Intermittent fasting may help with weight loss, improve metabolic health, and provide other potential health benefits. When you are in your ‘eating window’ it’s best to focus on healthy and nutritious food.
Intermittent fasting is not suitable for everyone, so always consult your doctor before starting.
Here are a few popular methods:
The 5:2 Method
With this approach, you eat a normal, well-balanced diet for five days of the week, and then on the remaining two days, you restrict your calorie intake to around 800 calories. It's important to note that the fasting days shouldn't be consecutive and should be spread throughout the week. You have flexibility in choosing which two days work best for you (and they don’t have to be the same two days each week).
The 16/8 Method
This method involves fasting for 16 hours and limiting your daily eating period to an 8-hour window. For example, you might decide to eat between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM, and then fast from 6:00 PM until 10:00 AM the next day.
The 12/12 Method
This method is simple. You have a 12-hour window for your meals, and then you fast for the other 12 hours. For instance, you could have breakfast at 7:00 AM and eat normally throughout the day but avoid eating anything after 7:00 PM.
There are other variations such as 14/10 (14 hours of fasting followed by a 10-hour eating window) or even more extended fasts like 18/6 (where you eat in a 6-hour window)
Lastly, remember It's important to drink plenty of water to make up for the fluids you'd get from food.
