Types of Intermittent Fasting
Happy Wednesday Squadies! Today I will be talking about one of my FAVOURITE topics, Intermittent fasting! There are many different types of intermittent fasting to choose from; What are they and how do you know which one is right for you?!
What is Intermittent Fasting?
For those of you who don’t know, Intermittent fasting is simply an eating schedule with an ‘eating’ window and a ‘fasting’ window. The size of each of these windows varies depending on which type of fasting you choose. Intermittent fasting paired with a healthy diet and fitness regime has a ton of benefits, physically, health wise, and mentally. To find out more about the basics of intermittent fasting, read my Beginners Guide to Intermittent Fasting.
Today I will be talking about the 3 types of Intermittent fasting I would recommend, the benefits of each and when to use them! For the most part, there is no one particular type of fasting that you have to stick to. Especially if you are like me and have an ever changing schedule, it is good to have options!
Daily Time Restricted Fasting
The first 2 types of intermittent fasting I will be talking about go hand in hand, 16:8 and 20:4. These numbers represent different fasting ratios, indicating the time fasting to time eating.
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Benefits of Daily Time Restricted Fasting
Fasting every day has a ton of benefits. First and foremost, fasting aids in weight loss. When we are not consuming calories for more than 12 hours a day, our bodies deplete of their glycogen stores (comes from food, what our body uses as energy) and has to find a new source of energy within our bodies. This is when our body begins to take FAT we have stored and use it as energy, therefore, we become FAT BURNING MACHINES!
Intermittent fasting also helps keep our bodies healthy and running smoothly. While in a fasted state, our body takes this opportunity to look for any dead, dying or unhealthy cells it can get rid of. This process is called AUTOPHAGY.
For those of you who struggle with energy levels in the morning and throughout the day, you NEED to try intermittent fasting! Fasting typically gives you more energy! When we eat, the digestion process uses about 60% of our overall energy! If you are constantly eating throughout the day, you're more likely to feel tired and sluggish. Fasting helps your energy levels stay up so you can be more productive and GET STUFF DONE throughout the day!
16:8
The most popular types of intermittent fasting and the one I typically do on an average day is 16:8. Fasting for 16 hours may seem like a lot at first. If you think about the fact that we typically sleep for around 8 hours a night, we really only have to restrain from eating a couple hours at night and a couple hours in the morning.
The 16:8 schedule works great for anyone who works an average day job schedule, I’m talking 9-5. Stop eating around 8-9pm, Wake up around 6, workout, get ready, go to work, then break your fast at lunch (12-1pm)! Of course, this is just an example, your own particular fasting and eating times will vary depending on your schedule. I opt for the 16:8 fasting schedule because it is super flexible and easy to fit into my daily schedule and allows me to wake up feeling great! I generally get most of my work done in the mornings while in a fasted state.
20:4
The 20:4 fasting schedule is another great choice. Like the 16:8 fasting schedule, you get all the benefits of fasting, productivity, energy, etc. The main difference here is that you are pushing the fast a few hours longer.
I typically choose this kind of fast either on a holiday or a whoopise weekend! When a holiday comes around, we are typically faced with a ton of food options in large quantities. On day’s I know there is going to be a celebration dinner, such as Christmas or a family birthday, I choose the 20:4 fasting schedule. This way, I can burn extra fat and eat less calories throughout the day to help avoid overeating or going way over my daily calorie intake. I also like to use this fasting ratio on the day after a whoopise night to help get my body back on track! Keep in mind, when doing this fasting ratio, you still need to make sure you are getting ALL your daily calories in!
Long Term Fasting
Long Term Fasting is not something I do very often, but is definitely something I suggest doing once every 1-3 months. All the benefits described above for short term fasting apply for long term fasting. The difference is, these benefits are MULTIPLIED when fasting for a long period of time. Your body gets the chance to really get rid of MORE unhealthy cells and you will feel MORE productive and energetic throughout the day.
I choose 24 hour fasting on my busiest of days, for example, the day I was going live on national television. Why?! You’re probably thinking, Phil thats crazy! How can you get through a busy day without ANY food! Like I said above, this long term fast actually gives you MORE energy. Secondly, since you are busy, the time goes by WAY faster! If you choose a day where you don’t have much planned, you will be thinking about how hungry you are or how long it has been since your last meal. If you are busy, you’ll have a ton of other things to occupy your mind! To find out more about long term fasting, its benefits and how to do it check out my Long Term Fasting blog post!
There you have it squadies! The Different types of Intermittent fasting and how to choose the right one for you! If you have any questions about fasting feel free to reach out and I will be happy to help!
