GETTING STARTED INTERMITTENT FASTING

GETTING STARTED WITH INTERMITTENT FASTING

Intermittent fasting is a simple diet plan to help you lose weight quickly, and has a ton of benefits to offer you in terms of your general health.

THE BEST DIET

The best diet in the world is only as good as you being able to follow it.

I like intermittent fasting because of its simplicity - you decide on a fasting schedule, stick it through, and reap the benefits.

Since it's such an effective diet, there isn't a great need to count your calories whilst on this diet. To maximise your weight loss from this diet plan, you just need to make prudent food choices - lots of boiled or steamed vegetables or salads, lean protein, and less fat (like cooking oil, sauces or salad dressings).

HYDRATION

It is easy to become dehydrated whilst fasting, because we actually take in quite a bit of fluids with our normal meals - we just don't realise this. When you are dehydrated, your normal metabolic processes in your body cannot run normally, and your fat burning efforts will come to a virtual standstill.

Make sure you drink 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day while fasting.

PICK YOUR FAST

There's a few different ways to fast. I suggest doing a daily fast, since this helps you maintain a consistently healthy diet. I also find a daily fast actually easier to follow compared to alternate day fasts and super-low calorie days, since I know I just
have to complete my fasting period, then I can eat my normal meals and feel satiated and satisfied during my 'feeding window'

If you're just getting started, pick a 12/12 fast - you fast for 12 hours and eat during the other 12 hour period. This fast is really simple to do.

After a week or two on this 12/12 fasting split, move on to a 16/8 split. You fast for 16 hours, then eat during an 8 hour period. This fast is still pretty easy to tolerate, but can be challenging for people new to intermittent fasting.

After you have been fasting for a 16/8 split for a few months and feel comfortable with it, you can move on to more challenging splits:

18 hour fasting - 6 hour feeding
20 hour fasting - 4 hour feeding

When you do a longer, more challenging fast, you're going to experience more benefits of fasting - faster weight loss, better cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels and blood pressure readings, better focus and concentration, less joint pains and aches, lower levels of inflammation in your body - essentially a better (nearly) everything.

If doing a 18/6 fast - you should aim to have one regular meal and 1 to 2 light meals during your feeding window.

When doing a 20/4 split, you'll probably only be able to fit one regular meal and a light snack in.

Be prudent with planning your meals - don't undereat to the point that you feel like you're starving, but also don't eat 3 Big Macs during your feeding window.

SET YOUR

FASTING WINDOW

You should follow the same fasting plan daily to see the maximum benefits. If you fast a few days in the week, but eat unhealthy food on other days, you aren't going to see very much change in your physique, even after weeks and months of fasting.

Decide when you're going to eat your meals, calculate what time you need to start and end your fast, and follow it daily.

There will be days when your daily schedule puts you off-track, but if you follow your intermittent fasting diet plan for most days in the week, you should still be able to maintain a healthy weight.

Use the 'Zero' app on your smartphone to help you keep track of your fasting timings. Just use the free version (the features in the paid version are unnecessary for most people), set your fast and timings, and use it daily. My favourite part of using this app is that I can start and end my fasts on my Apple Watch - super convenient! Give it a try!

FAST WHILE YOU FAST

Intermittent fasting is just that - fasting. It is best to not consume any calories at all whilst fasting, to reap the maximum benefits from your fast.

Drink plain water, and plenty of it. You can have some plain tea or coffee if you need a little energy boost, but make sure you don't add any sugar or milk in. Coffee does contain a little bit of fat, so have just half a cup or a cup if you really need that bit of caffeine.

Avoid taking soft drinks, even if they're labelled as 'zero-calorie' options during your fast. While they may not contain calories, it is not known if the artificial sweeteners will affect your metabolism whilst fasting.

You can have plain tea as well, without milk or sugar.

PLAN YOUR MEALS

You need to plan ahead and decide on what you'll be eating for your 2 to 3 meals during your 'Feeding window'. While trying a 16/8 fasting diet, it would be best to have 2 regular meals, and a small snack.

Make sure these 2 meals are healthy - with at least half your meal consisting of vegetables, and a nice big helping of lean protein - like chicken breast, or steamed / boiled fish.

Try to avoid fried foods, and fast food. Try to avoid alcohol, sugar, sweets, ice-cream, pastries (like cakes and doughnuts), and chocolates. If you really must have something to satiate your sweet tooth, try to buy low-sugar, sugar-free, or 'no sugar added' choices. These alternatives are all available in your local supermarket - you just need to look for them. They may not taste exactly the same as your regular snacks, but they're a lot less unhealthy.

Remember, you aren't going to see much results if you eat unhealthy foods while trying to diet.

After you plan your meals, PREPARE them. I like to prepare my meals in advance, and freeze them, then just re-heat them for my meal. Alternatively, if you prefer to cook your meals fresh, prepare the ingredients beforehand - like if you need to chop and wash some meat cuts and vegetables. Start cooking half an hour before your 'Feeding window' starts, so your meal will be ready when it's time to eat.

If you don't plan ahead and have your healthy meal ready, you'll just start snacking on unhealthy snacks when you break your fast, because you're going to be HUNGRY during feeding time. Your snacking can undo any of the weight-loss benefits you see from your fast.

