4 Types Of Intermittent Fasting Plans

4 Different Intermittent Fasting Plans

There are many different types of intermittent fasting plans to explore if you wish to do this lifestyle. They each have similar goals and requirements but are different enough to suit different people. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern and lifestyle known to help with weight loss, improve mental health and even increase your longevity.

Here are four of the most popular types of intermittent fasting plans:

Intermittent Fasting 16/8 Method

This is the most popular type of intermittent fasting plan as it doesn’t require significant change. You fast for sixteen hours and eat for eight with this intermittent fasting style. The times you fast should work around the time you go to sleep. It’s best to close your eating window to two to three hours before bedtime.

It’s common to eat two large meals, with the first meal around 12 PM and the last meal before 8 PM. However, the eating window is really up to you as long as it is for only eight hours and doesn’t interfere with sleep. This method is the most popular as it is realistic and manageable.

How To Do The 5 2 Diet

This intermittent fasting style relies on calorie counting for two nonconsecutive days of the week. During these two days, you cannot eat more than 500 calories if female or 600 calories if male.

This is considered the fasting period. On days you are not fasting, eat as you usually do. This is ideal for those looking for a less restrictive routine daily but can handle two highly restrictive days during the week instead.

Eat Stop Eat Fasting Rules

This is a more advanced method of intermittent fasting requiring a full day (24 hours) of fasting up to twice a week. During the other five to six days, you can eat as usual. Like the 5:2 diet, however, you can only have water for twenty-four hours. So again, hunger will be an issue.

Warrior Diet Eating Plan

An even more extreme type of fasting diet is the Warrior Diet, sometimes called 20:4. This method is only recommended short-term and relies on a daily routine of twenty-hour fasts and four hours of eating. The warrior diet is based on the philosophy that humans are meant to go without for lengthy periods and then indulge when food is available, as their cave dweller ancestors once did.

Overall, you are bound to find a fasting style that is right for you among all these options. So, take it slow and start with the method you like the most.

Then, start with the technique that doesn’t involve too many drastic changes all at once to ensure your success. After all, imagine if you can accomplish this lifestyle with very few changes? How much more likely are you to succeed at it?

How to Master the 16 8 Intermittent Fasting Plan

16/8 is a popular intermittent fasting method that involves sixteen hours of fasting and an eight-hour eating window. Having non-caloric things like water, black tea, and coffee is 100 percent acceptable when fasting. Plus, you can eat what you want during the eating window for the most part. So, technically, there are no eating restrictions regarding what you can eat when fasting.

However, it is best to reach for more whole foods and be mindful of your portions and what you eat. Mastering the 16 8 fasting method is by far the easiest to incorporate, as, for many, this just requires skipping breakfast or eating an earlier dinner.

Here are five more essential tips to mastering the 16 8 fasting diet and lifestyle:

Be Ready for a Lifestyle Change

Intermittent fasting is not a diet. It is a lifestyle change you must commit to doing and wanting. To see benefits, you must follow the lifestyle for a while. You can’t fast for one or two days and expect to lose weight or feel amazing, for example. Not only that, committing to change means you are more likely to do the work required. As they commonly say, new goals need new habits to accomplish them.

Pick the Right Eating Window

The 16 8 intermittent fasting lifestyle works due to the structure and hours of fasting. However, you want to make sure the times you pick make sense for your lifestyle. To select the right fasting window, look to when you sleep. Then, stop eating at least two or three hours prior. This should be the start of your fasting window.

Keep to Black Coffee and Tea

To curb your hunger during your fasting window, use coffee and tea. Make sure you don’t add any cream or sugar, or you will disrupt your fast at the wrong time.

Schedule Your Meals

Once you have established eating and fasting windows, start planning your meals. This is an effective way to manage your hunger better and be more consistent. When you are hungry, it can be easy to make wrong decisions or overindulge. If you already have a plan or even cook your meals in advance, you will be less likely to make mistakes.

Be Mindful Regarding What You Eat and How Much You Eat

Learn to say no to cheat days and be mindful of your portion sizes. While counting calories may not be strictly required on this lifestyle, you still won’t see results or be successful if you overeat. So instead, reach for vegetables, fruits, and whole foods first and limit your sugar intake for more success.

Follow these tips to master the 16 8 fasting method and lifestyle. You can lose weight more efficiently through proper intermittent fasting, improve your heart and metabolism, and live a happier life. The most important tip to remember for this method is to pick the right sixteen-hour fasting window for your lifestyle and learn to break your fast with nutrient-rich foods.

Four Powerful Eat Stop Eat Intermittent Fasting Tips to Know

Another popular method of intermittent fasting is called “Eat Stop Eat.” With this method, you fast for twenty-four-hour periods, two times a week, non-consecutively. The eating days of the week have no other restrictions; however, it is always recommended to reach for healthy foods and watch your portion sizes. This method is for individuals who want a simple routine and find it easier to fast for two full days a week than skip certain meals every day.

Here are four powerful eat stop eat fasting diet tips to know and follow:

Start By Choosing Two Days of the Week to Not Eat

Plan the days you choose to fast well in advance and ensure they are not back-to-back. Doing so will make you more successful. For example, if you have a busy day at work ahead of you, it is probably not ideal to fast that day as you will need nutrients and calories to keep you energized and focused.

