearbytheeatingpattern,findingthatithelpsmanagetheirappetiteandweightandtosupportoptimalhealth.Nevertheless,intermittentfastingmightnotberightforeveryone—eitherformedicalreasonsorbecauseitdoesn’tmatchtheirpictureofanutritiousandsustainablediet.Thisarticletakesacloserlookatsomeofthemostpopularwaystodointermittentfasting,aswellasafewprosandcons.Theinformationmayhelpyoudecideifintermittentfastingissomethingyouwanttotryforyourhealthandhappiness.ShareonPinterestAsiaVision/GettyImagesWARNINGIntermittentfastingisgenerallyconsideredsafe.However,itisbesttousecautionwhenbeginningorfollowingtheeatingroutine.Restrictingyourcalorieintakeforanextendedperiodoftimecouldbedangerousfor:childrenandadolescentspeoplewhoarepregnantorbreastfeedingpeoplewhohavediabetespeopletakingcertainmedicationspeoplewithahistoryofeatingdisordersBeforeembarkingonintermittentfastingormakinganyotherdrasticchangestoyourdiet,consultatrustedhealthcareprofessionaltohelpyougetstartedsafely.Whatisintermittentfasting?Intermittentfastingisaneatingpatternduringwhichyourefrainfromconsuminganycaloriesforanextendedperiodoftime.Usually,thisperiodlastsbetween12and40hours(1).Water,coffee,andothercalorie-freebeveragesareallowedduringthefast,butnosolidfoodsorcalorie-containingdrinksarepermitted.Forexample,ifyoufinishdinnerat7p.m.Mondayanddon’teatagainuntil7p.m.Tuesday,you’vecompleteda24-hourfast.Somepeoplechoosetofastfrombreakfasttobreakfastorlunchtolunch.Butwhichtimeframeworksbestdependsontheindividual.Afull24-hourfasteveryotherdaycanseemextremeandmaybedifficultformanypeopletomaintain,soit’susuallynotrecommendedforbeginners.However,youdon’thavetogoall-inrightaway,andmanyintermittentfastingroutinesstartwithshorterfastingperiods.Hereare5ofthemostpopulareatingpatternsforaddingintermittentfastingtoyourdiet:Time-restrictedeating.Involvesfastingeverydayfor12hoursorlongerandeatingintheremaininghours.Apopularexampleisthe16/8method.Itfeaturesadaily16-hourfastandan8-houreatingwindowwhereinyoucanfitin2,3,ormoremeals.The5:2diet.The5:2dietinvolveseatingasyounormallydo5daysoftheweekandrestrictingyourcalorieintaketo500–600ontheremaining2days.EatStopEat.EatStopEatinvolvesa24-hourfastonceortwiceperweek.Alternate-dayfasting.Withalternate-dayfasting,thegoalistofasteveryotherday.TheWarriorDiet.TheWarriorDietwasamongthefirstpopulardietstoincludeaformofintermittentfasting.Itinvolveseatingsmallamountsofrawfruitsandvegetablesduringthedayandeatingonelargemealatnight.SUMMARYIntermittentfastingisadietaryroutinethatregularlyalternatesbetweenperiodsofeatingandfasting.Therearemanydifferentmethodsofdoingso,withmanyrequiringyoutofastfor12–40hoursatatime.3prosofintermittentfastingResearchershavealreadylinkednumeroushealthbenefitswithintermittentfastingandcontinuetoexaminethem.Plus,forsomepeople,intermittentfastingfitswellintotheirmodelofahealthyandsustainablelong-termdiet.Ifyou’rewonderingifintermittentfastingcouldberightforyou,hereareafewbenefitsthatmightpiqueyourinterest.1.MightsupportweightlossandimprovemetabolichealthTwomainreasonswhypeopletryintermittentfastingaretomanagetheirweightandmetabolichealth.Metabolichealthisamarkerofhowwellthebodyprocesses,ormetabolizes,energy.It’softenmeasuredbybloodpressure,bloodsugar,andbloodfatlevels(2,3,4,5).Fastingorabstainingfromfoodcancreateacaloriedeficit,meaningthatyourbodyhasfewercaloriesthanitneedstomaintainitscurrentweight.That’swhydietsthatrelyoncalorierestriction,likefasting,arethehallmarkofmostweightlossdiets.Researchshowsthatsometypesofintermittentfastingcanbeaseffectiveforweightloss—thoughnotnecessarilymoreeffective—asotherdietsthatalsorelyonlimitingyourdailycalorieintake(6,7,8,9).Time-restrictedeatingroutinessimilartothe16/8methodareonetypeofintermittentfastingthathasbeenlinkeddirectlywithweightloss.Alternate-dayfastingandthe5:2dietmayalsobeeffective(10,11,12,13).Besidesnaturallyeliminatingyourcalorieintakeduringthefastingperiod,intermittentfastingmaysupportweightlossbyregulatingyourappetitetoincreasefeelingsoffullnesswhilesuppressingfeelingsofhunger(14,15,16).Theeatingpatternhasalsobeenlinkedwithotherimprovementsinhealth,suchas:loweringbloodpressure(15,17,18,19)improvingbloodsugar(4,11,15,20)repairingdamagedcells(21)protectingbrainhealth(22,23,24)2.CanbeasustainablelifestylechangeIntermittentfastingmightsoundcomplicatedandintimidating,butitcanbesimpleattimes.Infact,youmightevenfindthatfastinghelpssimplifyyourdaysinceyouneedtoplanfewermeals.What’smore,itdoesn’ttypicallyrequirecaloriecounting,watchingyourmacros,eatingcertainfoodsthatyoumightnotbeusedtoeating,oreliminatingcertainfoodsthatyouotherwiseenjoy.Forexample,havinganearlydinnerfollowedbyalatebreakfastthenextdayisonewaytofastintermittently.Ifyoufinishyourlastmealat8p.m.anddon’teatuntilnoonthenextday,you’vetechnicallyfastedfor16hours.Forpeoplewhogethungryinthemorningandliketoeatbreakfast,orforthosewhocan’teatuntillaterintheeveningduetoworkschedulesandotherobligations,thismethodmaybehardtogetusedto.However,otherpeopleinstinctivelyeatthiswayalready.Theymaybemorepronetotryingoutanintermittentfastingeatingpattern.3.Workswellwithanutritious,wholefoodsdietBecauseintermittentfastingisfocusedmoreonwhenratherthanwhatyoueat,it’sgenerallyeasytoimplementinconjunctionwithyourcurrentdiet.Youwon’tnecessarilyneedtobuyanyspecialfoodsordivergemuchfromwhatyoutypicallyeat.Ifyou’realreadycontentwiththestateofyourcurrentdietbutlookingforotherwaystocontinueboostingyouroverallhealth,fastingmightbesomethingyouwanttoexplore.Forexample,intermittentfastingmightworkparticularlywellforsomeonewhowantstopairitwitharesistancetrainingprogramandahighproteindiet(25).Still,thisisn’tmeanttoimplythatwhatyoueatdoesn’tmatter.There’snodoubtthatyou’llreapthemostbenefitsfromintermittentfastingbyeatingavarietyofnutritiousfoodsandlimitingultra-processedfoodsduringyoureatingwindow.SUMMARYIntermittentfastingisoftenusedtomanageweightandmetabolichealth.Theeatingroutinemighthelplowerbloodpressure,bloodsugar,andbloodfatlevels.Forsomepeople,italsoworksaspartofahealthylong-termdietpattern.3consofintermittentfastingIntermittentfastingisonewaytoregulateyourcalorieintakeandworktowardimprovingyourmetabolichealth.Thoughtheeatingpatterncancertainlybepartofahealthydiet,itwilllikelytakesomeadjustingtointhebeginning.Plus,simplyput,intermittentfastingisnotrightforeveryone.Hereareafewdownsidesyoucouldencounterwhenfirsttryingintermittentfasting.1.MightgoagainstyourintuitionIntermittentfastingrequiresdiscipline,restraint,andplanningahead.Forsomepeople,usingthosetacticstokeepyourcalorieintakewithinadesignatedtimeframeisnoproblem,butforothers,itmightfeelunnaturalatfirst.Thismaybeespeciallytrueifyou’reusedtorelyingonyourintuitiontodecidewhentoeat.Further,ifyouprefernottofollowastrictschedule,youmightfindintermittentfastingfrustrating.What’smore,ifyourscheduletendstovaryfromdaytodaybecauseofwork,family,orotherobligations,keepingyourcalorieintaketoadesignatedtimeframecouldbechallenging.2.You’lllikelyfeelhungryEvenan8-or12-hourfastmightfeellikealongtimewhenyou’renotusedtofasting.Youmaygotobedhungryseveraltimesperweek.Thatmaynaturallyfeelunpleasantandunsustainableinthelongterm(26).Plus,attimes,itmightbenecessarytooverrideyournaturalhungerandfullnesscuesinordertonotbreakyourfastearlierthanplanned.Thisdoesn’tmeanthatfastingisn’tascheduleyoucangetusedto.Onceyou’veadjustedtointermittentfasting,youmightevenfinditmakesyoufeellesshungry(14,15).Manypeopleadjusttotheroutine,andsomeevenfindtheyenjoyitafterafewmonths.Yet,hungerandfrustrationarecertainlysomethingtoexpectandbeawareofinitially.3.ThesideeffectscouldaffectyourmoodWhenyoufirsttryintermittentfasting,oneofthefirstthingsyoumaynotice—asidefromfeelingmorehungry—isupsanddownsinyourmood.Thisisunderstandable.Besidesinitiallyincreasinghungerlevels,fastingcanhavesideeffects,includingheadaches,constipation,fatigue,sleepdisturbances,andmore(15,27,28,29).What’smore,irritabilityandanxietyareclassicsymptomsoflowbloodsugarlevels.Thisisacommonbodilyresponsetofastingorrestrictingcalories(30,31,32).Still,likehunger,youremotionalwell-beingmaybeanothersideeffectofintermittentfastingthatwillimprovewithtimeandpractice(15).Onceyou’vehadtimetoadjust,intermittentfastingmayevenbringyouasenseofachievementorpride(32).SUMMARYEspeciallyinthebeginning,intermittentfastingcanhavesideeffectslikehunger,headaches,andfatigue.Thecombinationoflowbloodsugarlevelsfromfastingandthestressofadjustingtoanewroutinecouldaffectyourmoodandmentalhealth,too.ThebottomlineIntermittentfastingisaweightlosstoolthatworksforsomepeople,butnoteveryone.It’snotrecommendedforindividualswhooncehadorcurrentlyhaveaneatingdisorder.Itmayalsobeunsuitableforchildren,peoplewithunderlyinghealthconditions,andpeoplewhoarepregnantorbreastfeeding.Ifyoudecidetotryintermittentfasting,rememberthatjustlikewithanyeatingpattern,dietqualityiskey.Togainthemostfromintermittentfasting,besuretoeatavarietyofnutrient-densewholefoodsduringyoureatingwindowandlimitultra-processedfoods.Furthermore,beforeembarkingonanintermittentfast,besuretoconsultatrainedhealthcareprofessionaltoensurethatit’ssafeforyoutodoso.JustonethingTrythistoday:Ifyouthinkintermittentfastingcouldworkforyou,havealookatourfavoritepracticaltipstoeatonscheduleandgetstartedwithyourownroutinetoday.LastmedicallyreviewedonFebruary14,2022FEEDBACK:WrittenbyCeciliaSnyder,MS,RDandKrisGunnars,BSc—MedicallyreviewedbyGrantTinsley,Ph.D.,CSCS,*D,CISSN,Nutrition—UpdatedonFebruary23,2022ReadthisnextWhatIsIntermittentFasting?ExplainedinHumanTermsWrittenbyKrisGunnars,BScIntermittentfastingisaverypopularhealthandfitnesstrend.Itinvolveseatingpatternsthatcyclebetweenperiodsofeatingandfasting.READMORE9Potent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