A great sample meal is - half cup of Basmati rice, 1-2 cups of boiled veggies, and a helping of roasted chicken breast or steamed fish.

You can have a healthy snack 2 to 3 hours after your regular meal. This should be something light, but HEALTHY. A lot of us think that a snack only means biscuits or potato chips. Try to have a helping of vegetables (like a salad) with some lean protein like chicken, turkey or fish.

A great sample snack is - 1-2 cups of boiled veggies, and some sort of lean protein. If you aren't too hungry and can't stomach some more chicken breast, you can have a bit of protein powder or low-fat milk instead.

COMMON PITFALLS

To err is human, but you should try and minimise cheating while on this diet. If you follow an intermittent fasting diet 5 days in the week, then eat pizzas for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the weekends, you aren't going to see very much results from this diet.

KEEP IT HEALTHY

This bit is really important. Always make good food choices, and pick the healthier option. If you eat unhealthy foods during your feeding window, you won't get all the benefits of intermittent fasting.

YOU CAN CHEAT, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT

You can set a target for yourself, to decide beforehand what foods you really want to enjoy - like a burger, few slices of pizza, bowl of spicy noodles, or some pastries - then have a small helping only once a week.

When you indulge, don't have a full helping. Try to take a quarter to half the normal helping size. This helps you satisfy the craving you have for a particular food, without taking in too much unhealthy fats or sugars.

You also need to WORK for this treat. For the whole week, you need to be very disciplined with your diet and fasting regime, THEN reward yourself with a SMALL helping of your 'cheat food'. If you didn't follow your diet through the week, you didn't earn your treat, and you can't have it.

EXERCISE TO RAMP UP FAT LOSS

I've found that training in a fasted state has really helped me ramp up my fat loss. You can do some light fasted cardio or resistance training during your fasting window. If you're going to be doing something strenuous like lifting weights, you should try and time it so that you do it right before your feeding window - that way you can have a post-workout meal and feed your body and muscles with the nutrition it needs to recover.

BE CAREFUL OF SNACKS

When you're fasting, you're going to be hungry. Very hungry. Your mind will feed you images of all the delicious snacks you like and crave - cookies, sweets, doughnuts, cake - everything. You need to RESIST. Stick through your fast, and during your feeding window, eat a healthy meal or snack. Your diet isn't going to do much for you if you indulge in unhealthy foods regularly.

DRINK ENOUGH WATER

You NEED to stay hydrated,e specially during your fasting window. Being in a dehydrated state is going to bring your metabolism and fat loss to a virtual standstill. Make sure you drink 1.5 to 2 L a day, most of which should be during your fasting window so you don't become dehydrated. I use a simple protein shaker bottle, and aim to drink and empty it at least 3 times a day - this gives me 1.8 L of water since the shaker markings go up to 600 mls. You can get one online today, it'll help you make sure you hydrate well.

BE CONSISTENT

If you're going to follow this diet, try to fast daily. Fasting on one day, eating normally the next, and fasting again is going to affect your body's metabolism, and you may not see good results from this diet.

Also, try to keep your fasting window the same. Decide beforehand when your fasting window will be, and do your best to follow that same timing. Don't fast in the morning on one day, then in the evening on the next day.

USE THE ZERO APP

It may seem easy tot rack your fasts, but if you start your fast a bit late or break it a bit later, you may lose track of how long you've been fasting for. The free part of the app makes fasting convenient because you know how far you're along with a quick glance at the timer in the app. You really don't need to pay for the full version, the free version is enough.

I'M HUNGRY!

It is perfectly normal to feel very hungry during your fast, especially during the first few days of starting this diet. For the first few days, you may feel very irritable, and may find that you think about food constantly. This is normal!

The good news is that it does get better. After a few days of fasting, you'll find that the hunger pangs don't bother you anymore, and fasting becomes pretty effortless.

You just need to stick through your fast for the first few days, and not give in and start snacking, even when you're hungry.

However, be careful, if you have very sharp pains in your abdominal area, you should see a doctor to get some gastric medications. If fasting triggers gastric problems for you, you should not be fasting - or else you'll keep getting episodes of gastric inflammation, which can lead to a stomach ulcer.

FAST WITH ME

I follow a 16/8 fasting plan. I prefer to have my 'feeding window' towards the end of the day, since I don't like going to bed on an empty stomach. You can try following my plan - I exercise in the afternoons, have a late lunch at 2 pm, and another 2 meals spaced out through the afternoon and evening, then start fasting at 10 pm. This gives me a 16 hour fast.

I do this daily, and love it. I find I have better energy and focus in the mornings at work during my fasting period. It's also a lot easier to maintain a lean physique with this diet plan.

WRAP IT UP!

Intermittent fasting is a great diet plan to follow. It offers you a ton of benefits, and promises rapid fat loss, if you can be disciplined with it. It's really simple: pick a fast like 16 hours fasting - 8 hours eating; plan and prepare healthy meals ahead of time; download a timer like 'Zero', avoid all calories during your fasting period, and drink plenty of water through the day - at least 1.5 to 2 L of water. Easy-peasy! Give it a try!