Use Zero-Calories Beverages to Stay on Track

Staying away from food for a whole twenty-four-hour period can be difficult when you first get started. However, using zero-calorie beverages like coffee or tea can help curb hunger pangs. Water is also another beverage you should drink anytime you feel hungry to fill you up and keep you hydrated.

Increase Your Daily Calorie Limit to Include Off Days

In other words, make sure to incorporate calories you would have eaten within your non-fasting days. For example, say you eat 1200 calories a day. That is 8400 calories a week, even if you fast for two days. However, instead of 1200 a day, you will now eat 1680 on the days you don’t fast to ensure you get the correct number of calories each week.

For an average height and weight adult and slightly active female, this is the minimum number of calories recommended to get the nutrients you need to be healthy. During this time, be sure to grab foods that will give you nutrients and energize you. Diets high in sugar and fats will only make fasting more difficult.

Take it Slow

You don’t have to go a total of 24 hours right away. You can start with a 14-to-16-hour day first and slowly add days to reach the fully day fasting period. A gradual change can provide many benefits and stay on this lifestyle longer.

If you want to try the Eat Stop Eat fasting diet, then be sure to follow these tips. This is the intermittent method for you if you find fasting for two days a week with five days of freedom easier. Learn to eat the right foods and use non-calorie beverages to keep you on track while fasting for twenty-four hours.

5 2 Fasting Diet Tips to Follow

If you can’t stand the idea of following a strict daily routine or going without food altogether, then the 5/2 intermittent fasting diet may be better for you. With this intermittent fasting method, five days a week have zero restrictions, while two other days of the week are restricted to just five hundred to six hundred calories a day. This method of intermittent fasting is designed for those looking for fewer restrictions.

Here are four important 5 2 intermittent fasting diet plan tips to follow:

Pick Any Two Nonconsecutive Days to Calorie Restrict

The first part of the 5 2 fast is to pick two days of the week to calorie restrict to 500 to 600 calories; 500 for females 600 for males. These days should be nonconsecutive and work around your schedule. You don’t need to keep them the same days every week unless it works for you. The best times to calorie restrict are days you are not expected to be busy or overactive.

Plan Your Meals

Incorporate three small meals or two larger meals while fasting. This way, you can be sure you don’t consume too many calories but still feel satiated. Also, many vegetables are bulky but low in calories, making sticking to this lifestyle easy.

Grab Fruits and Vegetables First

This is especially important on days you restrict your calories, so you feel full without taking in too many calories. Be sure to grab ones that are lower in calories and fat. Bananas and avocados are not good options on days with fewer calories as they can quickly take up your limit. The more whole foods you add throughout your diet, the easier it will be to limit your calories on fasting days, as you will feel more energized and healthier.

Incorporate Meals into an Eight to Twelve Hour Day

While you don’t have to fast on the other five days using this method, it is still good to limit your eating window, especially before bedtime. An effective way is to make sure you have your last meal at least two to three hours before you decide to go to bed. This way, your body can repair while you sleep and won’t store fat as your digestion slows down.

The 5 2 intermittent diet works by using calorie restriction to control your weekly calorie intake with fewer restrictions. If you can handle fewer calories on two nonconsecutive days of the week and want more freedom the rest of the week, then this is your method. This method has been used for many studies that support significant weight loss while being the most sustainable.

What Is A Warrior Diet?

The Warrior Diet is a type of intermittent fasting plan created by Ori Hofmekler, a health and fitness author who served as an Israeli special forces agent. Through his time as an agent, he noticed the significant benefits their eating lifestyle had on them. So, with a few adaptions and notes and research from the eating habits of ancient warriors, he perfected a new method of intermittent fasting. With this method, you pair prolonged periods of fasting, typically 20 hours, with short windows or bursts of eating.

All About the Warrior Diet Eating Plan:

It Follows a Specific Philosophy

Ori Hofmekler believes that bodies are programmed to follow cycles of survival. These cycles demonstrate extensive periods of fasting and short periods of overeating with exercise, rest, wakefulness, and sleep throughout life. This is the philosophy those on the Warrior Diet live by. Meaning it’s more of a lifestyle than a diet as it involves a strict daily routine. Typically, this routine involves twenty hours of fasting and four hours of feeding or overeating.

It Requires Three Phases

The Warrior Diet follows three separate phases with different goals in mind. However, each phase still requires twenty hours of fasting and four hours of eating.

The three phases include:

• Detox – In the first week, the goal is to remove as many toxins from the body as possible to help neutralize liver substances that promote fat gain.
• Adaptation to Fat Fuel – The second phase or week encourages the body to use stored fat as energy.
• Adaptation to Carbohydrate Fuel – The final week of the diet is about using carbohydrates for energy.

It Has More Potential Risks to Be Aware Of

Warrior Diets require a fast that is at least twenty hours long daily. This can be highly restrictive and lead to fatigue, fainting, and irritability. The philosophy can also build an unhealthy relationship towards food and cause binge eating to the point of being sick. This is not a healthy mindset to follow, and for some, it can lead to developing eating disorders.

It May Speed Up Weight-Loss

If you need to drop a large amount of weight for improved health, this may be an excellent short-term option to drop the weight. However, many doctors and researchers point out that that may not be a sustainable lifestyle long-term.

While this may be an extreme type of intermittent fasting plan, it can be suitable for specific individuals on a short-term basis. However, many researchers believe it may be too extreme for and exceptionally not safe for those prone to eating disorders or who suffer from other diseases such as diabetes.types of intermittent fasting plans

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